Since then, the men have been held incommunicado, without access to legal representation or to their families. They have been the subject of intense vilification in the Egyptian press, promoting fears of both religious dissent and foreign influences. Such letters might reinforce the impression, already cultivated by comments in the Egyptian press, of conspiratorial international activity aimed against both morality and the State. Their Member of the European Parliament. Ask that these institutions or representatives condemn the persecution and prosecution of these men, both publicly and in private communications to the Egyptian government.
Urgent action is needed.
Each day may bring more arrests in Egypt. Each day, the climate worsens, as new articles in State and non-State media dwell on the religious and political threat of homosexuality. Thursday night parties at the discotheque are reportedly popular with gays in Cairo, but the place is neither openly nor exclusively a gay venue. The owner and staff of the discotheque were not arrested. Those detained were driven to the vice squad headquarters in Abdin police station.