War concerns may impact 'Cairo-52' trial

SUMMARY: International gay rights activists are concerned the war on terrorism will have a negative impact on the trial of 52 men accused of homosexuality in Egypt.

International gay rights activists are concerned the war on terrorism will have a negative impact on the trial of 52 men accused of homosexuality in Egypt.

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) said it expects the men will now receive the harshest sentences permitted under the law.

"The 'war on terrorism' is seen in parts of the Middle East as an attack on Islam. The government of Egypt, trying to appease the religious right's opposition to Egypt's participation in such a 'war,' is ready to sacrifice the rights of its own homosexual population," said Surina Khan, IGLHRC's Executive Director.

Khan said the decrease in media attention to the situation in Egypt and the relaxing of international pressure will allow the government of Egypt to continue to punish the Cairo-52 unchallenged.

One of the detained has already received the maximum penalty allowed by law. A teenager, tried in a juvenile court because of his age, was sentenced Sept. 18 to three years in prison, to be followed by three years of probation. Lawyers and trial observers expect the other detainees to get heavy sentences as well. Some of the imprisoned men have told reporters and families that they have been continuously tortured in jail.

"We are concerned that the United States will forsake human rights consideration as it tries to forge its worldwide coalition," said Scott Long, IGLHRC's program director. "If this happens, the U.S. government will have not only abandoned the Cairo-52 to an unfair and lengthy prison stay, but it will also betray the very values it has sworn to defend."

"Many news agencies are focusing most of their attention on the dreadful Sept. 11 attack and its after-effects, leaving little room for anything else," stated Sydney Levy, IGLHRC's communications director. "The Egyptian government is using this moment to seal the fate of the Cairo-52, knowing that its actions will go unchallenged by the world's public opinion."

The 52 Egyptian men were arrested in May at a Cairo discotheque believed to be a gathering place for homosexuals. They were charged with "obscene behavior" and "contempt of religion." International human rights organizations have expressed concern that the men were arrested solely because of their homosexuality, that some of them have been submitted to beatings and other forms of torture while in detention, and that their case is being tried in an Emergency State Security Court whose rulings cannot be appealed.