Municipal

In February 2008, as part of an ongoing campaign, it was reported that police in Cairo arrested four men on suspicion of having HIV [R1.2].

Courts & Tribunals

In April 2008, five men were sentenced to three years in prison in Egypt for consensual homosexual acts.Their convictions were the latest in what has been characterised by human rights groups as "a police crackdown" on people living with HIV/AIDS [R2.1].

National

In February 2002, as the arrests and draconian convictions of alleged homosexuals intensified, the IGLHRC issued a call to the Bush Administration and the European Union to pressure Egypt's government to end the campaign of persecution and to release the men in prison [R1.1].

Homosexuality is not expressly prohibited under Egyptian Law however recent incidents have resulted in the authorities invoking other laws ["obscene behavior", "public lewdness", "debauchery" and expressing "contempt for religion"] to pursue homosexuals [R1.2] and to censor the use of the Internet [R1.3], [R1.4].

The charge of "obscene behavior" is brought under the Article 9 of Law No. 10 of 1961 on the Combat of Prostitution and carries a custodial sentence of between three months and three years.

Law No. 10, 1961 on 'Combating of prostitution, incitement and its encouragement'

Article 9 (c) "Anyone who habitually engages in debauchery or prostitution is liable to a penalty of three months to three years imprisonment and/or a fine of LE 25-300" [R1.5].

Courts & Tribunals

In April 2002, an Egyptian appeals court in Damanhour found the "Damanhour Five" not-guilty of all charges. The five men had been convicted March 11 of consensual homosexual conduct, and had been sentenced to three years' imprisonment and three years' probation [R2.1].

Police

In April 2000, when the Egyptian press reported that two men in Zaqaziq had "married" by drawing up what was a private "urfi" contract, the state was forced to act. Both men were taken into custody [R1.1].

Courts & Tribunals

In November 1999, a woman who was expelled from medical school after having a sex change won the right to resume her studies at the Islamic University of Al Azhar. The University has appealed the decision [R1.1].