CONSERVATIVES DEMAND STRICT SHARIA LAW ON HOMOSEXUALITY [ By our own reporter. ] Posted 28 MayxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxNEWS FROM PREVIOUS MONTHS Yesterday, 27 May, Egypt's national weekly newspaper Al Osboa gave voice to hardline conservatives demanding the introduction of sharia law on homosexuality. According to those interviewed, "sex perverts are threatening the culture and traditions of Egypt, including both its' christian and muslim communities" and proof of this "danger" was that homosexuality was condemned both in the koran and the bible. The newspaper carried a large banner headline across five columns - "We want sharia law against homosexuality so we can avoid western pressure." There was even an extremely naive opinion voiced that a "compromise" agreement with western nations could be reached through the United Nations on a fixed term of imprisonment for "sex perverts" in Egypt in order to avoid future diplomatic arguments. In the same article a legal expert confessed the weakness of the case against the fifty Queen Boat suspects based on paragraph 9 of law 10 of 1961 on prostitution. This law requires that there should be evidence that money actually changed hands and as there was no proof of this, the men will almost certainly be released. Especially as there is no law in Egypt against homosexuality as such. GayEgypt.com suspects that Mubarak may be trying to appease both the West, by releasing the Queen Boat prisoners, and the Muslim Brotherhood, by introducing a new law to criminalize homosexual relations, either just between men or more likely between any two persons of the same sex. It is likely that Mubarak has given orders to the state security and police chiefs to ensure that arrests in future attract less publicity but still continue in a more clandestine manner: the cases to be conducted swifty in civil courts without the glare of the international media, and on a scale sufficient to intimdate and silence the gay community. This, together with a new specific and strict sharia law forbidding any type of homosexual relationship, would bring a new climate of fear to the everyday private lives of millions of Egyptians. EGYPTIAN SCHOOL EXPELS STUDENT FOR BEING GAY JUST DAYS AFTER EGYPTIAN AMBASSADOR PROMISES "NO DISCRIMATION AGAINST GAYS" IN EGYPT AND AS AN EMBARASSED MUBARAK ORDERS THE RELEASE OF THE QUEEN BOAT PRISONERS PENDING A POSSIBLE RETRIAL Posted 27 May 2002xxxxxxxxxxNEWS FROM PREVIOUS MONTHS When a teenage Egyptian student, we'll call him Rafaat, arrived at school yesterday morning [ 26 May ] his main worry was his upcoming final year exams. But a few hours later his world was turned upside down in a way he could never have imagined possible that morning. Summoned to the headteacher's study, he was informed that he was expelled and was to leave the school immediately. So, was he a bad or lazy student ? No, far from it, his teachers respected him as a model student and his English language skills would have put many a top Egyptian diplomat to shame. Perhaps, he was bullying other students ? No, just the reverse. Other students had been tormenting him. Had he had sex with other students ? No. Certainly not. So what was his offence ? He had come out to a few of his friends as gay. It is a little heartening that in such a socially conservative and oppressive atmosphere, his mother and stepfather were outraged, as were his teachers who knew the boy had done nothing wrong. But this will be of little consolation to Rafaat. Having been expelled from school he will now find it impossible to obtain a decent job, certainly not one commensurate with his intelligence and abilities. EGYPTIAN AMBASSADOR'S DECLARATION OF "NO DISCRIMINATION IN EGYPT" NOW RINGS HOLLOW It was only a few days ago that Egyptian Ambassador to the United States, Nabil Fahmy, told members of the Congress, that there was "no discrimination against gays in Egypt." At the time, Congressmen expressed their amazement at the diplomat's shamelessness when so many gay men in Egypt lay rotting in prison. The fact that a gay student in Egypt is being expelled from school not for doing anything wrong, but merely for being honest about his sexuality, underlines the absurdity of the Ambassador's arrogance. But "Rafaat" is undoubtedly not the only boy expelled from school for being honest about his sexual orientation. It was only his access to a computer, his English skills [ a teenager would find it almost impossible to find someone to write such an honest and potentially incriminating email ] and his knowledge of our website's email address that enabled him to contact us. In short, the odds against a typical Egyptian youth being able to let us know about such outrageous