[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 112 (Friday, August 3, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1537]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


  EGYPTIAN HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS BASED ON REAL OR PERCEIVED SEXUAL 
                              ORIENTATION

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 2, 2001

  Mr. TOM LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on the night of May 10, 2001, Egyptian 
police arrested 52 Egyptian men because they frequented a gay night 
club. Since then, these men have been denied counsel, the have been 
tortured, they have had their reputations attacked, and they have been 
arraigned on trumped up charges of ``obscene behavior'' despite the 
fact that Egypt has no laws expressly criminalizing consensual 
homosexual behavior. Furthermore, if these men are convicted, under 
Egypt's Emergency State Security Court system, they will not have the 
right to appeal and may be sentenced up to nine years in prison. Mr. 
Speaker, by jailing, torturing, and denying a fair trial to people 
because of their real or perceived sexual orientation, the Egyptian 
government once again demonstrates its disregard of the human rights of 
its citizens, and its willingness to deny them the right of free 
association and due process.
  Egypt is clearly violating the human rights of these 52 men. Reports 
indicate that these men have been tortured with electroshocks, whipped 
while in prison, threatened with dogs, and they have been forced to 
undergo degrading and intrusive examinations designed to ``prove'' that 
they have been partners in homosexual relations. Mr. Speaker,. the 
Egyptian government has not only harmed these men physically, but has 
also sought to hurt their reputations. Their names together with 
identifying details, such as their professions and places of work were 
published, and they were publicly labeled as members of a ``Satanist'' 
organization.
  Mr. Speaker, astonishingly even anti-Semitism has been used to defame 
the detainees. For example, the pro-government press reported that one 
of the men ``confessed'' to being ``immersed in Judaism.'' The alleged 
leader of the so-called ``cult'' was shown in an evidently doctored 
photograph in one newspaper with an Israeli flag on his desk.
  The Egyptian government's treatment of these 52 men is indicative of 
a broad pattern of persecution towards religious and secular 
dissidents. Often these victims of persecution are members of Islamist 
political movements whom the government sees as a particular threat. 
In recent months, however, President Mubarak's government has 
undertaken a number of well publicized prosecutions aimed at secular 
dissidents. Most notably, the government imposed a seven-year sentence 
on Saad Eddin Ibrahim, a noted sociologist, for defaming the Egyptian 
State-a charge apparently prompted by his activism on behalf of 
religious tolerance and honest elections.

  Mr. Speaker, this repressive intolerance has extended to the 
international sphere. Egypt led the effort, at the recent United 
Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS, to eliminate from 
the final document all references to vulnerable groups including men 
who have sex with men, sex workers, and IV-drug users. And Egypt also 
led the unsuccessful effort to deny the right to speak at the Special 
Session to the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. 
Local human rights groups in Egypt have been reluctant to act against 
many of these abuses--fearful their own precarious situation, facing a 
determinedly draconian government, will be worsened if they defend 
stigmatized groups. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, a 
prominent non-governmental organization, recently fired one of its 
employees because he pressed them to speak out against the arrests of 
gay men.
  Lawyers have been reluctant to take up the case of these 52 men, 
fearing their own careers and even freedom could be endangered. The 
night to legal representation is a basic one, essential to the 
operations of a free and fair justice system. By creating a climate in 
which due process it is denied to gay men, the Egyptian government has 
undermined the basic human rights of all Egyptians.
  Mr. Speaker, this body must not ignore the Egyptian government's 
attempts to violate the human rights of individuals based on their real 
or perceived sexual orientation. The US government and the governments 
of all countries should stand up and be counted against Egypt's growing 
record of intolerance and inhumanity. Our distinguished colleague from 
Massachusetts Mr. Frank and 1, along with 34 of our colleagues are 
sending a letter to President Mubarak to express our very strong 
disapproval of the arrest of 52 men in Egypt on the basis of their real 
or perceived sexual orientation.
  Mr. Speaker, human rights are universal. These basic rights affirm 
our shared humanity; they should not be applied unequally according to 
prejudice and fear. We must not let the Egyptian government's rejection 
of basic human rights go unnoticed.

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