News Digest

Viral gay wedding video leads to arrest warrants for seven in Egypt

Egypt has arrested seven men for taking part in a gay wedding video that went viral on social media, accusing them of inciting debauchery and undermining public morals. The seven were arrested on Saturday after appearing in the video purporting to show the country’s first gay marriage as two men exchanged rings surrounded by friends. All seven are charged with “incitement to debauchery” and “publishing indecent images”.

Nine of the 16 participants were identified in an investigation and seven were arrested.

MENA State News Agency

The public prosecutor’s office said in a statement that the party took place in April but the footage went viral in August, causing the police to take action to identify the men. Prosecutors said they had also ordered “medical tests” of the men, a longstanding practice in Egypt to allegedly identify homosexuals that has been denounced by human rights groups. Homosexuality is not included in a list of sexual offences explicitly outlawed by Egyptian law, but it can be punished under several different statutes on morality.