discrimination are very high indeed. There can be little doubt that his experience is now becoming all to common in Egypt. To be gay in Egypt today, even without being sexually active, is to be regarded as carrying a terrible plague. To admit to being gay, is to be inevitably isolated and ridiculed. It is also to invite arrest by a deeply homophobic police for some trumped up charge. In today's climate of public panic and paranoia a young gay man even be accused of aiding Israel "corrupt" the country's youth. But the accusation of "moral depravity", even without any absurd overtones of collaboration, is in itself enough. BUT THE REAL HELL FOR EGYPTIAN GAYS STARTS IN PRISON Most Egyptians know someone, though they may not always admit it, who has been arrested for homosexuality or for their sexual orientation and imprisoned for a short time in a police qafas [ police cage/cell ] or for a longer time in prison. Either way, the prison experience always starts with the victim being beaten even before he has been hauled into the police van or pick up. Dispensing with any formal cuation, the man will instead be beaten and kicked by the police officers at the moment of "arrest". I myself saw a gay man curl up into a foetal position while screaming both denials and profuse apologies as he was mercilessly attacked by three police officers on a Cairo pavement. Once inside, a gay man can expect a constant assault, both verbal and physical, especially from police officers in the hours it may take to obtain a "confession". Such torture, routinely includes burning by cigarettes, the use of unrestrained police dogs and simple, if unsophisticated, beatings. Neither will he get any sanctuary among other inmates who will treat him as the "lowest of the low." He may indeed often be interned close to, if not among, jailed members of the Muslim Brotherhood or other islamic extremists just as in the past, under Nasser, prostitutes were frequently locked up along side fundamentalists even if officially the two types of "crimminals" were supposed to be dealt with by separate departments. A few days ago Mubarak order the prosecution papers of all but two of those arrested [ inluding those found "not guilty" ] refered back to the public prosecutor, raising hopes that twenty one of the twenty three Queen Boat inmates are about to be released. But while Mubarak has held up a dim light of hope at the end of a very long tunnel for these alleged "perverts" sentenced last November to hard labour, it must not be forgotten that there is still little hope for many other gay men in prison. We know the names and some of the circumstances of arrest of just a few of these people. These names are given in the 22 May article below and the circumstances of arrest can be read about in the gay news section of this website. MUBARAK REFERS PAPERS OF THE QUEEN BOAT DEFENDANTS BACK TO THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR. RETRIAL LIKELY BUT SHOCK AS TWENTY NINE ACQUITTED ALSO FACE A RETRIAL xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxOTHER NEWS Posted 23 May 2002 President Mubarak has bowed in part to international pressure over the notorious Queen Boat case and ordered the papers of all but two of the men, including all those acquitted, back to the Prosecutor's office, meaning that a retrial is likely. Last year, the men had been arrayed before a state security court for alleged "sexual perversion". However, the two so called ring leaders, Sherif Farahat and Mahmoud Ahmed Allam, are exempted from the order. We say: Mubarak is deceiving himself, if he thinks the international gay community will be willing to forget these two men or others recently sentenced to hard labour prison sentences by other courts. Neither should should he expect that retrying those acquitted as well as those found "guilty", will win Mubarak any international approval. Background: It was in November last year that the twenty three "gay" men, now given the opportunity of a retrial, were convicted, without any right of appeal, and sentenced to hard labour prison sentences merely on the grounds of their alleged sexual orientation. Twenty nine men, judged not to have engaged in "degenerate sex", were released, but they too now face the prospect of having their private lifes again debated in public by an Egyptian court and a vindictive media. Last year's trial followed a police raid in May 2001 when fifty two gay men were arrested in or near to a floating discotheque, the Queen Boat, moored on the Nile in Cairo's upmarket Zamalek district. The arrests and subsequent reports of torture attracted worldwide attention. However, while a retrial of the twenty three sentenced to hard labour is welcome news, the fact that the twenty