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FIFTY QUEEN BOAT CUSTOMERS FACE RETRIAL. THOSE FOUND "INNOCENT" AS WELL AS THOSE FOUND "GUILTY". Posted 24 June 2002. Fifty of the fifty two men originally sent to trial last year are to stand trial again. Twenty seven of them were found "not guilty" of moral depravity last November by a state security court. But they too must now face a new trial ! The trial date has been set for Tuesday 2nd July at the Qasr El Nil Court in downtown Cairo. Mubarak has made no announcement regarding two others, including the alleged "gay ringleader" Farahat, who were both found guilty of "perverting religion", at what amounted to a farcical show trial last year. Farahat was even shown in a clearly doctored propoganda photograph as wearing an Israeli military helmet while police and court procedures ran roughshod over any pretense of real justice. And, of course, why should any private consensual sexual behaviour between adults be punished with torture and hard labour ? It is in absolute outrage that any civilized nation should in good conscience continue to do business with this government. But western nations not only continue with "normal relations," but pour millions in EU aid and US military aid to prop up Mubarak's corrupt and barbaric regime. Meanwhile Mubarak happily defies international pressure from human rights groups to halt his anti-gay witch-hunt. They have appealed to him to release all twenty three of those sentenced to hard labour sentences and not to retry the twenty nine found "innocent" who have already undergone months of beatings and abuse in prison while awaiting trial last year. All the men had been arrested in May. They were victims of a police raid on the Queen Boat, a floating discotheque popular with Cairo's gay community. For detailed information on how to protest this decision please consult www.iglhrc.org - the website of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Committee. We hope to update you further shortly. Quotation of the month: Yellabina.com on the Queen Boat. "It looks like the sort of dull location that would suit an unimaginative wedding celebration. But then looks can be deceiving...." ******************************************************** TRUE OR FALSE ? GOOD NEWS FOR EGYPTIAN SEX WORKERS Following complaints by Egyptian sex workers of favouritism shown by police towards foreign prostitutes and of unfair competition, Egypt's police arrested ninety of their alleged competitors. A spokesperson said that the foreign prostitutes were charging outrageous amounts and using privileges of easy access to foreign hotels to monopolize the sex market in Sinai. The BBC's factual interpretation of the event was somewhat more reserved. From BBC - their site can be accessed via www.bbc.co.uk Egypt deports 'East European prostitutes' 27 June 2002 Police in Egypt say they have deported more than ninety foreigners suspected of involvement in prostitution. Most of the deportees are believed to be women from eastern Europe. They were arrested earlier this week in the Sinai resorts of Taba and Sharm el-Sheikh. Some of those deported were said to have been arrested as they were trying to cross illegally into Israel. *********************************************************** EGYPT CONTINUES TO ARREST AND TORTURE GAY MEN FIRST REPORTS OF NEW CLAMPDOWN CAME THREE WEEKS AGO. Posted 22 June 2002 A nineteen year old student in Cairo has been sentenced to three years in prison after being arrested in an entrapment operation and enduring torture and an enforced anal examination which failed to provide any evidence of penetration. He had tragically assumed his correspondent on the www.gay.com chat site to be a genuine fellow gay Egyptian. He turned out to be one of Egypt's growing band of rutheless "cyber cops." The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Committee who broke the latest news, declared "[The student's] case is part of a growing pattern of Internet surveillance and entrapment in Egypt. And it puts the lie to Egypt's recent public promises of leniency." Three weeks ago, just as the good news of the release of the twenty one Queen Boat prisoners was being received with jubilation, and expectations of a possible end to the recent anti-gay witch-hunt mounted, GayEgypt.com and other organizations were receiving emails from an unknown source, claiming that several gay men, atleast two of them students, had been arrested after an entrapment operation on the gay.com chat site and that they had been taken to Qasr El Nil police station in Cairo. We did not publish the report at the time, because all though we felt it was probably genuine, we were not absolutely certain it was true and there was always the possibility it was an attempt by the police to spread false rumours simply to heighten the climate of fear. However it is no evident that the police were not so generous to the gay community as to rely on using rumour alone. GayEgypt.com informed both gay.com and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Committee and we then hoped the news would turn out to be false. However, it now seems that atleast one man and most likely others too, were arrested last month after a new entrapment operation. However, it is our hope the gay.com continues to host it's chat site. It's our belief that closing this chat page will only encourage the Egyptian police to target other chat pages and other personals pages in order to isolate Egypt's gay community from the internet. The fact is that however ugly a tool the internet is in the hands of the police, they can do little to control the growth of Cairo's gay community without cutting surfers off from such chat and personals pages altogether. We sincerely hope that gay.com is not intimidated into closing down it's chat page. That would only encourage the police to initiate new arrests