Egypt
29.11.01
Urgent Interventions
Egypt: arbitrary arrest and detention of four men accused of being homosexual
Case EGY 291101
Arbitrary 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 a reliable source of the arbitrary arrest and detention of four men accused of being homosexual in Egypt.
According to the information received, four presumed homosexuals, R.M.S, S.S.H, S.H, and M.S.A. (identified by their initials for their protection) were reportedly arrested by the Egyptian authorities on November 10th, 2001. The arrests have been confirmed by the Central Vice Squad in Giza, a suburb of Cairo. The four men have been held in the Boulak Prison Station in Giza, and are reportedly under investigation for "the habitual practice of debauchery" - previously also translated as "obscene behaviour" - under Article 9c of Law No. 10 of 1961 on the Combat of Prostitution. The men were arrested at the same time in an appartment that they were using as a "den of perversion," according to the police. The Public Prosecutor's Office in Boulak ordered them to be detained for four days on November 11th, and on November 15th extended their detention period to December 30th, 2001, at which time the next hearing is due. The men have not as yet been charged with any offence. It is not clear whether, if charged, they will be brought before the Emergency State Security Court or a civil court.
According to the information received, all four men have been subjected to torture and other forms of cruel, degrading and inhuman treatment during their detention, including: being stripped naked and beaten with batons, being splashed with cold water in the face and being left hanging by the bars of the prison cells.
The police reports that the men were arrested at the same time at an appartment allegedly owned by one of the men have been refuted by the men, according to their lawyers, who claim that they were arrested in various locations - one in Giza Square, with the others having been arrested in different parts of Cairo. Furthermore, the lawyers maintain that the police claim that the chief defendant was using his appartment as a "den of perversion" are also untrue, as the chief defendant does not own the said appartment and is in no way connected to it.
OMCT recalls that these arrests come just one day after the Emergency State Security Court in Cairo sentenced 23 presumed homosexuals to one to five years of hard labour, also based on "the habitual practice of debauchery." These sentences, which have been the subject of International condemnation, cannot be appealed. 29 other men were acquitted but remain in detention.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Egypt urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the above-mentioned persons;
ii. order their immediate release 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. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these events in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iv. guarantee adequate restitution, compensation and rehabilitation to all injured people;
v. put an immediate end to the persecution and harassment of the above-mentioned persons, and more generally all homosexuals in Egypt;
vi. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· His Excellency Mohammad Hosni Mubarak, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, E-mail: webmaster@presidency.gov.eg, Fax : + 202 390 1998, Telex: 93794 WAZRA UN
· His Excellency General Habib al-'Adeli, Minister of the Interior, Fax: + 202 579 2031, E-mail: moi2@idsc.gov.eg
· His Excellency Farouk Solf Al Nasr, Minister of Justice, Fax : +202 355 81 03
Please also write to the embassies of Kazakhstan in your respective country.
Geneva, November 29, 2001
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Arbitrary 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 a reliable source of the arbitrary arrest and detention of four men accused of being homosexual in Egypt.
According to the information received, four presumed homosexuals, R.M.S, S.S.H, S.H, and M.S.A. (identified by their initials for their protection) were reportedly arrested by the Egyptian authorities on November 10th, 2001. The arrests have been confirmed by the Central Vice Squad in Giza, a suburb of Cairo. The four men have been held in the Boulak Prison Station in Giza, and are reportedly under investigation for "the habitual practice of debauchery" - previously also translated as "obscene behaviour" - under Article 9c of Law No. 10 of 1961 on the Combat of Prostitution. The men were arrested at the same time in an appartment that they were using as a "den of perversion," according to the police. The Public Prosecutor's Office in Boulak ordered them to be detained for four days on November 11th, and on November 15th extended their detention period to December 30th, 2001, at which time the next hearing is due. The men have not as yet been charged with any offence. It is not clear whether, if charged, they will be brought before the Emergency State Security Court or a civil court.
According to the information received, all four men have been subjected to torture and other forms of cruel, degrading and inhuman treatment during their detention, including: being stripped naked and beaten with batons, being splashed with cold water in the face and being left hanging by the bars of the prison cells.
The police reports that the men were arrested at the same time at an appartment allegedly owned by one of the men have been refuted by the men, according to their lawyers, who claim that they were arrested in various locations - one in Giza Square, with the others having been arrested in different parts of Cairo. Furthermore, the lawyers maintain that the police claim that the chief defendant was using his appartment as a "den of perversion" are also untrue, as the chief defendant does not own the said appartment and is in no way connected to it.
OMCT recalls that these arrests come just one day after the Emergency State Security Court in Cairo sentenced 23 presumed homosexuals to one to five years of hard labour, also based on "the habitual practice of debauchery." These sentences, which have been the subject of International condemnation, cannot be appealed. 29 other men were acquitted but remain in detention.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Egypt urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the above-mentioned persons;
ii. order their immediate release 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. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these events in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iv. guarantee adequate restitution, compensation and rehabilitation to all injured people;
v. put an immediate end to the persecution and harassment of the above-mentioned persons, and more generally all homosexuals in Egypt;
vi. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· His Excellency Mohammad Hosni Mubarak, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, E-mail: webmaster@presidency.gov.eg, Fax : + 202 390 1998, Telex: 93794 WAZRA UN
· His Excellency General Habib al-'Adeli, Minister of the Interior, Fax: + 202 579 2031, E-mail: moi2@idsc.gov.eg
· His Excellency Farouk Solf Al Nasr, Minister of Justice, Fax : +202 355 81 03
Please also write to the embassies of Kazakhstan in your respective country.
Geneva, November 29, 2001
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.