26 July - 1 August 2001
Issue No.544
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 26 July - 1 August 2001 Issue No.544 |
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Ethics in the balance
The controversial trial of a group of young men on charges of deriding religion and engaging in acts of sexual immorality has raised concerns over human rights and violations of the journalistic code of ethics. Rana Allam reports
After a stormy opening on 18 July of the trial of 52 young men, accused of contempt of religion and acts of sexual immorality, the judge decided to postpone hearings until 15 August. The case is being heard by a State Security Misdemeanours Court under the authority of the Emergency Law, which denies defendants the right to appeal before a higher tribunal. The Emergency Law has been in force since the 1981 assassination of President Anwar El-Sadat.
Charges related to contempt of religion are usually brought to a State Security Court. In this case, only two of the 52 defendants are accused of deriding religion. They face up to five years in prison.
"The rest of the group are accused of habitual debauchery with men, which is case for a civil court," human rights lawyer Taher Abul-Nasr said.
Until the trial opened, lawyers had not been informed officially of the accusations levelled against their clients. "We have a vague idea, but we have nothing official," said lawyer Bassem Abdel-Rahman, minutes before the opening. "The dossier of the case includes 1,000 pages. We had little time to study it and prepare our defence," Abul- Nasr. said
"This case is nonsense," said Farid El- Deeb, head of the defence team and lawyer of the first defendant. "The law penalises habitual debauchery but, in this case, there is no proof of anything habitual." According to the law, "habitual" means engaging in the act repeatedly in different places with different people.
Sources who happened to be on the floating restaurant where the arrests took place said that some of the accused were heterosexuals.
Human rights activists and lawyers are asking why the detention has been so prolonged, why the hearings have been adjourned and why a State Security Court will hear the case.
"The primary concern here is the right to a fair trial," said Hany Megally, executive director in charge of the Middle East and Northern Africa for Human Rights Watch.
Sections of the Egyptian press have reacted angrily to statements issued by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch expressing "grave concern about the detention of men in connection with their sexual orientation." Some newspapers have accused the two organisations of meddling in Egypt's internal affairs and attempting to impose their beliefs on Egyptian culture. "There is no law against homosexuality in Egypt; our aim is to see the rule of the law and to safeguard human rights," Megally argues. "The only thing we can ask for is to have an international observer."
The rule that a defendant is innocent until proven guilty seems to have escaped the attention of sections of the Egyptian press in this case. The "traditional and rooted aversion towards homosexuality," as Yehia Qallash, secretary-general of the Press Syndicate, put it, has overridden the assumption that some of the accused may not be guilty. And even the guilty deserve a fair trial and some basic rights, Qallash said.
Some newspapers have published names, ages and work places of the accused, making it difficult for their families to live a normal life. At the opening of the trial, families of the defendants physically attacked reporters and photographers, screaming at them for "ruining" their reputations and lives.
The Code of Ethics of the Press Syndicate clearly states that "reporters should refrain from publishing details of a criminal or civil investigation or trial with the aim of influencing the course of proceedings." Also, "a reporter is not allowed to publish names or photos of defendants or guilty minors." And privacy is to be protected.
"What happened is a clear violation of the code and has to be stopped," Qallash said.
The defendants were arrested in a police raid on a floating restaurant on 11 May and held incommunicado for weeks following their arrest. Initial press reports spoke of alleged gay weddings, public orgies and Satanic worship.
The detainees were subjected to medical examinations "which proved that my client did not engage in homosexual activities," said El- Deeb, the first defendant's defence attorney, adding that his client had been receiving psychiatric treatment since 1992.
The trial opened at the Abdin court complex in downtown Cairo. Hundreds of people, including reporters, lawyers and the defendants' families, gathered outside. Only reporters and lawyers were allowed inside the small courtroom, but many family members managed to push their way through, screaming, "We haven't seen our sons for months!" The defendants, hand-cuffed, dressed in white T- shirts and covering their faces with handkerchiefs, were seated in one half of the room, surrounded by security men. The other half was crammed with people. Amidst screams and sobs from families and defendants, the judge read out the charges. The defendants pleaded innocent. One said: "I was taken from the street." Another: "There is no evidence," and a third: "This did not happen!"
The situation in the courtroom was chaotic. "We had requests and wanted to present them, but it was impossible," lawyer Abdel- Rahman said.
After the hearing was adjourned, the defendants were pushed into a police truck, with their families running after them until they disappeared from sight.
Abul-Nasr said the presiding judge later asked the Ministry of Justice to allocate him a more spacious courtroom in order to prevent a repeat of the chaos.
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