15 year old boy convicted of being homosexual

[BewareofNick]

from Planet Out.com I found this to be very scary

 

CAIRO -- An Egyptian court found a 15-year-old boy guilty of "practicing sexual immorality," a local euphemism for homosexuality, and sentenced him to three years in juvenile detention on Tuesday, security sources said.

 

The youth, one of 53 men arrested in May during a raid on a floating nightclub called the "Queen Boat," was tried separately in a different court because he is a minor. Three years was the maximum sentence he could receive, but he can appeal the verdict.

 

The 52 other suspected homosexuals are being tried in an emergency state security court, which denies any chance of appeal. They are accused of sexual immorality and forming a group which propagated extremist ideas and denigrated Islam.

 

Relatives of the boy wept as the court passed the verdict and said the ruling was unjust. It was not immediately clear whether the family planned to appeal.

 

The cases have drawn sharp criticism from international rights groups, which say the men are being tried for their possible sexual orientation and for exercising freedom of speech and association. All defendants plead not guilty.

 

Homosexuality is regarded as a taboo in Egypt but is not expressly prohibited by law.

[Rod Hagen]

I saw this horrible story in the NYtimes the other day. What I don't get is if homosexuality is legal in Egypt, why is he going to jail and why are the others being held? Human rights abuse is it's own form of terrorism.

 

-Hagen

 

http://www.rodhagen.com

"Good afternoon Oceania traffic.

Trinidad 5 Golf Tango taking the

active two-five runway for a left turn at

the shoreline"

[Guest Wildcats]

Is Nick in Cairo now?

[trilingual]

To answer Rod, this seems to be part of a larger campaign to stifle dissent and enforce conformity that has been going on in Egypt for some time now. Writers and journalists have been arrested and jailed on the flimsiest of charges (just like those against these guys, who've been brought up on charges of endangering national security and offenses to Islam because there homosexual acts themselves aren't crimes in Egypt). Things had been getting quite ugly for some time, and this just seems to be the frosting on the cake. I hope there will be a travel boycott and that everyone stays away from Egypt until they stop this stuff. In the case of Egypt, a travel/tourism boycott would make a big impact, because those industries represent a very significant part of the local economy.

[Rod Hagen]

I love Turkey and Morocco, and I've always wanted to visit Egypt. But I can wait a few years. Yeah, let's boycott them.

 

 

http://www.rodhagen.com

"Good afternoon Oceania traffic.

Trinidad 5 Golf Tango taking the

active two-five runway for a left turn at

the shoreline"