Cheers of jubilation, and relief, exploded in an Egyptian court Monday after a trial judge acquitted 26 gay men of all charges ranging from debauchery to public lewdness and facilitating debauchery in exchange for money. The trial stems from an arrest made Dec. 7 and ended after only three trial hearings, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Scott Long, an American researcher who had followed the case said he was both “shocked and delighted.” “I hope this is a sign that these raids will come to an end,” Long told the Associated Press amid the cheering. “Finally there was a judge who listened to the evidence.”
Egypt, a very conservative, Muslim-majority nation, has no laws expressly forbidding homosexuality, but that is merely a formality in this religious nation where homosexuality is verboten and same-sex marriage is unheard of. As the WSJ rightly notes, gay characters in fiction and the movies have only very recently begun cropping up.
And 2014 has been considered by human rights groups and others to be among the worst years for the LGBT community, with at least 150 men arrested or put on trial.
Since homosexuality is not illegal, gay men in particular are charged with prostitution, which is illegal in Egypt. The courts, however, are rarely able to prove those charges which contribute to the already sensationalistic nature of the charges and subsequent arrests and trials.
When the verdict was read, many of the men raised their hands in joy, showing their faces for the first time. Women, according to a report in the Associated Press, were ululating.
It is hard to foresee how this verdict will be interpreted by the government. While many see a shift in relations between the law and the LGBT community, others fear that the court may have inadvertently provoked a public backlash with their ruling.
But, for now, 26 gay men who were falsely charged on trumped up accusations, have, for the time being, their lives back.
Boathouse?