through other sites. Here follows key sections of the latest action alert posted on 18 June by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Committee. EGYPT/ USA/EU ACTION ALERT June 18, 2002 New Conviction in Cairo: Letters Needed Before June 26 Appeal! SUMMARY On May 19, 2002, A.M.S., a 19 year-old Egyptian student, was arrested by the Vice Squad as he stood on a Cairo street. He had allegedly arranged a face-to-face encounter with a man he had met on the Internet--a man who was either a police officer or an informer. A.M.S. was charged with homosexual conduct, tortured, and subjected to abusive medical tests; his case was railroaded through the courts. On June 8, he was sentenced to 3 years in prison for the "crime" of a cyberspace conversation. An appeal in this young man's case will be heard on June 26. A.M.S.'s case is part of a growing pattern of Internet surveillance and entrapment in Egypt. And it puts the lie to Egypt's recent public promises of leniency. Only three days after this arrest, President Mubarak sent 50 verdicts in last year's "Cairo 52" case back to prosecutors for a possible retrial. But new jailings continue--and the latest case shows that the Egyptian criminal justice system offers small hope of mercy. The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) urges IMMEDIATE letters to Egyptian, U.S., and European officials condemning the continuing arrests. Demand freedom for A.M.S, for all the "Cairo 52," and for all others imprisoned for consensual homosexual conduct in Egypt. The "Cairo 52" were first jailed thirteen months ago. A year of arrests has scarred bodies, minds, and Egypt's reputation. The persecution must stop! ACTION Act NOW--BEFORE June 26--to free A.M.S. by sending URGENT protests to Egyptian as well as U.S. and European officials. A. CONTACT EGYPTIAN OFFICIALS Send the sample e-mail found below to: 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@idsc2.gov.eg Mr Ahmed Maher Al-Sayad, Minister of Foreign Affairs E-mail: ForMin@idsc.gov.eg And write or call Egypt's Embassies abroad. If your country is not in the list below, go to http://www.mfa.gov.eg/missions_a.asp?id=0505 to find contact information. AUSTRALIA Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt Tel: (62) 273-4437/8 Fax: (612)62734279 BRAZIL Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt Tel.: (5561) 323 8800 Fax: (5561) 323 1039 E-mail: embegypt@tba.com.br CANADA Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt Tel: (613) 234-4931 / 35/58 Fax: (613)234-9347 E-mail: egyptemb@sympatico.ca FRANCE Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt Tel: (33) (1) 47 20 97 70 / 47 20 75 97 Fax: (33) (1) 47230643 TELEX 645297 E-mail: boustane.paris@free.fr GERMANY Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt Tel.: (4930)4771048 - 4771250 Fax: (4930)4771049 E-mail: Egembassy@hotmail.com INDIA Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt Tel.: (9111) 6114096- 6114097 Fax: (9111) 6885355 E-mail: egyembindia@vsnl.com SOUTH AFRICA Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt Tel.: (2712)3431590/3431591 Fax: (2712)3431082 TURKEY Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt Tel.: (90312)4684647/4261026/4266478 Fax: (90312)4270099 E-mail: egankara@yahoo.com UNITED KINGDOM Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt Tel: (44) 020 7499-2401, 020 7499-3304 Fax: (44) 020 7355-3568 / 491-154 E-mail: etembuk@hotmail.com UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt Fax: 202 244 4319 E-mail: Egypt-embassy@usa.net Click here for a sample letter to Egyptian officials. B. CONTACT U.S. OFFICIALS: Call the President of the United States: Please CALL the White House switchboard at +1 202-456-1414. Ask President Bush to criticize this case of entrapment, and the continuing persecution of suspected homosexuals in Egypt. Make the points found in the sample letter below. A call is the most effective way to get your point across to the White House: operators use them to gauge public opinion. However, you can also send a fax (modelled on the sample letter below) to President Bush at +1 202-456-2461; or (least effectively) send an e-mail to president@whitehouse.gov. Write the Secretary of State: Please also send an e-mail to Secretary of State Colin Powell at secretary@state.gov. A sample letter is below. C. CONTACT EUROPEAN OFFICIALS: Write to the following officials of the European Union and its member states. Send the sample e-mail found below. 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. Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Prime Minister Go to http://www.premier-ministre.gouv.fr/PM/MAIL.HTM and paste your message into the box 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 Click here for a sample letter to U.S. and European officials. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SAMPLE LETTERS TO EGYPTIAN OFFICIALS: Your Excellency: I am deeply shocked by news that a 19-year-old man, A.M.S., was arrested for his alleged homosexuality in Qasr-al-Nil, Cairo, on May 19, 2002. A.M.S. wasaccused of arranging a meeting with a man he allegedly had chatted with over the Internet--a man who was either an undercover policeman or an informer. On June 8, in the Abdeen Court of Misdemeanors, A.M.S. was sentenced to 3 years in prison under Law 10/1961. His appeal will be heard on June 26. His case is proof that the persecution of suspected homosexuals in Egypt continues. I urge you to use your power to see that he is freed. I am equally shocked by your government's decision to cancel the verdicts against 50 of the 52 defendants who were arrested on or around the "Queen Boat" discotheque in May, 2001. I am shocked because the decision leaves open the possibility that prosecutors may subject all 50--those found innocent as well as those found guilty--to new trials. Such trials would only redouble the injustices