Egypt Jails 11 Men for Three to 12 Years For Homosexuality

An Egyptian court has sentenced 11 men accused of homosexuality to jail terms from between three and 12 years.

The defendants were arrested in a flat September last year. The court convicted them of 'debauchery and incitement to debauchery', the charges generally used to prosecute alleged homosexuals in Egypt as the law does not formally prohibit same-sex relations. 

Late on Sunday, it sentenced three of them to 12 years, three to nine years, one to six years and four to three years. Egypt's use of the debauchery (excessive indulgence in sex, alcohol, or drugs) law to prosecute and jail gay men has drawn condemnation from human rights groups. 


In November 2014, eight men were jailed for 'inciting debauchery' after appearing in an alleged same-sex wedding video in Egypt. The men, who formed the wedding party on a boat on the Nile, were sentenced to three years in prison each for the crime of debauchery. 

The clip, posted online as 'Egypt's first gay wedding,' shows two men exchanging rings and embracing while friends cheer. In September, a statement from the office of Egypt's chief prosecutor said the video was 'shameful to God' and 'offensive to public morals', Daily Mail reports. 

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