PHR Library

Egypt is Pursuing a Campaign Against Gay Men and People with HIV

In the last four months, Cairo police have arrested at least twelve men in an apparent campaign against people whom authorities suspect of being HIV-positive or gay. They have beaten some, coerced confessions and lists of contacts out of them, and subjected them to abusive and medically valueless examinations, conducted by medical personnel, to "prove" that they have engaged in homosexual conduct. On January 13, 2008, four HIV-positive men and one HIV-negative man were convicted of the "habitual practice of debauchery" (Egypt's term for homosexual acts) and sentenced to three years of jail and three years of close police supervision.

A letter from Human Rights Watch has been signed by Physicians for Human Rights, Amnesty International, and other human rights organizations voicing grave concern about the case.