Egypt
28.06.02
Urgent Interventions
Egypt: A.M.S. has been released, having been found innocent of suspected homosexual behaviour by the Cairo appeals court
Case EGY 200602.1
Follow-up to case EGY 200602
Release
Geneva, June 28th, 2002
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 IGLHRC, that the 19-year old student, known here by his initials, A.M.S., was released having been found innocent of suspected homosexual behaviour by the Cairo appeals court on June 26th, 2002.
According to the information received, A.M.S. had been sentenced on June 8th, 2002, to three years in detention for alleged homosexual behaviour. On June 26th, 2002, after A.M.S. had spent five weeks in detention, the Cairo appeals court overturned this decision. A.M.S. had reportedly been arbitrarily arrested on May 19th, 2002, following an alleged act of entrapment by the police made via a homosexual website, and he was then reportedly tortured and subjected to degrading medical tests while in detention.
While the International Secretariat of OMCT welcomes the decision of the Appeals Court to overturn A.M.S. previous verdict, it remains gravely concerned by the arbitrary arrest, torture, and unfair initial trial to which A.M.S. was subjected for alleged homosexuality. OMCT fears that the perpetrators of these acts will not be brought to justice and that A.M.S. will not be granted adequate reparation. Furthermore, OMCT condemns the Egyptian’s Authorities use of the Internet to harass and entrap suspected homosexuals. The harassment and ill-treatment of alleged homosexuals is a violation of human rights, as defined under Article 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
Brief reminder of the situation
According to the information received, A.M.S. was arbitrarily arrested on May 19th, 2002, after arranging a meeting with a man that he had met on the Internet through a gay website. That day A.M.S. was arrested by a police officer from the Department for Eradicating Crimes Against Public Morality (the “Vice Squad”) at the Interior Ministry, when he was waiting for his contact, reported to be an informer or police officer, on a street in Cairo. According to the report, A.M.S. was taken to the Vice Squad headquarters in the Tahrir Administrative Compound, and forced to sign a confession stating that he had been a passive partner in anal sex with several men over a three-year period. A.M.S. was reportedly beaten on the back of his neck and shaken severely by one of the guards until he agreed to sign. On May 20th, 2002 his lawyer was present during an interrogation where A.M.S. attempted to retract his confession since he had been “terrified and under pressure”.
According to the report, on May 21st, 2002, A.M.S. was sent to the Forensic Medical Authority, where he underwent tests on his anus that would allegedly show whether he had in fact had anal sex. These tests have been condemned by various human rights organizations, including IGLHRC, as intrusive and abusive punishment and are reported to be medically valueless. Even though the tests results did not show evidence of anal sex, 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." This formula has allegedly been included in several reports to provide grounds for indicting people for homosexual conduct when the tests provide no evidence.
According to the information received, on May 29th, A.M.S. was charged for “habitual practice of debauchery” under Article 9c of Law 10/1961 on the Combating of Prostitution, and on “enticing passers-by to commit indecency” under Article 269 of the Penal Code, if this activity is performed “with signs or deeds” by “anyone found on a public road or in a travelled place.” On June 8th, 2002, A.M.S. was found guilty and sentenced to three years imprisonment, a fine of 300 Egyptian pounds, and three additional years of probation, or close police supervision.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Egypt urging them to:
i. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these events and guarantee that those responsible are brought to trial and that the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions are applied as provided by law;
ii. guarantee adequate reparation to A.M.S.;
iii. put an immediate end to the persecution and harassment of A.M.S., and more generally, of all alleged homosexual persons;
iv. 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.
Follow-up to case EGY 200602
Release
Geneva, June 28th, 2002
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 IGLHRC, that the 19-year old student, known here by his initials, A.M.S., was released having been found innocent of suspected homosexual behaviour by the Cairo appeals court on June 26th, 2002.
According to the information received, A.M.S. had been sentenced on June 8th, 2002, to three years in detention for alleged homosexual behaviour. On June 26th, 2002, after A.M.S. had spent five weeks in detention, the Cairo appeals court overturned this decision. A.M.S. had reportedly been arbitrarily arrested on May 19th, 2002, following an alleged act of entrapment by the police made via a homosexual website, and he was then reportedly tortured and subjected to degrading medical tests while in detention.
While the International Secretariat of OMCT welcomes the decision of the Appeals Court to overturn A.M.S. previous verdict, it remains gravely concerned by the arbitrary arrest, torture, and unfair initial trial to which A.M.S. was subjected for alleged homosexuality. OMCT fears that the perpetrators of these acts will not be brought to justice and that A.M.S. will not be granted adequate reparation. Furthermore, OMCT condemns the Egyptian’s Authorities use of the Internet to harass and entrap suspected homosexuals. The harassment and ill-treatment of alleged homosexuals is a violation of human rights, as defined under Article 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
Brief reminder of the situation
According to the information received, A.M.S. was arbitrarily arrested on May 19th, 2002, after arranging a meeting with a man that he had met on the Internet through a gay website. That day A.M.S. was arrested by a police officer from the Department for Eradicating Crimes Against Public Morality (the “Vice Squad”) at the Interior Ministry, when he was waiting for his contact, reported to be an informer or police officer, on a street in Cairo. According to the report, A.M.S. was taken to the Vice Squad headquarters in the Tahrir Administrative Compound, and forced to sign a confession stating that he had been a passive partner in anal sex with several men over a three-year period. A.M.S. was reportedly beaten on the back of his neck and shaken severely by one of the guards until he agreed to sign. On May 20th, 2002 his lawyer was present during an interrogation where A.M.S. attempted to retract his confession since he had been “terrified and under pressure”.
According to the report, on May 21st, 2002, A.M.S. was sent to the Forensic Medical Authority, where he underwent tests on his anus that would allegedly show whether he had in fact had anal sex. These tests have been condemned by various human rights organizations, including IGLHRC, as intrusive and abusive punishment and are reported to be medically valueless. Even though the tests results did not show evidence of anal sex, 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." This formula has allegedly been included in several reports to provide grounds for indicting people for homosexual conduct when the tests provide no evidence.
According to the information received, on May 29th, A.M.S. was charged for “habitual practice of debauchery” under Article 9c of Law 10/1961 on the Combating of Prostitution, and on “enticing passers-by to commit indecency” under Article 269 of the Penal Code, if this activity is performed “with signs or deeds” by “anyone found on a public road or in a travelled place.” On June 8th, 2002, A.M.S. was found guilty and sentenced to three years imprisonment, a fine of 300 Egyptian pounds, and three additional years of probation, or close police supervision.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Egypt urging them to:
i. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these events and guarantee that those responsible are brought to trial and that the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions are applied as provided by law;
ii. guarantee adequate reparation to A.M.S.;
iii. put an immediate end to the persecution and harassment of A.M.S., and more generally, of all alleged homosexual persons;
iv. 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.