‘Gay Wedding’ Video Lands Eight Men In Egyptian Prison
A “gay wedding” video has landed eight men in prison due to the ruling of an Egyptian court, and the reason the men were arrested might shock you (unless you’re Bill Maher).
Apparently, the eight men’s only crime was allowing their faces to be seen in the video (shared below).
Of course, the Egyptian court had another name for this, Reuters notes — “inciting debauchery” and spreading “indecent” images.
According to Maher, Islam is a religion of violence and intolerance across the board, and more liberals need to be speaking up about it instead of constantly attacking Western religions that are comparatively more tolerant.
This latest development could easily fit in to his future monologues.
When you watch the video below — it runs a minute in length — you’ll see two men dressed for a marriage ceremony amid friends and family’s celebration.
After the two men share a brief kiss to commemorate the ceremony, the camera pans, and you’ll see a group of celebrators.
These men will now be spending the next three years in prison, Slate adds, with police supervision possible after their release. Worse than that, Egypt reportedly conducted a series of “tests” on the men to see if they were, in fact, homosexuals.
These “tests” consisted of “anal exams” to see if any form of consensual sex had taken place. Consequently, medical examiners found that they were “innocent” of the charges.
“The campaign against the men who appeared in the video was led by Islamists who called it proof that moral standards had decayed since Mohammed Morsi was removed from power,” Slate contributor Daniel Politi notes, adding that Graeme Reid, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) rights director at HRW, “also sees the prison sentences as a cynical populist ploy by the government.”
“The sentencing is the latest signal that the new government will prosecute anyone to try to bolster its support,” Reid said in comments to Daily News Egypt.
Commenters at Slate were largely disgusted by the actions of the Islamic court.
“…And Bill Maher gets vilified for pointing these things out,” wrote one commenter.
“I was about to type the exact same thing,” wrote a second. “Last Friday he had a Palestinian journalist… who actually said that you can be gay in the ME [Middle East]. Someone should send her this link.”
Do the “gay wedding” arrests surprise you coming from the new Egyptian government? Share your thoughts in our comments section.
