Egypt's Crackdown On Gays Includes Disturbing Medical Exam

[Purveyor]

CAIRO — On a bustling crowded market street packed with storefronts selling wholesale flour and cigarettes, there is a small green door sealed with red wax. It is an ominous sign — it means that the police have been here and that the place is closed until further notice.

This particular door marks the entrance to the Bab el-Bahr hammam, whose name means "Door to the Sea."

One night in December, officers from the police and Central Security Forces burst into this traditional bath house and arrested the 26 people inside, including all the staff, down to the man whose job it was to make the tea.

On Monday, a Cairo court acquitted the 26 men of charges of "habitual debauchery" and "indecent public acts," among others; bywords in Egyptian law for the prosecution of homosexuality.

While nothing is known about the sexuality or sexual practices of those arrested, the raid represents one of the most serious escalations in a worsening crackdown over recent months on the LGBT community in Egypt — a group that has long faced discrimination from the state.

Since November 2013, about 150 people have been arrested on charges related to "debauchery," according to Dalia Abd El-Hameed, gender and women's rights officer with the Egyptian Institute for Personal Rights.

A notable case came in November last year, when eight men were sentenced to three years in prison for appearing in a video that purported to show a gay wedding.

An easy target

There are many theories as to why the state is going after the community now.

"With no social sympathy with them, they are an easy target for the police so they would be gaining points by arresting them," says Abd El-Hameed.

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http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/01/12/egypt-crackdown-gays-disturbing-exam/21628487/

[Trillo]

1. It is so sad.

At least the hatred is on open display, instead of hidden and not reported, like it was for most of history.