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 for Men Accused as Gays George W. Bush Ignores their Plight in Talks with Mubarak Same-Sex Lovers on the Nile See Increase of Vicious Brutality |
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Compiled by GayToday Courtesy of IGLHRC
On January 20, 2002, the opposition newspaper Al-Wafd reported the arrest of a "network of perverts" in Damanhour, the capital of Al-Beheira province, southwest of Alexandria. The newspaper said that eight men had been jailed after police "stormed the apartment" and found the eight defendants "in debauched positions." It also stated that some of the defendants "were wearing gowns and makeup." IGLHRC has now learned that the accused were arrested on January 15, under a warrant issued January 11. While eight men may initially have been jailed, only five are now on trial; others may have bribed their way out of the case. The case file (Damanhour Court of Misdemeanors, no. 2190/2002) claims that Major Amir Nigm and Captain Hossam Abdou of the Damanhour police arrested four other men in the apartment of the first defendant. The defendants are (no surnames released): 1.Yasser Ahmed F. 2. Mansour Hassan M. 3. Ali Rizq M. 4. Mohamed Ahmed H. 5. Samir Mahmoud A. The defendants and the lawyer representing Yasser F., however, tell a different story from the case file's. According to them, only Yasser and one other defendant were arrested at the apartment; another was seized at his own home while two were picked up from the street. They say that three other men were initially arrested as well, along with two women. The defendants say their arrest was part of a police sweep for "perverts" in the wake of a murder case. After a retired army officer was murdered, an autopsy showed he had been "used"--i.e., had been a passive partner in anal sex. Police found Yasser F.'s number in the man's address book; Yasser was arrested, and others were brought into the case on the same grounds or on other pretexts. (A distorted version of this found its way into the Al-Wafd account, which claimed that police seized "an address book containing the names and addresses of a large number of perverts" in Yasser F.'s apartment.) The five other detainees were released with no charge; only those listed above remained in detention. However, no one was accused of implication in the murder. The killing became an excuse for police to pursue charges of "debauchery." The defendants say they were held for the first four days after their arrest at the Damanhour Police Station Number One lockup. At least two defendants were tortured with electrical shocks there. On the fifth day they were taken to the Beheira Security Directorate, where officers beat them harshly. On the sixth day, they appeared before the Damanhour public prosecutor Yaseen Zaghloul; defendants say they were also beaten there. At the March 4 session, one junior prosecutor informally stated that he was sorry he personally had not been assigned to interrogate the defendants. However, he boasted that, at the January hearing, he had all the men brought to his office, where he ordered them to chant in unison: "We are faggots [khawalat]. We are whores. We like to be fucked." Under pressure of repeated beatings, all the defendants confessed to having had sex with different men on different occasions--one legal definition of the "habitual practice of debauchery," with which they were charged under Article 9c of Law 10/1961 on the Combatting of Prostitution. This is the same provision under which the "Cairo 52" and subsequent arrestees were jailed. In addition the men were charged with operating a house for the purpose of debauchery, under Articles 8 and 10 of the same law. Only Yasser F. was directly interrogated; the others signed interrogation forms which they were not allowed to read. No defense counsel was allowed to attend. The Public Prosecutor ordered them detained for 4 more days, then after that for an additional 45. The five were referred for a forensic medical examination, which found they had been "used." After the first hearing before the Public Prosecutor, the five were moved to the Damanhour Prison. On their first day there, two prison officials and 10 guards entered their cell. Each defendant was beaten harshly by two guards under the supervision and instruction of the officials. (Called the "reception party," this practice has been documented by local human rights groups as a widespread practice in Egyptian prison). The defendants were then separated and kept in solitary confinement until a date was assigned for their trial. Prison officials denied their requests to be kept together in one cell. One difficulty faced by pre-trial detainees in Egypt is obtaining legal representation: only the detainee himself or immediate family can sign documents authorizing representation, a right denied to NGOs, friends, and others.
