CAIRO, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- The acquittal Monday of 26 men charged in a crackdown on the Egyptian gay community won the praise of human rights activists.
The unexpected release of the men, accused last month of debauchery in lieu of a specific lack of a ban on homosexuality in Egyptian law, came after they were jailed for a month. At their arrest, they were seized from a Cairo bath house and taken, undressed, to waiting police trucks, an incident captured by documentary filmmaker Mona Iraqi and broadcast around the world.
Defense lawyers cited a number of flaws in the prosecution's case, including that police claimed to ascertain identities and describe alleged sex acts in the dimly-lit bath house. One lawyer, Roushdy Abu Sadr, asked the court, "This heroic officer with cameras in his eyes, who wrote this report: how was he able to remember the identities of 21 people, and who was having sex with whom?"
After the acquittal, one defendant shouted in court, "This is not the end. We have to get our dignity back from (Mona Iraqi) because she smeared our reputation. How are we going to face our families after today? The first thing we are going to do is sue her."
Activist Scott Long told the British newspaper The Guardian, "I'm delighted that the judge actually looked at the evidence, and it sends a message to the police that judges will not always automatically rubber-stamp the arrests they make. Even since these arrests, other arrests have continued to take place. This is part of a massive crackdown that has seen as many as 150 people arrested, and many of those people are still in jail."
