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Mubarak
Cancels Verdict Jailing 21 Egyptians For Gay Sex
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Mubarak
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CAIRO,
May 23 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - President Hosni Mubarak
has rescinded jail terms for 21 Egyptian men convicted of gay sex and
ordered prosecutors to review their cases and those of 29 others who
were acquitted, Farid Al-Dib, a key lawyer for the defense told Agence
France-Presse (AFP) Thursday, May 23.
Mubarak decision is based on the fact that the emergency
laws
in force in Egypt since 1981 makes
him the only official in the country who can ratify or
rescind verdicts given by the high state security court.
He
also ratified jail terms of five years and three years for two of the
23 men who were convicted on November 14 after a mass trial by the
high state security court, AFP said.
He
decided to “send the files of the 50 young people back to the
prosecutor's office so that it decides on the necessary procedures,”
Al-Dib said.
The
Egyptian president based his decision “on the fact that the
accusations brought against them are not part of the charges which the
high state security court can rule on,” Dib told AFP.
The
court, which was set up under the emergency laws, is a special
tribunal which rules on cases deemed to be of a threat to national
security or national sovereignty.
Sherif
Farahat, the lead defendant in the case whose verdict was upheld, was
sentenced to five years in prison for “scorning religion” and
“sexual practices contrary to Islam." Mahmud Ahmed Allam, whose
sentence was also upheld, was jailed for three years for scorning
religion.
The
remaining 50 defendants, most of them in their early 20s, had been
charged with “practicing debauchery with men.” Twenty of them were
sentenced to two years in prison while one was jailed for a year, AFP
said.
“The prosecutor
can now decide to shelve the case or refer it to a criminal court,
rather than keep it before the high state security court,” Al-Dib
said.
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