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| Africa North | |
| Eight men jailed for alleged same-sex wedding in Egypt | |
| 2014-11-02 | |
| An Egyptian court has convicted eight men for "inciting debauchery" following their appearance in an alleged same-sex wedding party on a Nile boat, sentencing each of them to three years in prison. The Internet video shows two men exchanging rings and embracing among cheering friends. In September, a statement from the office of Egypt's chief prosecutor said the video clip was "shameful to God" and "offensive to public morals." The judge ruled that they would also be subject to police supervision following the completion of their prison sentence. The sentence was met with uproar from the families of the defendants, who demonstrated outside the courthouse in downtown Cairo and were cleared by police. The defendants, who had denied the charges, stood silent in the court room cage as the verdict was read, one of them holding up a copy of Quran. The men were first charged in September when a public prosecutor's statement said that the images were "humiliating, regrettable and would anger God", concluding that they constituted a criminal act. The prosecutor ordered the coroner to carry out physical examinations as part of the investigation. The sentence can be appealed.
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| Posted by:Steve White |