already inflicted on these men. I am further shocked that this decision confirmed the verdicts against two of the defendants who were found guilty of "contempt of religion." The use of this law in Egypt against people exercising basic freedoms of assembly and expression, as well as the fundamental liberty of conscience and belief, has been condemned by the world community. I call on you urgently to ensure that A.M.S. is freed at his June 26 appeal. Ensure that all persons now imprisoned or facing trial under Article 9(c) of Law 10/1961 are immediately released, and that this repressive law is repealed. End the persecution of people for the exercise of their freedom of conscience and belief. Stop the persecution of people for consensual homosexual conduct--of which the disturbing arrest of A.M.S. is only the most recent example. Only by these means can you remove a serious blot on Egypt's human rights record. Sincerely, BACKGROUND: THE FACTS OF THE CASE A.M.S. is 19 years old and a university student in Cairo. He missed his exams in May and June of this year: he was in prison. In mid-May 2002, A.M.S. allegedly entered a private chat with someone through in a chatroom on www.gay.com. The contact allegedly suggested a meeting at a location on a street on May 19. There, A.M.S. was apparently arrested by a police officer from the Department for Eradicating Crimes Against Public Morality (the "Vice Squad") at the Interior Ministry. A.M.S.'s case is not unique: it rather represents a spreading crackdown on the Internet by Egyptian authorities. A web designer who posted a poem critical of the government on his site, and a student who spread rumors about a murderer by e-mail, have recently been arrested and tried. However, suspected homosexuals have been special targets (see, for instance, IGLHRC's January 3, 2002 Action Alert, "Act Now Against Internet Entrapment And Renewed Persecution" at http://www.iglhrc.org/world/africa/Egypt2002Jan.html). Internet surveillance in Egypt is reportedly decentralized, with each division of the police given its own equipment and its own latitude to seek offenders. The Vice Squad has made particular use of the technology. In May 2002, General Abdel-Wahab el-Adly, head of the Vice Squad, told the Associated Press that police have made at least 19 arrests of suspected homosexuals through Internet entrapment, placing ads or entering chatrooms on gay sites. "It was great arresting them," he added. (Nadia Abou El-Magd, " Cyberspace-Scouring Cops Accused of Suppressing Online Expression," Associated Press, May 16). After his arrest, A.M.S. was immediately taken to the Vice Squad headquarters in the Tahrir Administrative Compound. There, he signed a confession to having been a passive partner in anal sex with several men over a three-year period. Reportedly, when he initially refused to sign the confession he was beaten harshly on the back of his neck and shaken severely by one of the guards; afterwards, he agreed to sign. On the next morning, May 20, he was transferred to the Qasr El-Nil Prosecution Office for further interrogation. His lawyer attended the interrogation; A.M.S. attempted to retract his confession of the previous night, saying he signed the statement because he was "terrified and under pressure." The prosecutor ordered a forensic examination and committed the defendant to detention pending further investigation. The following day, May 21, A.M.S. was sent to the Forensic Medical Authority. Tests were performed on his anus (IGLHRC and other human rights organizations have condemned such examinations as intrusive and abusive punishment); no evidence of anal sex was found. However, a sentence at the end of the medical report stated that "it is possible for an adult to be anally penetrated without leaving marks, if there was consent and if extreme caution and lubricants were used." In a number of recent cases--including several of the "Cairo 52" defendants--forensic doctors have appended this formula to their reports to provide grounds for indicting people for homosexual conduct, even if the tests (which are medically virtually valueless) provide no evidence. A.M.S. was interrogated by prosecutors again on May 29. In the end, he was charged with two offences: 1) the "habitual practice of debauchery" under Article 9c of Law 10/1961 for the Combatting of Prostitution, carrying a prison sentence of up to three years; 2) "enticing passers-by to commit indecency" under Article 269 of the Penal Code, which criminalizes such activity if performed "with signs or deeds" by "anyone found on a public road or in a travelled place," and stipulates up to 1 month's imprisonment for the first offence. This charge apparently referred to A.M.S.'s waiting for his contact in a public location. A.M.S.'s case moved with speed. His first hearing, on June 1 at the Abdeen Court of Misdemeanors, was postponed till June 8. However, the court pronounced both verdict and sentence on June 8; A.M.S. was found guilty and sentenced to 3 years' imprisonment, a fine of 300 Egyptian pounds (approximately 70 USD) and 3 additional years of probation, or close police supervision. A High Court appeal in the case will be heard on June 26, 2002. 21 QUEEN BOAT PRISONERS RELEASED BUT CONSERVATIVES DEMAND STRICT SHARIA LAW ON HOMOSEXUALITY Posted 5 June 2002 We have just received confirmation from Maher Sabry, Egypt's best known activist for gay rights, that twenty one of the twenty three Queen Boat prisoners have indeed now been released from prison. This follows a report [ 30 May 2002 ] in Al Ahram Weekly claiming that they were now free. Both those released and also those acquitted last November now face the frightening possibility of a retrial. It also musn't be forgetten that many gay Egyptians still remain in prison [ see our report of 23 May below ] and our campaign will be continuing until they are all free. |
