Cairo 52

Egyptian police raided a floating nightclub called the "Queen Boat" in May and arrested 53 men for "sexual immorality and forming a group which propagated extremist ideas and denigrated Islam." The cases have drawn sharp criticism from international rights groups, which say the men are being tried for their possible sexual orientation and for exercising freedom of speech and association. On Tuesday, a 15-year-old boy (the only minor arrested) was convicted of "practicing sexual immorality" and sentenced to three years in juvenile detention. The other 52 cases are being tried this week.
Planet Out

The trial of 52 suspected gay men in Egypt continues amidst charges that some have been beaten by police. International human rights and gay rights organizations have been following the case. According to Planet Out, "Egyptian gay activists have uncovered additional irregularities surrounding the arrests in this case. Contrary to reports by Cairo police, not all of the defendants were present at the Queen Boat the night of May 10 or were arrested there.... A Cairo media campaign ensued in the days following the arrests, with the tightly state-controlled media broadcasting names and addresses of some of the detainees, and peppering reports with allegations of debauchery and Satanism."
Planet Out (Oct 2001)

Background and update on the Cairo 52 arrests and trials from the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (published October 15, 2001).
IGLHRC (Oct 2001)

Planet Out continues its coverage of the trial of 52 accused gay men in Egypt. Among the bizarre twists: "Also in question is the membership of Sherif Farhat, the lead defendant in the case, in the Islamic terrorist group Jihad. According to Agence France-Presse, the prosecution accused Farhat of being a terrorist. Farhat's lawyer argues that his client could not be both a member of Jihad and be gay, since homosexuality is shunned in Islam. M. Faisal Alam, of the gay muslim group Al-Fatiha, called the 'insinuation' that Farhat is a member of the Islamic Jihad 'an excuse to justify the trial, especially in light of the new "war on terrorism."'" International human rights groups have condemned the arrests and trial. An Amnesty International representative says, "The way these 52 men are being treated [in this court] is not unique. These are serious allegations, and the men are subjected to torture and ill treatment. Our main view is that if these men are being held on the basis of homosexual activity; the fact they can be put in prison for that is fundamentally wrong."
Planet Out (Oct 2001)

An Egyptian court on Wednesday issued a long-awaited verdict in the trial of the "Cairo 52," acquitting 29 of the men and sentencing 23 to jail for practicing "sexual immorality," a euphemism for homosexuality. The 52 men had been arrested in May while attending a party on a floating nightclub on the Nile River, and the subsequent months of trial hearings generated sensational local media coverage and outcries from international human rights groups.
Planet Out (Nov 2001)

Five Egyptian men were sentenced to three years in prison with hard labor for engaging in gay sex and hosting gay sex parties. International human rights groups have denounced Egypt's crackdown on homosexuality. Last week activists in Washington, DC, protested outside a meeting between US President George W. Bush and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak because the two leaders have not publicly addressed the human rights abuses.
Washington Post | Planet Out (Mar 2002)