In a move similar to the one taken by their French colleagues, a number of British stars including singer Elton John, signed a petition supporting the rights of gays in Egypt.
The British petition signed also by the star of the film The Lord of the Rings, Ian McKellen, the comedy actors Graham Norton, Eddy Ezard, Maurine Lipman and actress Emma Thomson will be delivered to the Egyptian ambassador to the European Union Tuesday.
The campaign led by Michel Kashman, British party EU Parliament member, calls for setting free 23 Egyptians who were arrested over libertinism charges after they attended a party on board of a ship in Cairo.
Kashman called upon the EU to freeze its aid to Egypt should Cairo refrain from forgiving the arrested persons or give them the chance to appeal the ruling in the case which he described as an outrageous example on sex oppression of homosexuals.
“We cannot finance violations of human rights and if we do not do anything, we will then be overlooking these violations,” added Kashman.
Last month, a number of renowned French stars including Catherine Deneuve and Juliet Binoche protested against trying homosexuals in Egypt. About six thousand persons from France signed on the protest list, which was submitted by the French musician Jane Michelle Jar to the Egyptian ambassador to France Ali Maher.
In Egypt, director Yousef Shahin described the homosexual case as “diverting the attention of the public from the economic crisis in the country.”
About the protests abroad sparked by convicting 23 Egyptians with libertinism, Shahin told the press, “my understanding of the problem is that they put homosexuals in the prison to divert the people’s attention from the economic crisis in the country.”
The 1997 Cannes film festival, 50th, prize-winning director added, “every time there is an economic problem, we seek to hide it through creating a certain scandal.”
“There is nothing in the Egyptian laws that bans homosexuality. It is not possible to base judging in such cases on any law and so I wonder about the real motives behind convicting these people,” added Shahin -- Albawaba.com
