Egypt

Same-sex sexual activity is prohibited under the Penal Code 1937 and Law 10/1961, which criminalises acts of ‘indecency’, ‘scandalous acts’, and ‘debauchery’. These provisions carry a maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment and a fine. The local advocacy group Bedayaa reports that, in reality, some are convicted to up to six years in prison. Only men are criminalised under this law.

These laws do not explicitly criminalise same-sex sexual activity but have been enforced, to varying degrees, against the LGBT community in recent decades. The provisions are of colonial origin, and their vagueness has allowed them to be applied to same-sex sexual activity over time.

There is substantial evidence of the law being enforced in recent years, with LGBT people being frequently subject to arrest, especially since 2013 following an incident in which a pride flag was raised at a concert (see below). Police use a number of methods to arrest gay men, including using dating apps and social media to entrap them. Although arrests frequently result in conviction, reports suggest a high proportion are acquitted on appeal.

There have been consistent reports of discrimination and violence being committed against LGBT people in Egypt, including abuse, harassment, forced anal examinations, and the forced payment of bribes.

2024

In January it was reported that the Economic Court in Alexandria explicitly interpreted Article 25 of the Cybercrime law as criminalizing homosexuality. Article 25, which relates to violations of “family principles or values”, had been criticised for being vague and open to abuse. The Economic Court concluded that any charge of “debauchery” under Article 25 transformed into an explicit charge of homosexuality.

2022

It is reported that in September, the Egyptian Education Ministry issued a directive which included promoting anti-LGBT awareness campaigns in schools to allegedly protect children from “deviant” sexual behaviours. The Supreme Council for Media Regulation also issued a demand in September that Netflix remove “offensive content” and that companies adhere to the country’s “societal values”, largely seen as a demand to remove LGBT+ content from streaming platforms.

2020

In March the United Nations Human Rights Council conducted its third Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Egypt. Several states recommended putting an end to arrests and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It is reported that Egypt rejected these recommendations stating that it did “not recognise the terms mentioned in this recommendation”, effectively denying the existence of LGBT+ individuals.

2019

A draft bill was introduced to the Parliament’s Legislative and Constitutional Committee to replace Law No. 10/1961 on combating prostitution and debauchery, the law used to criminalise LGBT people in Egypt. Article 14 of the Bill would introduce a penalty of up to seven years in prison for “direct or indirect invitations” to practice debauchery (including same-sex sexual relations) and prostitution on social media and digital spaces.

2017

Egypt’s Supreme Council for Media Regulation issued an order to ban all forms of promotion or sympathy towards the LGBT community on media outlets, as well as the appearance of LGBT people on media outlets.

2015

The Supreme Administrative Court ruled in favour of the Ministry of Interior in a case filed by a Libyan citizen to overturn the decision barring him from entering the country. This ruling gave the Ministry the power to deport individuals based on their sexual orientation and practices without being required to prove their guilt in court first. The verdict, issued by the Supreme Administrative Court, went against the recommendation issued by the Court’s Commissioners’ Authority.

2022

The US Department of State, citing a local rights group, reported 250 arrests of LGBT persons since 2013. Reports also include ”harassment by police, including physical assault and forced payment of bribes to provide information concerning other LGBTQI+ individuals or to avoid arrest”. Police allegedly uses dating applications to entrap suspected LGBT individuals and conducts forced anal examination.

A report from NGO ARTICLE 19 shows that Egyptian authorities increasingly use technological means to target and prosecute individuals perceived as LGBT, using digital evidence in trials.

2019

LGBT organisation Bedayaa’s Legal Aid Project documented 65 cases of enforcement involving 92 LGBT people in 2019 (76 in 2018) noting that most of these arrests took place “randomly off the street”, though some also came through entrapment on dating apps, and in hotel/house arrests. 50 cases resulted in convictions at first instance, however 42 resulted in acquittal on appeal.

ILGA reported that while consensual same-sex intimacy is not explicitly criminalised, “the law on prostitution and the law against debauchery, among others, have been used liberally to imprison gay men in recent years.”

2018

Bedayaa documented 71 cases of enforcement involving 76 people in 2018.

2017

The US Department of State Human Rights report stated that there was an increase in arrests and harassment of LGBT individuals, particularly after a rainbow flag was raised on September 22 at a concert by the rock band Mashrou Leila (see below). Reports after this incident suggested that more than 85 individuals were arrested in a massive crackdown.

2016

The Human Rights Watch World report stated that a local advocacy group, Solidarity with Egypt LGBTQ+, had recorded 114 criminal investigations involving 274 LGBT individuals launched between the end of 2013 and November 2016, 66 of which involved the authorities’ use of social media.

2014

One blog post, citing Egyptian activists (Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights) as a source, claimed in May that 77 LGBT individuals had been arrested since October 2013.

In September, an Afghani news source, Khaama Press, reported the arrest of seven Egyptian men after they appeared in a video showing the marriage of two gay men. “Medical tests” were ordered for those individuals arrested. The report also alleges that four men were sentenced to eight years imprisonment for debauchery in April, after being found guilty of attending parties, where “homosexual activity” was alleged to have occurred.

2013

In October, 14 suspects were allegedly detained for investigation into allegations that they had committed “homosexual acts” at an Egyptian medical centre.

2022

Human Rights Watch reported continued targeting of LGBT individuals by the Egyptian authorities, including digital targeting, entrapment on social media and dating applications, online harassment an and extortion. There were documented cases of security forces using digital targeting based on cybercrime laws to entrap, arrest and detain LGBT individuals.

2020

The US Department of State report noted that the government did not make efforts to reduce discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and that authorities did not use anti-discrimination laws to protect LGBT people. Activists reported harassment by police, including assault and forced payment of bribes. The Forensic Medical Authority allegedly conducted forced anal exams on those arrested for ‘debauchery’.

2019 

The US Department of State report for 2019 highlighted that “intimidation and the risk of arrest greatly restricted open reporting [of discrimination and harassment] and contributed to self-censorship”.

2017

In September, a Lebanese band, Mashrou Leila, played a concert to an audience of 30,000 in Cairo, led by openly-gay singer Hamed Sinno. Fans waved rainbow flags in support of LGBT rights, leading to a media outcry against homosexuality and perceived ‘immorality’ and to a mass arrest of LGBT individuals.

In October, Egypt’s Supreme State Security Prosecution ordered two activists, Sarah Hegazy and Ahmed Alaa, to be detained for 15 days pending investigation for allegedly joining a banned group aimed at interfering with the constitution. After three months in pre-trial detention, they were released on bail and left the country.

2014

In December, 26 men were arrested in a bathhouse in downtown Cairo’s Ramses area at the behest of television host Mona al-Iraqi, who filmed the ensuing security raid. In January 2015, the Azbakeya Misdemeanors Court acquitted them.

Reports suggest that Egyptian police had begun to use social media websites to identify and target gay men. The local LGBT community issued warnings to avoid using dating apps following rumours that officials were using them to arrest gay men.