Egypt acquits 26 men held over bath house 'orgy'

An Egyptian court on Monday acquitted 26 men accused of "debauchery" after they were arrested in a night-time raid on a Cairo bathhouse that triggered international concern.

The men were arrested on 7 December in the raid on a hammam in the Azbakeya district of Cairo, amid fears of a widening police crackdown on homosexuals in Egypt.

Homosexuality is not specifically illegal in Egypt but discrimination is rife. Gay men regularly face arrest and are charged with debauchery, immorality or blasphemy.

Egyptian lawyers said on Twitter that Monday’s decision had less to do with changing attitudes towards homosexuality and was more about the case having received international attention from rights groups.

Journalists in the courtroom on Monday said the defendants were “forced to make [a] humiliating entrance, handcuffed together and desperately trying to cover their faces.”

Lawyers for the men said “at least one of the 26” had been raped while in the custody of Cairo police.

The 26 men were originally arrested after a television presenter reported the Cairo bathhouse to police. Mona Iraqi, from the al-Qahira Wal Nas channel, broadcast her “investigation into the spread of AIDS in Egypt” that led to the arrests and which has been the subject of criticism by commentators.

There were scenes of jubilation in the courtroom on Monday as the innocent verdict was announced by a judge.

Members of Egypt’s gay community have said they live in “constant fear” of being arrested, amid a heightening crackdown that has seen 150 “suspected homosexuals” arrested since November.

“I’m always looking over my shoulder now and constantly live in fear,” Mohamed, 32, told Index on Censorship. “Now that the media is aligned with the police, we are at serious risk of public defamation and loss of dignity.

“What is even sadder is that few Egyptians are denouncing the arrests of gays as some media are telling the public that homosexuality is a disease that will destroy public morality and hence, it is necessary to rid the society of the scourge.”