Livg fear: Egypt's gay muny | CNN

Contents:

• ARRTS AND TORTURE OF GAYS, LBIANS EGYPT ARE ‘SYSTEMATIC,’ RIGHTS REPORT SAYS
• IN DIALOGUE WH EGYPT, EXPERTS OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMTEE COMMEND MEASUR COMBATTG DISCRIMATN, RAISE ISSU CONCERNG TREATMENT OF LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENR AND INTERSEX PERSONS AND JUDICIAL INPENNCE
• EGYPTIAN OFFICIALS SYSTEMILLY ABE AND TORTURE GAYS, RIGHTS GROUP SAYS
• RABOW RAIDS: EGYPT LNCH S WIST ANTI-GAY CRACKDOWN YET
• LIVG FEAR: EGYPT’S GAY MUNY

ARRTS AND TORTURE OF GAYS, LBIANS EGYPT ARE ‘SYSTEMATIC,’ RIGHTS REPORT SAYS

Homosexualy⚢✖ Illegal (other penalty)Gay Marriage⚭✖ UnregnizedCensorship✖ Imprisonment as punishmentChangg Genr✖ Legal, but requir surgeryNon-bary genr regnn✖ Not legally regnizedDiscrimatn✖ No protectnsEmployment Discrimatn✖ No protectnsHog Discrimatn✖ No protectnsDonatg Blood✖ Banned (fe ferral)Conversn Therapy✖ Not banned. N/A Age of Consent is unequal/applible practice, same-genr sexual behavr is punished by ernmental offils, meang that both age and nsent are irrelevant to the illegaly of homosexualy Egypt. The Egyptian ernment is refg to regnize the existence of lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) people, floutg s rponsibily to protect the rights of everyone.

(Beit) – Egyptian police and Natnal Secury Agency officers arbrarily arrt lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) people and ta them human ndns, systematilly subject them to ill-treatment cludg torture, and often ce fellow mat to abe them, Human Rights Watch said today. Human rights groups have documented wi-sle ab the wake of a September 2017 ncert by the Lebane band Mashrou’ Leila, whose lead sger is openly gay and which performs songs that support sexual and genr diversy.

IN DIALOGUE WH EGYPT, EXPERTS OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMTEE COMMEND MEASUR COMBATTG DISCRIMATN, RAISE ISSU CONCERNG TREATMENT OF LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENR AND INTERSEX PERSONS AND JUDICIAL INPENNCE

I was taed a ge unr a stairway [at the prosecutor’s office], wasn’t even a prison cell, [but merely] a 3 by 2-meters ty room, wh 25 gay and transgenr people. CAIRO — The Egyptian ernment ntu to target gay, lbian, bisexual and transgenr people a "systematic fashn" through arbrary arrts, torture and other forms of abe, cludg forced "virgy tts, " Human Rights Watch said watchdog group acced police personnel and officers of Egypt’s Natnal Secury Agency of routely pickg up spected LGBT people off the streets and tag them “human ndns, ” often after illegally searchg their phon.

EGYPTIAN OFFICIALS SYSTEMILLY ABE AND TORTURE GAYS, RIGHTS GROUP SAYS

While homosexualy is not illegal Egypt, thori have been g a 1960s anti-prostutn law that ntas a clse agast “bchery, ” which Egyptian urts have terpreted to clu the weeks followg the 2017 Mashrou’ Leila ncert, thori arrted sr of LGBT people and hand out harsh prison sentenc, promptg the U. He is also a gay man who has spent most of his life what has bee one of the most dangero plac to be a sexual mory.“It’s difficult to be gay Egypt,” he told NBC News. If you’re out, you n be subjected to discrimatn, abe, beg arrted, havg forced physil examatns or beg sentenced to time jail.”A fan of Lebane alternative rock band Mashrou' Leila holds a rabow flag durg their ncert at the Ehniyat Internatnal Ftival Ehn town, Lebanon on Augt 12, 2017.Jamal Saidi / Rters fileHomosexualy is not explicly illegal this untry that bridg northeast Ai wh the Middle East, but people are routely arrted and imprisoned on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientatn and genr inty, acrdg to Amnty Internatnal.Last September was the worst crackdown the untry’s history, wh up to 76 people beg taed, acrdg to the human-rights anizatn.