Officials closed the January 26 hearing at which the defendants' detention was extended for 45 days. The attorney was barred from attending, and a prosecutor told him, "I have orders to be extra careful in this particular case." In the meantime, a sensational press campaign began, mirroring the vilification of the "Cairo 52" defendants. On January 28, the national paper Al-Osboa published what purported to be the "Beheira Perverts Organization Ringleader's Confession," recounting how he and his confederates "plotted ways and means which would lead us to our fellow-perverts." The article included initials, ages, and employment details of most of the accused. The March 4 hearing in this case was held in advance of the 45 days previously scheduled. The presiding judge, Mohamed Moktar, may have moved the date forward to interfere with the defence. A new hearing will be held on Monday, March 11. For more information on the links between human rights abuses and US/European aid, see IGLHRC's February 7, 2002 alert, Egypt: New Convictions in Cairo: US and Europe Bankroll Brutality Abroad, at http://www.iglhrc.org/world/africa/Egypt2002Feb.html. ACTION A sample letter for Egyptian officials, and another for European and US officials, can be found below. Send e-mail messages to: EGYPTIAN GOVERNMENT: His Excellency, President Mohammad Hosni Mubarak E-mail: webmaster@presidency.gov.eg His Excellency, Counsellor Farouk Seif Al Nasr Minister of Justice E-mail: mojeb@idsc1.gov.eg
E-mail: minexter@idscl.gov.eg or ForMin@idsc.gov.eg Note: These addresses may be shut down in response to mass e-mails. If so, try resending the message in a few days. EUROPEAN UNION: Mr. Romano Prodi President of the European Commission E-mail: romano.prodi@cec.eu.int Mr. Christopher Patten Member of the European Commission, External Relations E-mail: christopher.patten@cec.eu.int Herr Elmar Brok, Chairman, European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security, and Defense Policy (Germany) E-mail: ebrok@europarl.eu.int Mr Geoffrey Van Orden, Vice-Chairman, European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security, and Defense Policy (United Kingdom) E-mail: gvanorden@europarl.eu.int FRANCE: M. Jacques Chirac, President of the French Republic Go to http://www.elysee.fr/ecrire/mail.htm and paste your message into the box M. Lionel Jospin, Prime Minister Go to http://www.premier-ministre.gouv.fr/PM/MAIL.HTM and paste your message into the box M. Hubert Vedrine, Minister of Foreign Affairs hubert.vedrine@diplomatie.fr GERMANY: Herr Gerhard Schroeder, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany E-mail: posteingang@bundesregierung.de , gerhard.schroeder@spd.de Herr Joschka Fischer, Minister of Foreign Affairs E-mail: poststelle@auswaertiges-amt.de UNITED KINGDOM: Rt. Hon. Jack Straw, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs E-mail: strawj@parliament.uk Or go to http://www.fco.gov.uk/feedback.asp and paste your message into the box UNITED STATES: Mr. George W. Bush, President of the United States E-mail: president@whitehouse.gov Mr. Colin Powell, Secretary of State E-mail: secretary@state.gov SAMPLE LETTERS TO EGYPTIAN OFFICIALS: Your excellency: I am shocked by the continuing persecution of people suspected of consensual homosexual behavior in Egypt. In Damanhour in Al-Beheira governorate, at least eight persons were arrested in January for alleged homosexual behavior. The trial of five of them opened on March 4. There is credible evidence that the men have been subjected to brutal torture through beatings and electroshock during almost two months in jail. Their confessions were clearly forced. They must be released immediately, and this prosecution called to a halt. I am shocked by other reports of police raids on private residences. I am also shocked by reports that police entrap men through the Internet. These abuses must stop. Your government has recently allowed a new trial for Saad Eddin Ibrahim, who was imprisoned for the exercise of his political and civil rights. You should see that he is pardoned immediately--and that the 23 men convicted of homosexual acts on November 14, 2001, who were tried by the same repressive courts, are similarly freed. You should also ensure that all persons now imprisoned or facing trial under Article 9(c) of Law 10/1961 are immediately freed, and that this repressive law is repealed. TO EUROPEAN AND US OFFICIALS: (Please remove last two sentences before pasting into the UK Foreign Office web page text box, to fit character limits) Dear . . . I am shocked that Europe and the United States continue to lavish aid on the government of Egypt despite its repressive policies. Egypt regularly tortures and imprisons men for consensual homosexual behavior. On March 4, while President Mubarak visited the U.S., five men faced a judge in Damanhour, Egypt. They told stories of torture by beatings and electroshock, during almost two months they have spent in jail for alleged homosexual conduct. The persecution of homosexuals is of a piece with the persecution of other groups in Egypt, including non-violent Muslim activists who are jailed and tortured under repressive legislation which conflates dissent with "terrorism." Democracies discredit themselves by turning a blind eye to violence and abuse. I am outraged that President Mubarak receives the praise of Western leaders on the same day that another repressive trial begins. Please strongly condemn Egypt's brutal persecution of homosexual conduct, as well as its suppression of other forms of dissent. Please see that your support for so-called allies worldwide, whoever they may be, is firmly tied to an examination of their human rights records. Human rights must not be detached from a humane foreign policy. |
