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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Egypt cuts 'gay wedding video' jail terms | Egypt cuts 'gay wedding video' jail terms |
| (12 days later) | |
| A court in Egypt has reduced to one year the three-year jail sentences given to eight men for appearing in a video alleged to show a gay marriage. | A court in Egypt has reduced to one year the three-year jail sentences given to eight men for appearing in a video alleged to show a gay marriage. |
| All eight denied charges of inciting debauchery and offending public morality during the trial in November. | All eight denied charges of inciting debauchery and offending public morality during the trial in November. |
| The video, which was posted to YouTube in September, shows two men exchanging rings on a boat on the Nile. | The video, which was posted to YouTube in September, shows two men exchanging rings on a boat on the Nile. |
| Though homosexuality is legal in Egypt, it remains a taboo. Police raids on gay venues have risen in recent months. | Though homosexuality is legal in Egypt, it remains a taboo. Police raids on gay venues have risen in recent months. |
| Relatives of the defendants screamed and wept on hearing the new sentences given by a Cairo appeal court, AFP news agency reports. | Relatives of the defendants screamed and wept on hearing the new sentences given by a Cairo appeal court, AFP news agency reports. |
| In April, a court in Egypt sentenced four men to up to eight years in prison for committing homosexual acts. | In April, a court in Egypt sentenced four men to up to eight years in prison for committing homosexual acts. |
| A mass round-up in 2001 saw dozens of men sentenced on similar charges. | A mass round-up in 2001 saw dozens of men sentenced on similar charges. |
| Authoritarian creep? | Authoritarian creep? |
| The latest court case comes amid reports that Egypt is enacting authoritarian laws at a rate unmatched by any other country for 60 years. | The latest court case comes amid reports that Egypt is enacting authoritarian laws at a rate unmatched by any other country for 60 years. |
| The UK's Guardian newspaper reports that since the overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi in July 2013, his successors Adly Mansour and Abdul Fattah al-Sisi have used the absence of an elected parliament to issue decrees "that severely restrict freedom of expression, association and assembly". | The UK's Guardian newspaper reports that since the overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi in July 2013, his successors Adly Mansour and Abdul Fattah al-Sisi have used the absence of an elected parliament to issue decrees "that severely restrict freedom of expression, association and assembly". |
| In one case, an Egyptian literary journalist and poet Fatima Naoot is to go on trial for describing the Islamic ritual of slaughtering of sheep as a sacrifice to God on Eid al-Adha as the greatest massacre committed by human beings. | In one case, an Egyptian literary journalist and poet Fatima Naoot is to go on trial for describing the Islamic ritual of slaughtering of sheep as a sacrifice to God on Eid al-Adha as the greatest massacre committed by human beings. |
| Additionally, Egypt has seen a marked rise in attacks by militants in Sinai - an increasingly lawless and strategically important peninsula. | Additionally, Egypt has seen a marked rise in attacks by militants in Sinai - an increasingly lawless and strategically important peninsula. |
| The army announced on Saturday that one terror suspect had been killed and 297 captured in North Sinai in a three-day security sweep. | The army announced on Saturday that one terror suspect had been killed and 297 captured in North Sinai in a three-day security sweep. |