EGYPT'S HIV ARRESTS AND CONVICTIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 000739 SIPDIS SIPDIS DRL FOR CASTEEL NSC STAFF FOR PASCUAL E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/10/2018 TAGS: PHUM PGOV KHIV EG SUBJECT: EGYPT'S HIV ARRESTS AND CONVICTIONS Classified By: Minister-Counselor for Economic and Political Affairs William R. Stewart for Reasons 1.4(B). ¶1. (U) According to media reports, on April 9 five HIV positive Egyptian men were convicted of "the habitual practice of debauchery" andsentenced to three years in prison. The debauchey charges stem from alleged homosexual conduct. awyers for the men intend to appeal the conviction but are not optimistic. On January 13, four oter HIV positive men were also convicted of debaucery and sentenced to one year in prison, sentencs they are currently serving following unsuccessul appeals. Charges against three other men, alo indicted for debauchery, were reportedly dropped after the men tested negative for the HIV virus. ¶2. (C) The five men convicted yesterday are represented by lawyers from the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR). According to EIPR, the arrests and convictions are part of an ongoing crackdown on HIV positive homosexual men. The crackdown began in October 2007, when a man arrested in downtown Cairo told police he was HIV positive. During a subsequent interrogation, he apparently identified other potentially HIV positive men, leading to these arrests and convictions. According to the EIPR, police and prosecutors are continuing to question the convicted men in an effort to identify additional HIV positive homosexual men. EIPR expects the arrests and prosecutions to continue as additional suspects are identified. ¶3. (C) EIPR believes the crackdown is sparked by the security services, prosecutors and judges' genuine fear of the spread of HIV/AIDS. EIPR told us that during one trial, prosecutors and judges identified the charge as "carrying AIDS" and had to be corrected by defense lawyers. One prosecutor toldthe EIPR lawyer that his goal was to keep HIV positive men off the streets to prevent them from spreading the virus. EIPR found it significant that the three men arrested and subsequently found not to be HIV positive were released. EIPR told us that Egypt's Ministry of Health (MOH),which has an HIV/AIDS prevention program, failed to play a constructive role in this case, despite requests from defense lawyers. Instead, it sent MOH doctors to visit the men while they were being held, asked them to complete "confidential" health surveys, and then turned the surveys over to prosecutors who used them as evidence in the trials. ¶4. (C) Comment: This may be an instance where the government is attempting, however misguidedly, to protect public health, rather than a general crack down on homosexuality. For example, we are aware of a recent case where an HIV positive foreign resident of Egypt was deported within approximately 48 hours of his diagnoses at a public hospital. Either way, human rights activists expect the campaign to continue, with additional arrests and prosecutions. EIPR urged us to raise the issue privately with the Egyptian government, but to refrain from public statements. RICCIARDONE