Egyptians Face Trial on Gay Sex Charges
CAIRO -- Fifty-two Egyptian men will stand trial on charges of having gay sex on a floating nightclub on the River Nile in Cairo.
The case has drawn the attention of human rights watchdog Amnesty International which said three weeks ago it was "gravely concerned" about it.
Attorney general Maher Abdel Wahid referred the 52 men to a state security court, whose verdicts cannot be appealed, but a date for the trial to begin has not been set.
The two main defendants stand accused of "exploiting the Islamic religion to spread extremist ideas" as well as practicing gay sex "as part of the group's rituals in front of the remaining defendants and others with the aim of insulting the heavenly religions and sparking civil strife."
The remaining 50 defendants are charged with "practicing debauchery with men," which is interpreted as engaging in homosexual practices in Egypt where Islam is the majority religion and gay sex is illegal.
The Egyptian press has dubbed it the case of a "devil-worshipping" cult, but the group has not been specifically charged with membership in a religious cult.
Though the authorities mentioned "rituals," they did not disclose what they were.
The men have been in prison since their arrests during a police raid on a Nile boat in the early hours of May 11 and have allegedly been subjected to "torture or ill-treatment," according to allegations raised by Amnesty.
"Amnesty International believes that the majority, if not all, of these men are detained purely on the grounds of their alleged sexual orientation," the organization said in a statement earlier this month.
"If people are detained solely on account of their sexual orientation, Amnesty International would consider them prisoners of conscience and call for their immediate and unconditional release," it added.
The group of young people was taken into custody from the Queen Boat nightclub moored on the Nile in the wealthy Zamalek district.
© 2001 Agence France-Presse. All rights reserved.
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