Thirteen Egyptian men have been arrested in Cairo for homosexuality and turned over to the prosecutor, a security official said on Tuesday.
The 13 suspects were arrested in a rented apartment while practicing sex, the official said on condition of anonymity. They were arrested within the last week, though the exact day was uncertain.
The suspects were jailed pending investigation. The prosecutor is expected on Saturday to either extend their detention or charge them with debauchery and homosexuality, the official said. Wafd newspaper, an opposition mouthpiece, reported on Monday that the arrested men included university students and hotel employees. The apartment belonged to the owner of a travel agency.
The newspaper said the detainees did not deny that they are homosexuals. Though not explicitly referred to in the Egyptian penal code, a wide range of laws covering obscenity, prostitution and debauchery are applied to homosexuals. Islam, the religion of 90% of Egyptians, prohibits homosexuality.
In the last two years, dozens of homosexuals have been detained and convicted.
In the largest case, state security arrested 52 homosexuals on a floating restaurant on the Nile River in November 2001. The country’s emergency court sentenced 23 of the defendants to two years in prison, and the two suspected leaders were sentenced to three and five years in prison. The others were acquitted.
Appeals from the emergency court, which was created by 1981 laws to protect against threats to national security, is limited. – Sapa-AP