Prosecution to appeal Cairo “gay” bathhouse acquittal
Families of the accused express their joy at their acquittal on Monday
Egyptian prosecutors say they will appeal Monday’s surprise aquittal of 26 men who were arrested in a raid on an alleged gay bathhouse in Cairo on 7 December.
The judge said that there was insufficient evidence to convict the group on charges of debauchery and committing “indecent public acts.”
They were humiliated on national television after they were shown being herded into police trucks during the raid and were later reported to have been subjected to anal exams.
The verdict was described as a rare victory for Egypt’s LGBT community, even though the accused denied that they were gay or had engaged in gay sex.
According to Aswat Masriya, however, the men’s ordeal may not be over as prosecutors in the Azbakeya district of Cairo have decided to appeal the court ruling.
The men will remain free pending the outcome of the appeal.
Human Rights Watch urged the prosecution to “promptly withdraw its appeal” and called for the Egyptian authorities to “immediately stop detaining men suspected of homosexual conduct under vague charges of ‘debauchery.'”
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