Tag Archives: Egypt

EgyptAir Flight From Paris Crashes [VIDEO]

CNN reports: EgyptAir Flight 804 vanished from radar on its way from Paris to Cairo with 66 people aboard, the airline said Thursday. The plane was flying at 37,000 feet when it lost contact overnight above the Mediterranean Sea, the airline tweeted. Although investigators are still trying to figure out what happened, French President Francois Hollande said he had been …

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EGYPT: Anti-Gay Journalist Mona Iraqi Sentenced To Prison Over “Defamatory” Bathhouse Raid Story

Ahram Online reports: A Cairo court ruled on Thursday a six month jail sentence for controversial television presenter Mona Iraqi for defaming and spreading lies about a number of men in the central Cairo bathhouse incident. The sentence follows a defamation case filed by the mens’ defence team. Iraqi was also ordered to pay bail of LE1,000 and a fine …

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Britain Halts Sinai Flights Over Bomb Fears

The Guardian reports: The British government has suspended all flights to the UK from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh after declaring it believes the Russian plane that crashed over Sinai may have been brought down by an explosive device. The government ordered a temporary moratorium on flights from the beach resort while security assessments were carried out, after receiving …

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Kremlin Reverses On Crash: Terrorism Possible

Russian officials this morning reversed themselves on the possible cause of this weekend’s jetliner crash, saying they can no longer rule out terrorism. The reversal comes amid renewed speculation that the plane was brought down by a bomb. According to the airline, it appears that the plane did not break apart in mid-flight but was destroyed by an “external influence.” …

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EGYPT: Court Bans Foreign Gays

An Egyptian court yesterday ruled that the government has the right to deport foreigners accused of homosexuality and ban them from returning. J. Lester Feder reports at Buzzfeed: According to a judgement obtained by BuzzFeed News, the case has its roots in the 2008 arrest of a Libyan man who police alleged to be gay in their report. While the …

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EGYPT: Bathhouse Raid Organizer Mona Iraqi To Face Trial On Defamation Charges

Via the Egypt Daily News: Journalist Mona Iraqi, who faced international criticism for leading a televised police sting on 26 men she accused of engaging in homosexual activity, is to face court. The prosecution has approved to have her tried for charges including defamation. Alongside Tarek Nour, owner of the channel Al-Qahera Wal-Nas which broadcasts the show, Iraqi will face …

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Meet Egypt’s Anus Inspector

J. Lester Feder writes at Buzzfeed: When asked to explain what Cairo’s medical inspectors look for when they examine someone who’s been arrested for homosexuality, Dr. Maged Louis picked up a pen and started sketching an oval with sharp points on both ends. “The shape of the hole will change,” he said. The anus “won’t be normal any more and …

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EGYPT: Man Arrested In Bathhouse Raid Attempts To Burn Himself To Death

Scott Long reports at Paper Bird: One of the 26 men arrested, tortured, and ultimately acquitted in the December 7 raid on a Cairo bathhouse has tried to burn himself to death. El-Watan newspaper claims to have spoken to him yesterday in hospital. “I work in a restaurant in the Shobra district,” he told them. “I’m harassed constantly in my …

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EGYPT: Prosecutors Appeal Acquittal Of Men Arrested In Cairo Bathhouse Raid

Scott Long writes at Paper Bird: The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights tells me (and the newspaper Al Wafd reports tonight) that the prosecution has formally appealed the not-guilty verdict against the 26 men. The prosecution has the right to appeal twice, under Egyptian law — once to an appeals court, and after that to the Court of Cassation. We …

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EGYPT: Men Arrested In Cairo Bathhouse Raid Are Acquitted Of All Charges

Via the BBC: An Egyptian court has cleared 26 men arrested after a raid on a bath house in Cairo last month and charged with “inciting debauchery”. The men were arrested a month after eight men were jailed for appearing in a video alleged to show a gay marriage. Rights groups have condemned Egypt’s treatment of gay people, in particular …

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EGYPT: Bathouse Raid Trial Continues, Defense Claims Violations Of Privacy