nine who were found to be "not guilty" may have to undergo a second trial for so called "sex crimes" is an outrage. They already face an uncertain future after their names and places of employment were published in Egypt's national press, even before the trial had begun. Now, they face the prospect of retrial before a media circus and possible imprisonment all over again. But, fortunately, atleast two of those originally arrested is now beyond the reach of Egypt's authoritarian regime and is now safely in a European country where they are seeking asylum. It is also possible others have also left the country since they were acquitted. WE MUSN'T FORGET ATLEAST NINE OTHERS STILL SERVING HARD LABOUR SENTENCES ! While GayEgypt.com hopes and expects that all the fifty men from the Queen Boat being retried will be acquitted, we will not be persuaded into forgetting nine others who also remain in squalid overcrowded violent and homophobic prisons, undergoing hard labour for their alleged "sexual orientation" or beliefs, and without any immediate hope of release. Unfortunately they may only be the tip of the iceberg as it is likely that hundreds more, whose identities we don't know, remain incarcerated or missing. Unconfirmed rumours of disappearances and arrests swept Cairo last year but fear of retribution may have prevented families or friends contacting international organizations. GayEgypt.com, and no doubt other gay groups, would be prepared to suspend our boycott campaign if the following five conditions were met by the Egyptian government. 1. The unconditional acquittal of all those arrested at the Queen Boat discotheque last year, including the release of Farahat and Allam who we consider to be victims of injustice, just as much as the others. 2. The unconditional acquittal of Zaki M, arrested for placing a personal advert on this website on 7 February this year, and sentenced to three years hard labour. 3. The unconditional acquittal of two students, Sherif A and Islam A, who received prison sentences of three years and one year respectively on 5 December 2001, after being lured in an internet chatroom by undercover police to a rendezvous in a shopping mall opposite the Ramses Hilton. 4. The unconditional acquittal of all the Boulak Four, Rami S, Sherif H, Sherif A and Mohammed S, arrested on November 10 last year and sentenced on 3 February to three years hard labour each. 5. A vigorous, sincere and real attempt by the government to halt it's ongoing campaign of intimidation, harassment and torture of gay men. We are not unrealistic in expecting immediate equality or the overnight mushrooming of gay discos or night scene reminiscent of Amsterdam or San Francisco. What we are asking for is for gay men and lesbian women to be allowed to live free of fear of arrest, intimidation and torture. We would then be willing to suspend our boycott campaign in the hope that there would be a real, if gradual, shift to a more open and free society for Egypt's gay community. EGYPTIAN AMBASSADOR - "NO DISCRIMINATION AGAINST GAYS IN EGYPT" Posted 22 May 2002 In an amazing statement the Egyptian Ambassador to the United States, Nabil Fahmy, has declared that there is "no discrimination against gays in Egypt." Responding to a letter sent by forty congressmen protesting at the wave of arrests of gay men since May last year, Fahmy declared that the men "were convicted essentially under a law which penalizes promiscuity/prostitution" and "that there is no distinction or discrimination based on a person's sexual orientation." So, could he explain why 29 gay men who had been arrested at Cairo's Queen Boat discotheque had been given hard labour sentences based on the evidence of forced medical examinations while thousands of men enjoy nights out at "heterosexual hang-outs" on Cairo's Pyramids Road, some of them renown as pick-up points for prostitutes, without any fear of arrest or prosecution ? No, he couldn't. Well, could he explain why gay men were being routinely tortured by police and state security forces ? Why, a fifteen year old boy, suspected of gay sex, had been beaten on his feet with a falaka so that he could hardly walk ? No, he couldn't. Could he explain why the government controlled newspapers had continuously denounced gay men as "perverts" and "degenerates" and published the names and employment details of all those arrested ? No, he couldn't. House Democrat Barney Frank was outraged by the response. "Egyptian authorities are applying this law virtually exclusively against adult gay men who are doing no harm to others, and this shows that a clear and active anti-gay policy exists in Egypt." The forty congressmen have since written again to the ambassador in words that only thinly