By Issandr El Amrani To connect to the Cairo Times website please click on cairotimes.com In a surprise decision, the Military Governor on 23 May cancelled last November’s verdict for 50 of 52 defendants in the Queen Boat case, sending the case back to the office of Public Prosecutor Maher Abdel Wahed for consideration. The decision may help mute domestic and international criticism of the case and what is being seen by some activists as a systematic persecution of homosexuals in the country. For the 50 defendants whose case has been sent back to Abdel Wahed–who will decide whether to drop the case entirely or schedule a retrial in an ordinary criminal court–the decision could be a mixed blessing. For 21 of the defendants who were handed sentences of up to two years of prison–and who are set to return home this week after paying LE500 bail–the rescinding of their sentences means they will at best be cleared entirely and at worst undergo a new trial, albeit in an ordinary court where they will have the possibility of appeal. But for the 29 who were acquitted, it could mean a return to a courtroom (and jail) that they hoped they would never see again. All of the 50 were sentenced for the "habitual practice of debauchery." In the Queen Boat case, this vague term was used to penalize homosexual acts–which are not covered by the Egyptian penal system. There was no good news however for the two remaining defendants of the Queen Boat cases, Sherif Farahat and Mahmoud Allam, identified at the time of the trial as the ringleaders of the whole group. In addition to the debauchery charge (which was not dropped for them)–they had also been convicted for "contempt of religion" and received longer sentences of five and three years respectively. Their sentences were confirmed by the Military Governor. "It’s a surprise," said Hisham Mubarak Center Director Ahmad Seif, whose organization provided legal aid for the Queen Boat defendants last year. "They are accepting what we said." The Center had sent an appeal to the Military Governor after the verdict, arguing that the case had been illegally sent to an Emergency State Security Court. Along with other Egyptian organizations, the Hisham Mubarak Center has campaigned for the abolition of the Emergency Laws. For them, the problem with the Queen Boat case–and others such as the Ibn Khaldoun Center case–has primarily been about the use of a State Security Court during the trial and allegations of torture to obtain confessions from some of the defendants. Not so for international activists, who have viewed the case as the most flagrant example of what they say is a systematic campaign of persecution of Egyptian homosexuals. Organizations such as the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), which monitored the trial in Cairo, have cautiously welcomed the recent decision to send the case back to the Public Prosecutor . "We are cautiously optimistic at news that guilty verdicts in the case have actually been canceled," said Scott Long, program director at IGLHRC. "But renewed prosecution would be renewed persecution. These trials must stop. At the same time, the prison sentences of two men in this case have been confirmed–and many other suspected gay men across Egypt remain in prison. We must continue to press the Egyptian government to meet its international obligations, not just in a few symbolic cases, but across the board." In addition to gay activists–who have staged anti-Egyptian demonstrations in Europe and the United States over the past few months to protest the Queen Boat verdict–some politicians have also urged Egypt to annul the court’s decision. In March, 40 American lawmakers sent a letter of protest to Nabil Fahmi, Egypt’s ambassador in Washington DC. On 21 May, Fahmi responded, stating that the Queen Boat defendants "were convicted essentially under a law which penalizes promiscuity/prostitution" and arguing "that there is no distinction or discrimination based on a person’s sexual orientation [in Egypt]." The group of Congressmen that had sent the original letter replied that Fahmi’s response was "unpersuasive." For now, the question remains as to what will happen to the case. Under normal circumstances, it takes the office of the Public Prosecutor about one month to make a decision. Technically, the case could be either dismissed entirely or sent to an ordinary court, where unlike the previous trial the defendants would have a possibility of appeal. But a third option–not making a decision–is also on the table. "It’s very possible that no decision will be made," Seif said, citing precedents for the government preferring to ignore a politically sensitive issue than to act on it. Among the examples he listed were the 1998 charges against Egyptian Organization for Human Rights Secretary General Hafez Abou Saada, the leaders of the 1977 bread riots or the 1986 Central Security riots–all of whom are still technically out on bail pending trial. In the case of the Queen Boat defendants, charges would automatically be dropped after three years because the crime in question is a misdemeanor. It may not be that easy for the government to ignore the increasingly embarrassing case away. Its socially conservative opponents are waging a campaign for a retrial, posing as in so many other cases as the guardians of public mores. Columnist Muhammad Abbas, writing in the online version of the banned socialist-turned-Islamist newspaper Al Shaab, attacked the government last week for releasing "perverts" while keeping Muslim Brothers in prison. Latest news 22 May 2012: Cairo psychiatrist claims he can "cure" 70 to 75 per cent of gay teenagers.