Arrests and torture of gays, lesbians in Egypt are 'systematic,' rights report says

The Egyptian government continues to target gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in a "systematic fashion" through arbitrary arrests, torture and other forms of abuse, including forced "virginity tests," Human Rights Watch said Thursday.

The watchdog group accused police personnel and officers of Egypt’s National Security Agency of routinely picking up suspected LGBT people off the streets and detaining them in “inhuman conditions,” often after illegally searching their phones. Security forces have also “entrapped LGBT people through social networking sites and dating applications,” Human Rights Watch said.

“Egyptian authorities seem to be competing for the worst record on rights violations against LGBT people in the region, while the international silence is appalling,” Rasha Younes, LGBT rights researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

The Sissi government has repeatedly ignored international calls to end discrimination and arrests of LGBT people, according to human rights activists. In March, at the U.N. Human Rights Council, Egypt refused to even recognize the existence of LGBT people.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/egypt-lgbt-abuse/2020/10/01/424badbc-03c7-11eb-b92e-029676f9ebec_story.html