disguise their contempt. "your selective invocation of certain human rights conventions when it suits your purposes, and your ignoring of others when they don't, is unpersuasive." What's your response ? Why not ring the Egyptian Embassy in Washington DC on (202) 895 5400 ! EGYPTIAN GAY RIGHTS ACTIVIST RECEIVES HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD [ Posted 3 May 2002 ] Writer and gay activist Maher Sabry, who risked arrest many times in the past year to report on the mistreatment of gay prisoners by Egyptian police, is to receive a human rights award next Wednesday in San Francisco. Just over a year ago, on the night of 10-11 May, hundreds of police officers surrounded the Queen Boat floating discotheque on the Nile in Cairo, which was hosting a gay night out. Over fifty men were detained, of whom 23 received lengthy prison sentences with hard labour when judgement was passed by a state security court in November. But this was not the end of Egypt's gay witch-hunt, as many arrests followed subsequently. It was Sabry who informed GayEgypt.com of the Queen Boat raid the next day by email and it was Sabry who remained in the country throughtout the trial to report on the daily court proceedings and continued to gather information about police activities against gay men until he left Egypt early this year. HOW HE WROTE UNDER DIFFERENT NAMES TO ESCAPE ARREST When he began writing reports for GayEgypt.com and the international media he took up the pen name "Horus" but on several occasions GayEgypt.com had to invent new fictitious names for him in order to minimize the very serious risk that he might be arrested. We even had to claim falsely that others had taken the "risks" which he had taken as Egyptian police constantly monitor our website. Below we reprint a short piece where he reported on the plight of a fifteen year old awaiting sentence for having allegedly had sex for money in Cairo. Although it was actually Sabry who lent the boy his mobile phone in court we could not say this in the article. Happily the boy, although sentenced to hard labour, was finally freed on appeal in December. Sabry's moving reports helped to outrage world opinion. "While the juveniles were in the ‘cage’, many of the mothers surrounded it and talked to their children. This encouraged me to come closer and look for Mahmoud. Standing there I heard one of them telling his mother that there was very little food and that each two share one meal! I couldn’t know who was Mahmoud among the children so I called his name and he answered. While all of the children were chained to each other with handcuffs he was the only one chained alone to the bars of the cage. I was able to ask him if he needed anything to which he replied “I want to go home.”, then burst into tears. It was a very depressing scene. When he calmed a little bit, I asked him about the treatment inside the Institute of Correction. He said that the treatment was "very bad" but that he was only beaten at the beginning during the interrogations. I asked him how. He said that they beat him on the soles of his feet with a “Falaka.” [a thick stick which is usually used for punishment and torture after the victim has been tied down.] His tears were falling while he was looking at the other children’s mothers as none of his family had come. An Egyptian journalist offered him his mobile to call someone but just after he dialed the number, a guard noticed, went into the cage and took the mobile. The journalist after presenting his credentials and mitigating the transgression with a little baksheesh was able to retrieve his phone but it was little consolation for Mahmoud for whom the last opportunity to contact friends and family had gone." Finally, below is yesterday's [ 2 May 2002 ] Press Release of The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Committee regarding the upcoming award ceremony this wednesday. Press Release - International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Committee. ACTIVISTS FROM COLOMBIA, EGYPT & CHINA TO RECEIVE HUMAN RIGHTS AWARDS Awardees to Participate in Four Separate Events in SF & NY For Immediate Release: May 2, 2002 SAN FRANCISCO - The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) is honoring outstanding activists at its annual Felipa Awards ceremony in San Francisco on May 8 and at a reception in New York on May 13. The awardees will also participate in panel discussions in both cities (May 10 in San Francisco and May 14 in New York). See details for all events at the bottom. Coming to these events are the following awardees: o Marta Lucía Tamayo Rincón (Colombia), representing herself as well as Marta Lucía Álvarez Giraldo, and Alba Nelly Montoya o Maher Sabry (Egypt) o Cui