Twenty-six Egyptian men were found innocent of debauchery after being arrested for allegedly holding gay orgies in a Cairo bath house.
Police had raided the bathhouse after receiving a tip from television journalist Mona El-Iraqi who claimed on her show in early December that the men pay for private gay sex parties at the bath house in downtown Cairo.
She was photographed taking photos of the men being dragged semi-naked out of the bath house by the police, a scene that caused controversy.
During investigations, Egypt’s forensic authority said that medical tests could not conclude whether the defendants were engaged in “homosexual acts” or not.
The authority also stated that the medical examination revealed that three of the young men were sexually assaulted.
Tarek El-Awady, defence lawyer, told Ahram Online that the families and defence team will wait for television channel Al-Qahera Wal Nas, home to El-Iraqi’s show, to issue an apology Monday. He also suggested that the channel investigate the show’s crew.
If an investigation is not forthcoming, El-Awady stated that families will file a lawsuit against El-Iraqi.
Meanwhile, Twitter users have tweeted actively against El-Iraqi, calling for her trial.
User Sarah Othmann (@Sarah_Othmann) said in a tweet (originally written in Arabic): “Can Mona El-Iraqi raid the luxurious health clubs and SPAs in five-star hotels like she did at the Bab El-Bahr bath house?”
The public bath house is located in Cairo’s downtown Ramsis area.
User One Near East (@neareastern) said (in Arabic), “Homosexuality is not a crime! They are innocent of the prostitution claims Mona El-Iraqi made.”
Similarly, Hadeer Hassan (@hadeer7assan) said (in Arabic) “The defendants were acquitted and Mona El-Iraqi is responsible for defaming them, breaching her profession and the law without evidence.”
People on social media used a hashtag “Put Mona El-Iraqi on trial” (in Arabic) in their tweets. They also called for putting the owner of television channel Al-Qahera Wal Nas on trial.Although homosexuality is not technically illegal in Egypt, those suspected of homosexual acts are often charged under a law that prohibits “debauchery” and indecent public acts.
Last year Egypt sentenced eight men to one year in jail following an alleged ‘gay video’ released online.