Via the Associated Press: One lawyer representing 14 of the men, Islam Khalifa, told the court Sunday that the defendants suffered “psychological duress” from the publicized arrests, which defamed and endangered both them and their families in conservative Egypt. He said having the television crew there violated the men’s right to privacy and Egypt’s constitution. Of the 26 men, 21 …

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EGYPT: At The Bathhouse Raid Trial

Earlier this month 26 men were arrested in a police raid on a Cairo bathhouse. Veteran activist Scott Long was in the courthouse yesterday for the opening of the trial. An excerpt: Police opened the courtroom doors at about 1:40 and let 60 or 70 people press through. The next twenty minutes were pure chaos. Guards hustled the cowed defendants …

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EGYPT: Immediate Trial Date Set For 26 Men Arrested In Bathhouse Raid

Via the Associated Press: Egyptian official says prosecutors have referred 26 men arrested in a raid on a bath house to trial on charges connected to their suspected homosexuality. The prosecution official said Wednesday the trial will begin Sunday, a quick referral in a case that has captured public attention following the men’s televised arrest. Scenes of half-naked men escorted …

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WaPo On Egypt’s Anti-Gay Crackdown

Via the Washington Post: Egypt’s government has aggressively cracked down on Islamist and liberal opponents over the past year. Now officials are increasingly targeting another group: gay people. Police raided a public bathhouse in Cairo this month and arrested at least two dozen men, parading them half-naked in front of television cameras before hauling them off to prison. It was …

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EGPYT: State TV Reports On Bathhouse Raid In Which Dozens Were Arrested

Via J. Lester Feder at Buzzfeed: The Egyptian TV presenter who claims to have reported “group sex” at a Cairo bathhouse to police prompting a raid on Sunday aired her report late Monday evening. The program, by Mona Iraqi of the channel Al-Qahira wal Nas, presents her 26-minute report as an investigation into the spread of AIDS in Egypt, but …

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EGYPT: Dozens Reportedly Arrested For “Perversion” After Bathhouse Raid

Scott Long reports at Paper Bird: At about 10 PM last night, December 7, police carried out a massive raid on a hammam (bathhouse) in the Ramsis area of Cairo, not far from the main railway station. They arrested many men — dozens, reportedly — and hauled them, stripped naked like concentration-camp inmates, to the trucks. Someone living nearby who …

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EGYPT: Eight Men Sentenced To Three Years In Prison Over Wedding Video

Via CNN: By the big smiles, warm hugs and loud cries of ululation, the video seems to show a joyous celebration. An Egyptian prosecutor looked at the same footage and saw something very different: a “satanic ceremony” with images that are “shameful, regrettable and anger God.” However it is characterized, the event has landed eight men in jail for three …

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Pet Shop Boys Stand With LGBT Egypt

Following recent events in Egypt, Pet Shop Boys support #18Oct_EgyLGBT. Learn more here: http://t.co/vhn4jO98kq #StandforEgyptLgbt — Pet Shop Boys (@petshopboys) September 26, 2014 Activists are planning demonstrations at Egyptian embassies around the world on October 18th. Because of all the prosecutions, discrimination, jailing, detentions, physical and verbal violence conduct, anal examinations, torture, deceptive, exposing and unethical media tools, humiliations, murders, …

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EGYPT: Grindr Issues Entrapment Warning After Six Men Sentenced To Prison For Renting Apartment For Sex Hook-Ups

Grindr has issued the above warnings to its users in Egypt. J. Lester Feder reports at Buzzfeed: Six men were sentenced by an Egyptian court on Thursday to two years in prison with labor for allegedly advertising their apartment on Facebook for men to have sex with each other for a fee of $200 per night, reports the state-owned Egyptian …

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REPORT: Egyptian Police Are Using Dating Apps To Hunt Down Gay Men

According to a report published by France 24, Egyptian authorities are using smartphone dating apps such as Grindr to hunt down gay men. Such tactics were predicted last month when an anonymous Grindr member contacted thousands of overseas users to warn them that their exact locations could be triangulated. The France 24 report does not mention triangulation. Homosexuality is not …

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