August 17, 2001

His Excellency, Counselor Farouk Seif Al Nasr Minister of Justice Ministry of Justice Midan Lazoughly Cairo Arab Republic of Egypt

Your Excellency:

I am writing to express my outrage over the persecution of 52 men now facing trial in Cairo for their homosexuality.

As you are undoubtedly aware, Egyptian law does not expressly penalize homosexuality. Clearly, however, this has not impeded the Egyptian authorities from pursuing a case against these men with no evident basis in law. The reputation of Egypt is at stake. These men must be freed. It is time for these unjust proceedings to end.

These men have been jailed for over two months since their arrest on May 11, 2001, at the Queen Boat discotheque -- in violation of the internationally accepted protections against arbitrary detention. There is strong evidence that police and guards have subjected the men to torture. The sensational publicity given the case in the State-directed media has only served further to prejudice the possibility of their receiving a fair trial. It has discouraged attorneys and human rights organizations from defending these men, impeding their right to legal counsel. In fact, it was not until a May 23 hearing that counsel were allowed access to the accused. The Emergency Security Court that is trying them allows no appeal to a higher tribunal, violating the express provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Egypt has ratified. And the abuse heaped upon these men for their alleged homosexuality constitutes a denial of their dignity and equality before the law.

The isolation of the men has prevented them and their counsel from preparing a common defense. Four men are defended by a lawyer from the Hisham Mubarak Law Center, others only by whatever legal representation their families have been able to find. Lawyers were only informed officially of the details of the accusations as the hearing began. According to Al Ahram, one lawyer stated, "The dossier of the case includes 1000 pages. We had little time to study it and prepare our defense."

All the men have been charged under Article 9.c of Law No. 10/1961 on the Combat of Prostitution. The law provides a sentence of three months' to three years' imprisonment for "obscene behavior" as well as prostitution. Two of the men were also charged under Article 98.f of the Penal Code, which criminalizes "contempt for religion" and carries a sentence of six months to five years. The court set a further hearing for August 15, which opened as scheduled.

In addition, some newspapers have published the names, workplaces, and even photographs of the accused -- with similarities of language suggesting they had derived this information from official sources. Egyptian law (Law No. 96 Concerning the Regulation of Journalists, Article 23) bars publishing details of an ongoing Investigation or trial that might influence its outcome. The 1998 Code of Ethics of the Egyptian Journalists Association also states that "reporters should refrain from publishing details of a criminal or civil investigation or trial with the aim of influencing the course of proceedings" -- and that "a reporter is not allowed to publish names or photos of defendants."

Nevertheless, despite these stipulations, the State-controlled media has engaged in a campaign of vilification against the imprisoned men. They were called "Satanists" and worse. On May 13, the daily paper Al Maasa alleged the defendants belonged to an organized group of religious heretics as well as foreign agents, and stated: "The accused persons admitted to the police officers that they believe in . . . perverse ideas which they brought from a perverse group in Europe whose members practice deviant practices such as homosexual marriage, and believe that perverse relationships between men are stronger than sexual relationships between men and women. Their ideas stress the negation of revealed religions, which they consider based on absurd and mythical beliefs." The group spread its ideas "among youth groups in universities, high schools, and clubs." The State Security Office had been tapping the telephones of members of "the perverse group" for some time, Al Maasa reported.

On the same day, the State-owned daily Al Ahram also identified the defendants as devil worshipers and cultists, who "tried to recruit new members to their cult and called on them to go to swim in the Dead Sea in Jordan to be blessed by its water." One of the group, Al Ahram stated, had confessed to being "immersed in Judaism." On May 15, Al Maasa published what it called the "Latest on Satanists' Case," claiming to identify a "leader" of the "group" as a man "who traveled to a number of European countries as well as Israel, and is also a prominent member of many international perverted organizations that are widespread in these countries, and adopted their perverted ideas in practicing deviance, and recruited a number of his friends to spread the organization's ideas in Egypt."

The right to freedom from torture and from cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment is protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in its Article 5, and by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in its Article 7. It is also protected by the United Nations Convention against Torture.

Discrimination based on status is barred by the UDHR in its Articles 1 and 2, and by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in its Articles 2 and 26. While these provisions do not expressly mention "sexual orientation," the United Nations Human Rights Committee held in the 1994 case Toonen v Australia that the ICCPR's anti-discrimination provisions should be understood to include sexual orientation as a protected status.

Both the UDHR and ICCPR in Article 18 of each protect the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. Both the UDHR and ICCPR in Article 19 of each protect the right to freedom of expression. The rights to freedoms of assembly and association are protected by the UDHR in its Article 20, and by the ICCPR in its Articles 21 and 22.

The right to a fair trial is protected by numerous international instruments, notably the ICCPR in its Article 14, which prescribes, inter alia, that "All persons shall be equal before the courts and tribunals"; that all persons are entitled to the presumption of innocence; that all persons have the right to counsel of their own choosing, and to "be tried without undue delay"; and that "Everyone convicted of a crime shall have the right to his conviction and sentence being reviewed by a higher tribunal according to law."

Numerous international instruments, including the UDHR and ICCPR in Article 9 of each, also protect the right to freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention. Article 9 of the ICCPR also affirms that persons in pre-trial detention are "entitled to trial within a reasonable time or to release. It shall not be the general rule that persons awaiting trial shall be detained in custody, but release may be subject to guarantees to appear for trial."

Egypt ratified the ICCPR in 1982 and acceded to the Convention Against Torture in 1986. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is considered part of customary international law and binding on all member States of the United Nations.

All the available evidence suggests that the accused men are being subjected to legal reprisals for exercising their legitimate rights to freedom of association, assembly, and expression. I urge you to see that the charges against them are dropped and the men are freed. I urge you to eliminate the Emergency Law of 1981 which allows trials before courts which allow no proper appeal. I urge you to end the practice of prolonged, incommunicado arbitrary detention. I urge you to investigate allegations of torture and ill-treatment of detainees, and punish those found responsible. I urge you to see that both press and criminal justice system abide by the terms of Article 23 of the Law No. 96 Concerning the Regulation of Journalists, which bars publication of details of a trial or investigation which might influence its outcome. And I urge you to work for the repeal of provisions that criminalize "contempt for religion" or "obscene behavior" or "prostitution," which can be used to penalize persons exercising internationally recognized rights to free speech, free assembly, free association, and freedom of thought and belief.

Sincerely,

Barrett L. Brick, Esq.

cc: His Excellency, President Mohammad Hosni Mubarak
President of the Arab Republic of Egypt

His Excellency Ahmed Maher Al-Sayad
Minister of Foreign Affairs

Counsellor Maher 'Abd al-Wahid
Public Prosecutor

His Excellency M. Nabil Fahmy
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary