Now Reading
Instigator of anti-gay Cairo raid sent to prison

Instigator of anti-gay Cairo raid sent to prison

Egyptian journalist Mona Iraqi (at right, with camera phone) records the police raid on the Bab el-Bahr public bathhouse, with men being herded into a police van, on Dec. 7, 2014. (Screenshot from Mona Iraqi's Facebook page, courtesy of Scott Long)
Egyptian journalist Mona Iraqi (at right, with camera phone) records the police raid on the Bab el-Bahr public bathhouse, with men being herded into a police van, on Dec. 7, 2014. (Screenshot from Mona Iraqi’s Facebook page, courtesy of Scott Long)

Egyptian TV reporter Mona Iraqi has been sentenced to six months in jail for her role in inciting a December 2014 raid on a Cairo bathhouse that resulted in the arrest and subsequent acquittal of 26 men on charges of debauchery, Pink News and the Towle Road website report.

The December 2014 raid was an embarrassing misstep in an anti-LGBTI crackdown that began in 2013 and continued at least through September 2015, when 11 supposedly gay men were arrested in a pre-Eid holiday “morality campaign.”

Mona Iraqi (Photo courtesy of Scott Long)
Mona Iraqi (Photo courtesy of Scott Long)

More than 100 allegedly LGBTI people have fallen victim to this police harassment, which is part of a larger pattern of human rights abuses in Egypt targeting political activists, journalists and even some tourists.

Iraqi apparently informed the police about activities at the bath house, which she claimed was “the biggest den of perversions in the heart of Cairo.”  She and her team accompanied the police on the December 2014 raid and documented it with photos, which she published on her Facebook page.

All 26 men were found innocent in January because of insufficient evidence.

Her six-month sentence and a related fine of about $1,300 came after attorneys for the 26 men filed for defamation and accused Iraqi of broadcasting false news.

See Also
Dr. Adrian Jjuuko, executive director of HRAPF, speaks to the media on May 29 in Kampala, Uganda, after filing a petition seeking to nullify the entire Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023. (Gloria Nakiyimba photo courtesy of Capital Radio)

Iraqi has not announced whether she plans to appeal.

 

View Comment (1)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

© 2022 ERASING 76CRIMES
Scroll To Top

Discover more from Erasing 76 Crimes

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading