Egyptian TV presenter sentenced to prison over defamation charges

A Cairo court has sentenced controversial TV presenter Mona Iraqi to six months in prison on charges of defamation and spreading lies in what came to be known as the Cairo bath-house case.

The court on Thursday also ordered Iraqi to pay EGP 1,000 ($127) in bail, as well as a fine of EGP 10,000 ($1,277). The verdict is not final, and Iraqi can still file an appeal.

The prosecution accused Iraqi of defaming 26 men who were charged with "debauchery" after Iraqi accompanied a police raid on a central Cairo bathhouse.

The TV presenter was photographed filming the half-naked men as they were dragged into police trucks, before broadcasting the raid on al-Qahera Wal Nas TV channel.

Despite their acquittal, the men still had to face the social stigma associated with being accused of homosexuality

Iraqi was heavily criticised following the incident, with many people accusing her of spreading lies about the men and destroying their lives and reputation for a scoop.

In response, Iraqi claimed on her Facebook page that the reason behind the raid was to expose a "group sex den" that allegedly contributed to the spread of HIV in Egypt.

The raid was part of a growing crackdown on Egypt's LGBT community at the time, as homosexuality remains a social taboo in many circles in Egypt, even though it is not explicity prohibited by law.

In January 2015, the court acquitted all the men involved in the case, arguing that the evidence provided was not sufficient and that forensics showed no evidence that the accused had engaged in homosexual acts.

Despite their acquittal, the men still had to face the social stigma associated with being accused of homosexuality. One of them even attempted suicide after the scandal.

Tarek el-Awady, the men's defence lawyer who filed the defamation case against Iraqi, told Egypt's Ahram Online that they were planning to file a lawsuit to claim compensation from the TV presenter.

Double standards

In June, only days after the US Supreme Court ruled in favour of gay marriage, Iraqi was further criticised for hypocrisy and double standards when she posted a tweet in support of LGBT rights.

"I support the right to live and love freely without persecution and with full respect for them [LGBT community] and others as well," she tweeted, using the hashtag #Lovewins.

"Mona Iraqi thinks homosexuality in Egypt is gross and should be exposed, but in the US it is cute and homosexuals should be able to marry. What is this madness?!" one user tweeted in response.

Severe criticism of Iraqi's perceived double standards by LGBT and human rights activists eventually prompted her to respond by confirming her support for personal freedom "as long as it does not harm anyone".