Buzzfeed reports an Egyptian appeals court has dismissed the case against the 26 Egyptian men, charged with debauchery in December's bathhouse raid. Though a lower court has already acquitted the men, this decision marks the final legal decision on the case.
According to Mohamed Abo Zakry, a lawyer with the Egyptian Center for Civil Reform who represented seven of the now-acquitted men, this verdict means the men have been found "totally innocent and the case is totally closed."
As mentioned in previous posts, the men intend to take legal action against TV reporter Mona Iraqi, who has been accused of filming the bathhouse interior illegally. Speaking to Buzzfeed, Zakry says the acquitted men "would immediately begin prepare to file suit against Iraqi and her television station."
They will also file a claim with the office that investigates police misconduct, alleging that the officer who lead the raid (Lt. Col. Ahmed Hashad) fabricated testimony.
Despite this positive development for gay rights in Egypt, there remains concern that the government is engendering anti-gay bias in the media.