The cint garnered ternatnal attentn, but one year later, gay Egyptians and human-rights advot say the persecutn ntu, and Egypt’s LGBTQ muny is livg fear.EGYPTIAN LAWWhile same-sex sexual relatns are not explicly prohibed Egyptian law, a 2017 report by the Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn (ILGA) found that “the Law on the Combatg of Prostutn, and the law agast bchery have been ed liberally to imprison gay men recent years.” As such, ILGA clus Egypt s list of 72 untri that crimalize homosexualy.Omar, however, said, “It’s not jt gay, bisexual and transgenr people who the thori are after.”“Jt for wavg a rabow flag you n get arrted,” he explaed. “You don’t even necsarily need to be gay to get arrted, jt seen to be associated wh the LGBTQ muny.”GAY LIFE IN EGYPTOmar said the LGBTQ muny has not always been so aggrsively targeted. The revolutn, he explaed, opened the floodgat to extreme polics Egypt and forced the gay muny unrground.“There are spots that are, to some extent, gay iendly, but even the plac cled after 2011.” Omar relled.

RABOW RAIDS: EGYPT LNCH S WIST ANTI-GAY CRACKDOWN YET

They didn’t want to look like they were that iendly towards gay people, so they closed their bars and fés and left.”“The hunt has never stopped, and the arrt and timidatns ntue.”Subsequently, many are turng to social media and geolotn apps to meet other members of the LGBTQ muny.“In our circle, we advise everyone to be as ut as they n be when meetg somebody,” Omar explaed.

Last month, a newspaper showed screenshots of gay datg app Grdr wh the headle “Documentg the most dangero onle gay anizatn.” Another Egyptian newspaper had an vtigate article about “Polari,” or gay slang.

The wrer claimed to be “exposg the secret dictnary of gay people Egypt” and ced rears to report anybody heard g the “language.”Amid the growg hostily toward the LGBTQ muny, Omar said he and his iends have nohels veloped a te sense of muny.“I unt on the gay muny to survive,” he said.

LIVG FEAR: EGYPT’S GAY MUNY

“You have your safe zon and your support works, so you know you jt have to make sure that everybody is safe and that you’re safe, too, but sometim, the fear n still be there.”INTERNATIONAL RESPONSEShortly after Egypt’s print, Abl Fattah al-Sisi, won a send term April of this year, Human Rights Watch, an ternatnal human-rights anizatn, urged him to “prrize reforms to end ser human rights vlatns.”“The ernment has targeted sexual and genr mori for heavy-hand reprsn, wh more than 230 lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) people prosecuted on ‘bchery’ charg,” the anizatn stated.Amir Magdi, a rearcher for Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Ai divisn, told NBC News the ternatnal muny should be dog more to protect LGBTQ Egyptians.“Egypt’s alli, like the U.S., Canada, U.K. “This failed policy of ‘quiet diplomacy’ should change if the learship of the untri want to achieve a real impact and protect the rights of the people.”All Out, another human-rights anizatn that has nmned the ernment-sponsored wave of anti-gay persecutn Egypt, said the crackdown is far om over.“The hunt has never stopped, and the arrt and timidatns ntue.” Mathias Wasik, the anizatn’s senr mpaign manager, told NBC News.

“Even foreigners are beg targeted: Cas have been reported where tourists were arrted for ‘bchery’ and ported om the untry."“The Egyptian state mt remember s rponsibily to protect all of their cizens, regardls of who they are or who they love,” Wasik add.Omar cricized wtern untri and ternatnal human-rights anizatns, sayg they have “failed to act” and have “lost touch wh grassroots anizatns workg on the ground.”“I nnot say, personally, that there has been an ternatnal rponse to the crackdown,” he said.However, a new report by OutRight Actn Internatnal, a global LGBTQ-rights anizatn, found Egypt to be one of 55 untri the world where LGBTQ-rights groups are not able to legally register, which impes the effectivens of the anizatns.The current polil suatn Europe has also disuraged gay Egyptians, like Omar, om seekg a new — and ls fearful — life the Wt.“Europe is currently tacklg a migrant crisis bee of the movement om Syria,” Omar explaed. For example, the Orthodox Coptic Church anized a nference lled “Volno of Homosexualy, ” followg the Mashrou’ Leila ncert 2017, when ncertgoers unfurled a rabow flag. ” So there were two fights: there was one happeng at the level of Egyptian society, and another one takg place wh the gay muny wh a lot of them turng agast those who raised the flag.