Court ruling allows Interior Ministry to deport homosexual foreigners
Tue, 14/04/2015 - 20:30
http://www.egyptindependent.com//news/court-ruling-allows-interior-ministry-deport-homosexual-foreigners

Egypt's Administrative Court issued a ruling on Tuesday allowing the
Interior Ministry to deport homosexual foreigners and deny them entry into
the country.

The decision follows a court ruling which upheld an interior minister's
decision to ban a Libyan national accused of being a homosexual from
entering the country.

The Libyan national was accused in 2008 of "committing debauchery" in
exchange for money. He had appealed the decision saying he had graduated
from a school in Egypt and that the ban would prevent him from resuming his
post-graduate studies.

Dalia Abdel Hameed, transgender issues researcher at the Egyptian Initiative
for Personal Rights, described today's decision as "grave", adding that it
is yet to be seen how far the state will "expand" its use of the decision.

"The decision helps the state increase animosity toward homosexuals ... and
goes hand in hand with a campaign the state has began since late 2013,"
Abdel Hameed said.

Egypt has recently clamped down on homosexual activities, arresting in
September 2014 eight men who appeared in a Youtube video depicting an
alleged homosexual marriage ceremony and later sentencing them to prison.

The police also raided a bath house in downtown Cairo's Ramses in December
2014, arresting those inside and accusing them of debauchery. The 21
defendants were later acquitted.

Egyptian laws do not clearly ban homosexuality, yet Article 9 of the 1961
Anti-Prostitution Law punishes those guilty of "inciting debauchery and
immorality" by imprisonment for a period ranging from three to five years.

Abdel Hameed warned that the decision is a breach of the principle of
respecting personal privacy, a principle enshrined in Egypt's laws and
constitution.

The researcher also reflected concern that the decision could further
exacerbate the already present xenophobia in society.

"We don't know to what extend this decision could be used against foreigners
based on their political tendencies," she said.

This content is from :Aswat Masriya