Egyptian authorities have arrested at least 22 people in the past four days as part of a campaign against LGBT people, Amnesty International says.
Thirty-two men and one woman have now been detained since rainbow flags were displayed at a pop concert in Cairo last month, according to activists.
Anal examinations have been reportedly carried out on five of those arrested.
The flag-raising provoked a public outcry and prompted the public prosecutor to order an investigation.
Homosexuality is not explicitly criminalised under Egyptian law. But the authorities routinely arrest people suspected of engaging in consensual homosexual conduct on charges of “debauchery”, “immorality” or “blasphemy”.
The raising of rainbow flags at the concert by the Lebanese band Mashrou’ Leila – whose lead singer is openly gay – on 22 September was a rare public show of support for the LGBT community in the conservative Muslim country.
Three days later, after images went viral, Public Prosecutor Nabil Sadek ordered State Security prosecutors to investigate an “incident” that “incited homosexuality”.
On Sunday, six men were charged in connection with the flag-raising and went on trial alongside at least 10 others arrested last week, according to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, a local human rights organisation. A verdict in their trial is expected on 29 October.
A woman suspected of raising a rainbow flag at the concert has also been charged with “promoting sexual deviancy” and “habitual debauchery”.
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Source: BBC
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