Zi En (China) A posthumous award will honor the life and work of Brazilian lesbian activist Elizabeth Calvet. "We are getting ready to receive three outstanding individuals, who have worked tirelessly against discrimination based on sexual orientation or expression, gender identity or expression, or HIV status," stated Surina Khan, IGLHRC's Executive Director. "Their visit to the US represents a unique opportunity for all of us to get informed about the real issues that affect LGBT people in Colombia, Egypt, and China." Ms. Álvarez' demand for same-sex conjugal visitation rights in prison became the first complaint of discrimination based on sexual orientation ever to be acknowledged by the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights. While this groundbreaking case remains open, Ms. Montoya has already scored an important legal victory in a parallel case heard by the Colombian Supreme Court. Neither case would have been possible without the legal representation and perseverance of Ms. Tamayo, who will be present to accept the award. Mr. Sabry wrote and directed the first play publicly presented in Egypt that addressed male and female homosexuality openly. Last year, as the arrests of suspected homosexuals intensified, Mr. Sabry helped persuade a local human rights organization to represent some of the arrested men while at the same time bringing ever-mounting cases of persecution to the attention of IGLHRC and the international human rights community. Mr. Cui has brought issues of same-sex love into Chinese culture and public awareness, with a prolific crop of critically acclaimed articles, lectures, books, and films, including the first gay novel in modern China. Despite being banned in mainland China, the novel is still available through unofficial channels. For additional background information, please go to http://www.iglhrc.org/felipa/index.html Details for Main Felipa 2002 Related Events Felipa 2002 Award Ceremony (SF) Wednesday May 8, 2002, 6-9 PM Where: Brava! for Women in the Arts, 2781 24th St., San Francisco Details: Marga Gomez will emcee the program, which begins promptly at 7:00 PM, and wine and hors d'oeuvres will be served. The location is wheelchair accessible. ASL interpretation will be available. Tickets: Tickets to either event are $100, and may be obtained by contacting IGLHRC's San Francisco office by telephone (415-255-8680), by e-mail (kevin@iglhrc.org), or at http://www.iglhrc.org/felipa/2002_rsvp_printable.html. Reservations are encouraged as space is limited, but tickets may still be available the day of the event. Situations: A Panel Discussion with Recipients of Felipa 2002 Awards (SF) Friday, May 10, 2002, 6-8 PM Where: The Ceremonial Room of the SF LGBT Community Center, 1800 Market Street, San Francisco Details: Surina Khan will moderate panel. Panel is co-presented with The Center for the Study of Sexual Culture at U. C. Berkeley. The location is wheelchair accessible. ASL interpretation will be available. Co-Sponsors include: the Asian/Pacific Islander Wellness Center, Ellas en Accion, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, National Center for Lesbian Rights, and Trikone. Panel is free of charge. Felipa 2002 Award Reception (NY) Monday May 13, 2002, 7-9 PM Where: The Art Club, 100 Reade St., New York Details: The location is wheelchair accessible. Tickets: Tickets to either event are $100, and may be obtained by contacting IGLHRC's San Francisco office by telephone (415-255-8680), by e-mail (kevin@iglhrc.org), or at http://www.iglhrc.org/felipa/2002_rsvp_printable.html. Reservations are encouraged as space is limited, but tickets may still be available the day of the event. Situations: A Panel Discussion with Recipients of Felipa 2002 Awards (NY) Friday, May 14, 2002, 6-8 PM Where: The New York LGBT Community Center, 208 West 13th Street, New York Details: Surina Khan will moderate panel. Contact the LGBT Community Center regarding wheelchair accessibility. Co-Sponsors include: Al-Fatiha NYC, the Astraea Foundation, the Audre Lorde Project, Gay Asian & Pacific Islander Men of New York (GAPIMNY), the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), the New York City Anti-Violence Project, and Project Reach. Panel is free of charge. ### The mission of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) is to secure the full enjoyment of the human rights of all people and communities subject to discrimination or abuse on the basis of sexual orientation or expression, gender identity or expression, and/or HIV status. A US-based non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO), IGLHRC effects this mission through advocacy, documentation, coalition building, public education, and technical assistance. |