Egypt bans foreign student for being gay

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Egypt_bans_foreign_student_for_being_gayAn Egyptian court has backed a government decision to bar a Libyan from studying in the country because of his sexuality.

The Interior Ministry had banned the un-named gay man in 2008 from returning to Egypt to resume his studies at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport.

An official told AP that the court ruled against his appeal and agreed that the ministry has the right to ban foreign individuals to protect the public interest and religious and social values.

While homosexuality is not specifically outlawed in Egypt, LGBT people are often targeted through immorality or public indecency laws.

Over the last year the Egyptian authorities have been conducting a widespread crackdown against the LGBT community, including using social media and dating apps to entrap and arrest people.

In March, it was reported that the authorities created fake social media pages to lure seven people to a Cairo nightclub, where they were arrested for “gay debauchery”.

Police have also conducted a number of raids on bathhouses in order to arrest men believed to be engaging in gay sex.

In November last year, eight men who appeared in an apparent gay wedding video were jailed for three years. Their sentence was later reduced to one year by an appeals court.

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