A TV host has been handed a year-long prison sentence in Egypt after interviewing a gay man live on air.
TV presenter Mohamed al-Gheiti has landed a year-long prison sentence after interviewing a gay man live on TV in Egypt. The presenter who is known for his anti-gay stance invited a gay man on to his show in August 2018 to discuss homosexuality on air.
The man’s face was blurred during the show but talked about how he was a sex worker and detailed relationships he had with other men, according to sources.
The Supreme Council for Media Regulation, Egypt’s media regulator suspended the private channel LTC TV for two weeks after the interview because it said the channel had broken a ban on the “appearance of homosexuals or promotion of their slogans”.
The Rainbow Flag is a forbidden symbol in the deeply Islamic country. Although homosexuality is technically legal in Egypt it has been treated de facto illegal since 2000.
Mohamed al-Gheiti was given a year’s prison sentence and fined 3000 Egyptian pounds. After his prison sentence is completed the court order that he put under surveillance for a further year.
In 2017 concert goers in Egypt were arrested for raising the rainbow flag at a concert and in 2017 six men were facing anal examinations to determine whether they had engaged in same-sex sexual relations, according to Amnesty International.
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