International NGOs denounce Egypt’s HIV-based arrests and trials

As five more men faced trial in Cairo on Wednesday, 117 organizations worldwide – led by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch – signed a letter to the Health Ministry and the Egyptian Doctors’ Syndicate condemning the Egyptian government’s HIV-based arrests and trials, and the forced tests administered to the suspects preceding the trials, which have been recognized as torture by the international human rights community, Human Rights Watch reported Monday.

The letter’s signatories span 41 countries on six different continents that work on health and human rights-related issues.

The letter is in response to the widening dragnet that has targeted men who practice, or are suspected of practicing homosexuality, or have contracted HIV or AIDS. A dozen men have been arrested in Cairo since October 2007, with signs that the number of arrests may increase.

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To read the letter sent to the Health Ministry and Doctors’ Syndicate, click here.