MP Ryad Abdel Sattar  on Wednesday introduced to the parliament’s speaker Ali Abdel Aal a draft law entailing five main articles of the criminalisation of homosexuality.

The draft law would pave the way for strict punitive measures against the LGBT community in Egypt, in addition to restricting the presence of LGBT People inside Egyptian society, Abdel Sattar said in media statements dedicated to local outlets.

The ‘Criminalisation of Homosexuality’ law has received approval from a number of the parliament’s members who asserted their readiness to approve it — the draft law is expected to be discussed inside the parliament after being reviewed by the speaker Ali Abdel Aal. – Pink Sixty

The “Arab Spring” uprising that toppled Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak in 2010 brought some respite for the city’s embattled LGBT community, whose members were able to socialize more openly at house parties and bars.  And while  homosexuality is not at this time a criminal offense in Egypt gay men and lesbians have been arrested at an alarming rate and charged with the crime of “Debauchery” at an alarming rate over the past year.

The Egypt Independent explains the five articles

The first article defines homosexuality as any person engaging in sexual intercourse with someone of the same sex.

The second article clarified that any person engaging in homosexuality in a public or private place should be subjected to punitive action that should be no less than one-year and not exceeding three years in jail. It added that in case those jailed homosexual people repeated having sex after being freed, then the punitive action should be five years in jail.

The third article highlighted that any “supporter” of homosexuality or someone who calls for the acceptance of homosexuality, even if he or she is not a “practitioner of homosexuality,” should be jailed for no less than one year or no more than three years.

The fourth article paid attention to media coverage to parties organized by homosexual people, stipulating that any representatives of the media that “promotes” LGBT parties would be jailed for three years.

The United Nations has said it is worried over the growing trend of arrests of LGBT people across the Muslim world.

“We are deeply concerned about a wave of arrests in Azerbaijan, Egypt and Indonesia of more than 180 people perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender,” said Rupert Colville, spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva.

But other than that they have done nothing.