Is Egypt verdict a victory for LGBT rights?
An Egyptian court shocked many by acquitting 26 men accused of indecency and debauchery in a high-profile case made infamous by a journalist widely regarded as unethical.
CAIRO — The scene described by lawyers at a Cairo court on Jan. 4-5 evoked classic paintings of Roman orgies. Quoting a police report, they described how 21 out of 26 defendants standing trial on charges of indecency and habitual debauchery had been caught in various sexual positions during a Dec. 7 raid on a public bathhouse.
Photos of these towel-clad, bare-chested men covering their faces as they were led outside the Bab El-Bahr bathhouse made the depiction plausible. TV reporter Mona Iraqi posted these photos on Facebook under the self-congratulatory title of raiding “the largest den of group perversion.”
