Egypt
28.06.02
Urgent Interventions

Egypt: 50 men who were tortured in detention, having been accused of being homosexual, now face re-trials

Case EGY 280602
Arbitrary arrests and incommunicado detention / Torture / Fair trial

The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Egypt.

Brief description of the situation

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, that the verdicts of 50 men accused of being homosexual were cancelled by President Hosni Mubarak, and that the men will now face re-trials beginning on July 2nd, 2002.

According to the information received, the President recently annulled the verdicts of 50 out of the 52 men known as the “Cairo 52,” 29 of whom had been acquitted with 21 others having been convicted on November 14th, 2001. The 52 men had previously been tried at the Emergency State Security Court, which has been frequently criticised because it does not allow for appeals to be launched and is reportedly only competent for cases of “terrorism” and threats to the state. The President stated that 50 men had been accused of “habitual practice of debauchery”, a charge that is not justified under the mandate of the court. The cases against the 50 men were sent to the prosecutors, and the men will now face re-trials before the Qasr-al-Nil Court of Misdemeanors beginning on July 2nd, 2002. The 21 who were until recently being detained have now all been released on 500 Egyptian Pounds bail, except for one person who has as yet not been able to raise that amount. President Mubarak, however, has reportedly confirmed the hard labour sentences for the remaining two men, S. H. F. and M. A. A. D, identified here by their initials for their protection, who had also been found guilty in that same trial, but had been accused of “contempt for religion”.

The following is a list of the initials of the 50 men who will undergo a new trial:

1. H. M. A. H., 2. Y. Z., 3. M. M., 4. M. G. H., 5. G.S., 6. A. M. Z., 7. M. S. I. S., 8. H. S. I., 9. A. S. S. G., 10. A. S. A.R., 11. A. S. M. T. M.,12. A. M. M. M., 13. F. M. A. R. G., 14. H. S. A. Y., 15. A. S. M. A. S., 16. S. A. K. H., 17. S. M. A. M., 18. A. M. H. A. W., 19. A. A. M. S., 20. N. A. A. H., 21. M. F. I. M., 22. S. I. A., 23. O. M. S A. H., 24. A. A. Q., 25. H. I. S., 26. A. A. A.A., 27. M. K. A. R., 28. A. A. N. A. A., 29. S. S. A-H., 30. A. R. K. A., 31. A. A. H., 32. K. H. Y. T., 33. A. G. S., 34. W. O. M. S., 35. W. A. M. N., 36. A. M. S. S., 37. A. M. S. A. M., 38. W. I. H. H., 39. H. F. S. A. N., 40. A. A. M. Y., 41. M. M. A. M., 42. M. F. M. I. K., 43. M. I. I. M., 44. A. S. S. S., 45. A. F. M., 46. N. F. S., 47. M. R. T., 48. M. A. A., 49. Y. A. A. M., 50. F. M. M.

According to the information received, the 52 men were arrested in Cairo following a police raid at the Queen Boat discotheque on the night of May 10th, 2001 and during a series of arbitrary arrests carried out during subsequent days. The defendants’ lawyers claimed that several procedural violations had occurred during these arrests, since the men, who were kept in detention until the date of the trial and were allegedly subjected to torture during this time, had been arbitrarily arrested and the charges against them had been fabricated by reportedly ambitious and over-zealous vice-squad officers. The State-controlled media allegedly attempted to discredit the 52 men by publishing their names and accusing them of being perverts, blasphemers and traitors.

According to the information received, 23 of the defendants were sentenced to one to five years of hard labour, of which 21 were convicted for the “habitual practice of debauchery” under article 9(c) of Law 10/1961 (on the Combat of Prostitution), while M. A. A. D. was found guilty of “contempt for religion” under Article 98f of the Penal Code, and S. H. F., who was charged under both of these articles, received the longest sentence – five years of hard labour – having been deemed to be the “ringleader”.

While the International Secretariat of OMCT welcomes the annulment of the sentences of 21 men convicted of “habitual practice of debauchery”, it remains gravely concerned that S. H. F. and M. A. A. D., who were accused of “contempt for religion,” will continue to serve sentences handed out by the Security Court in what OMCT considers to have been an unfair trial. OMCT also fears that the 50 men, 29 of who were previously acquitted, who will have to undergo re- trials risk being arrested once again for the duration of the trial and may yet be given new sentences as a result of the trial. Furthermore, OMCT fears that if convicted, they might again be subjected to torture, as this is common in Egypt concerning alleged homosexuals. More generally, OMCT condemns the Egyptian’s Authorities continuing harassment of alleged homosexual persons, which has led to further arbitrary arrests and detentions since the trial in November 2001 of the “Cairo 52” (See appeals EGY 291101, EGY 080302, EGY 080302.1).

Action requested

Please write to the authorities in Egypt urging them to:

i. guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of S. H. F. and M. A. A. D.;
ii. order the immediate release of S. H. F. and M. A. A. D. in the absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
iii. ensure that the afore-mentioned persons who are to face re-trials are not re-arrested during the trial and that they are brought before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
iv. put an immediate end to the persecution and harassment of the above-mentioned persons, and more generally of all alleged homosexual persons;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.

Addresses

· H.E. President Mohammad Hosni Mubarak, Abedine Palace, Cairo, Egypt, Email : Webmaster@presidency.gov.eg
· H.E. Faruq Sayf al-Nasr, Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, Midan Lazoghly, Cairo, Egypt, Fax: +202 795 8103, E-mail: mojeb@idsc.gov.eg
· H.E. General Habib Ibrahim El Adly, Minister of the Interior, Al – Sheik Rihan Street, Bab al-Louk, Cairo, Egypt, Fax: + 202 579 2031, e-mail: moi@idsc.gov.eg.

Please also write to the embassies of Egypt in your respective country.

Geneva, June 28th, 2002

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.