An Egyptian TV news show called El Mostakbai of the Al-Qahira wal Nas channel is claiming responsibility for a police raid on a hunnam in Cairo in which at least twenty-five naked men were arrested.
Reporter Mona Iraqi claims on Facebook that she and her team tipped off Cairo police to the “den of perversions” in the Egyptian capital, adding that the men were, “immediately transported to the prosecution with no clothes.”
On December 10, she says she will broadcast, “the whole story of the dens for spreading AIDS in Egypt.”
LGBT Egyptians have been under heightened attack under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s regime, with 80 people having been arrested on accusations of homosexuality since last October.
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Earlier this summer we reported that Grindr was warning Egyptian users to beware the possibility that authorities were posing undercover on the social app to entrap people. They posted this pop-up:
“Speak Safely — Egypt is arresting LGBT people, and police may be posing as LGBT on social media to entrap you. Please be careful about arranging meetings with people you don’t know, and be careful about posting anything that might reveal your identity.”
On November 1, eight men were arrested and sentenced to three years in prison after video emerged of their participation in a same-sex wedding.
h/t: Huffington Post, BuzzFeed
aliengod
Who’s bright idea was it to have a gay sex party in Cairo? Maybe they weren’t aware that Egypt isn’t known for being the most gay friendly place.
Trippy
Ghastly. Unfortunately, not an uncommon occurrence in some Middle-Eastern countries (or, I suspect, in Russia). While reading this, I had to remind myself that not that long ago, events like this happened in the US on a regular basis. Ultimately, those raids led to Stonewall. Let’s hope that one day soon more Stonewalls will take place in other parts of the world. Know hope.
jwtraveler
@aliengod: They are Egyptians, living in Egypt. They don’t exactly have the options that Americans and Europeans have. A better question is: “Whose idea was it for “journalists” to be acting as informants for the police?”
demented
@The District: What is a Hammam?
Kangol
I’m sure the authorities who conducted the raid were waiting for any opportunity to get into that hammam and eye some ham-man before enforcing this horrible, homophobic policy.
money718
That Mona lady is a bitch.
Saint Law
@aliengod: Everything you post – and I mean everything is wrong.
Do you actively work at being a moron?
vive
@aliengod, so are Egyptian people just supposed to roll over and not live their lives as gay men?
This same kind of thing happened here not so long ago (e.g. the infamous Toronto bathhouse raids of 1981, the Stonewall raids, etc.). Hell, even this year (2014) some bars were raided in Atlanta and patrons who were in their underwear were arrested.
The correct response to all of this is and has always been outrage, NOT blaming the victims as you are doing.
T101
@demented: I was thinking the same thing – what is a Hammam sex party?! Sound like they were getting down and nasty with it…. work guys…. !
transiteer
Eygpt is proving again, that they were better off under Mubarak. Now they’ve just got ignorance running the place.
Ladbrook
@demented: @T101:
A Hammam (or hamam as it is sometimes spelled) is nothing more than a Turkish bath complex. They’re very common in the middle east. This was NOT a sex club. Maybe a few were having sex (or using it as a cruising site) but we shouldn’t confuse the place with what we Americans commonly refer to as “the baths.”
Either way, the raid should not have happened and it’s a horrible commentary on the state of things in Egypt for the LGBT community.
Mina George
@transiteer: 1. You’re from Egypt?
2. When Mubarak was the persistent a lot gay men were sentenced live time penalty for having a gay party in a ship.. As long as people rule country based on their understanding of religion we’re off to nowhere (I have straight Muslim friends who agree on the same thing)
The District
Sorry Queerty, you still have it wrong.
In most cases today, bathouse means gay sex club. In the middle east there is a culture of Hammams. Men or women go to them exactly as someone would go to a spa here. Foot massage, massage, hot water treatments, lying on a hot marble stone, etc… these have nothing to do with the modern thought of “bathhouse” (Plus, the URL says sex club)
o.codone
For the 30 years Mubarak was running Egypt he promoted a western style government and a western culture. While Mr. Sisi (ironic name), is officially secular, behind the scenes the society itself is increasingly run by sharia minded leaders. Hence the anti-gay activities by the authorities are not unexpected. Gays and women are the victims of Muslim fanatics, and the sooner this is recognized the safer LGBT people will be. Egypt and other societies (and governments) with sharia or Muslim sentiments will prey on gays, relentlessly as we see happening here. There is no kumbaya with Muslims, it’s their way or the highway. They have been known to slice heads off of those who disagree with them. You won’t see gays making nice with Muslims at a peace summit anytime soon. An AK-47 is really the best defense for LGBT people. Gays work hard at being inclusive, it’s part of what we learned after decades of discrimination, but in this case, it’s a mistake.
electrongreen
There is no need for bath houses, this sort of behaviour feeds the hatred that exists
aliengod
@Saint Law: What part of my response was wrong? They weren’t having a sex party in Cairo? Egypt is a gay friendly country?
To answer your question, no. I’m not employed at Being A Moron.
Sluggo2007
@demented: Excuse me, demented, but did you ever hear of Google?
vive
@electrongreen, way to blame the victims here.