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Trials Begin Compiled by GayToday
"Tolerance for political dissent or unpopular lifestyles has never been a feature of Hosni Mubarak's 20 year tenure as Egypt's president. But recently Mr. Mubarak's rule seems to be growing more authoritarian and arbitrary. This week more than 52 defendants were hauled before a special state security court for alleged homosexual activities… this repressive trend is particularly disturbing in a country that is one of America's biggest aid recipients…Prosecuting these men for contempt of religion, promoting deviant ideas and obscene behavior may be part of Mr. Mubarak's efforts to court Islamic conservatives…" From An Egyptian Observer: The first hearing of the trial of 52 men accused of homosexuality, started this morning, Wednesday the 18th in Abdeen Courthouse, in front of a state security court under Egypt's emergency laws (in place since 1981). The trial scheduled at 9:00 am started more then two hours later. Some of the families and friends began to fill the courtroom starting from 8:00 but Security guards cleared the courthouse of the people and prevented them from attending the trial. At 11:00 they allowed the lawyers and the journalists to attend. Some of the family-members were able to attend by pretending to be either lawyers or journalists. The rest of the angry families waited outside. Many of the prisoners were holding and reading from the holy books (the Koran or the bible). They all pleaded not guilty when the charges were read out.
Families became furious when they saw the photographers and some of them attacked the people with cameras. Although they were not allowed to the court, they still wanted to take photos from the roof and through the broken windows of the crowded and hot courtroom, which made Many of the 52 men cover their heads with towels or plastic bags in an effort to hide their faces. This was in the cramped hall, and while being removed to the blue prison-van waiting outside the court. Security guards with sticks surrounded the 52 prisoners and cramped them in one van. The furious families bounded the van and female relatives of the accused screamed and howled hysterically and some of them throw themselves in front of the speeding car. Some of the spectators in the streets called the prisoners perverts, which made a brother of one of the detainees hit one of them in the face who kept on calling them "faggots". A Second Eye-Witness Account (Names changed to Protect the Innocent) Today was the trial. I really don't have words for what I witnessed today. I mean it just seems to me to be quite pathetic to try to put into words... but I'll try. We arrived at 8am. Trial scheduled at 9am Trial postponed to 11am and families and visitors are told they will not be allowed to witness the trial - only lawyers and journalists. 10am - The prisoners arrive in blue prisoner "trucks" (mahshoreen zay il firakh) overcrowded. We are able to speak to our friend Tony who seems to be quite optimistic & says: "Oh, it's only going to be a couple more trials & we'll be out. Don't worry." And he gives me a smile & a wink, as it's the first time for me to see him after the arrest. That wink & smile meant the world to me.. Lawyers acting upon requests from the families negotiate with the court to refrain from allowing photographers to enter the courtroom. 11am - trial begins 11:30 - We bribe the "soldiers", the soldiers that patron the prisoners in the blue "trucks", and a police officer to allow food, underwear, cigarettes, etc. to reach Tony and other prisoners. 12pm - We are informed that the trial is postponed till the 15th August. Maher calls the lawyer on his mobile. The lawyer says that the trial was pathetic! The judge didn't hear anything. 12:15pm - Prisoners are prepared to leave the courts. Riot police are lined up and people begin screaming & whaling. Prisoners are lined up two by two handcuffed. Prisoners are hysterical and trying hard to cover their faces because the photographers are looking out of the windows on the second floor of the courts taking pictures!!!! Tony is trying hard not to cry. I'm crying and Maher is about to cry. Families are screaming everywhere - pandemonium. Tony gets in the blue "truck". He asks us if his father left and we say yes. Tears are rolling down his face. An hour ago he had some hope. Now he's crushed. Absolutely crushed. He tells us that it has been delayed for a month. I don't know what to say to him other than "maalish" (It's OK). And I felt so stupid for saying that but nothing else could come out. The person next to him is sobbing uncontrollably and Tony is fighting so hard not to sob either as he tells him to calm down. I will never forget Tony looking out of those small blue bars taking his last glances of the "real world" until another month passes. His eyes were rolling, hungry for the scenery it's seeing. I feel nauseated. We wave good bye and he waves back. Maher is sobbing now. The people run after the "truck" in an effort to stop it somehow and it does stop actually because the families gathered in front of the "truck" and screams, screams, screams... I tell Maher to go and see Tony one last time since the car stopped but he didn't want Tony to see him in the state he was in. The officers & soldiers break up the mob and the "truck" departs to Tura prison. Maher hurries to find the lawyer and finally finds him in the courtroom. I wait outside and as I'm standing outside the court, I hear a family member shouting, "Kan rayih yi geeb dawh ya nas! Nizel yi geeb dawah wi akhadoo! Haram 'aleko ya nas!" (He only went to buy medicine and they arrested him) I also heard a guy who was in a passing by car say, "Eh dah, dol il shawaz ahom. Ahlan bil shawaz! Bye bye ya shawaz!" (Here are the perverts, Welcome perverts and Adieu perverts)
Maher came out saying that: 2 people are accused of
"izdiraa il adyan" which is a state security issue &
the rest are accused of "fugur wa Daara", (practicing
immoral acts and prostitution). And such accusations are
not a threat to state security and THUS the judge should
have automatically transferred the case to an ordinary
court rather than keep it in the emergency state
security court. BUT of course he didn't! The lawyers
are requesting that the case be transferred but who
knows..
AAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! And I saw Taha El Imbabi, the officer that tortured them the night they spent in Qasr El Nil police station. What an ass! He was walking around like a king, like he owned the country, like he could do anything to anyone and get away with it. He was looking at the families and friends smiling mockingly. He asked us: "are you waiting for the case #---" then in a sarcastic way he added: "This is useless, you won't be able to see them today." as if promising us that they won't come out. He was so proud - so fucking proud! I will never forget this horrific experience and I truly needed to see it so that if I never think of homesickness or of coming back to this shit hole when I go to "......". Tony's tearful face will always be ingrained in my mind. I can't wait till the day he is out & safe in "......" with us. Pray for him. I'll write more when there is news. |
By making scapegoats of men accused of being gay, President
Hosni Mubarak is hoping to win the favor of Islamic conservatives. 
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