CAIRO — A photo and a gay pride flag on a T-shirt has spurred controversy and eventually a legal case in Egypt last month, targeting actor Khaled Abol Naga and the international clothing brand Bershka.
Lawyer Ahmed al-Ganzouri told Al-Monitor that both Abol Naga and Bershka risk facing legal charges under Article 294 of the Egyptian Penal Code. The article stipulates six months to three years of imprisonment for inciting adultery, immorality and prostitution, verbally, by implication, by signs or any similar means.
The Egyptian law does not explicitly criminalize homosexual relationships, but prosecutors often use the terms "debauchery” or “adultery” to bring up cases against homosexuality. Advocacy of gay rights are often taken under “incitation for adultery” by Egyptian courts. This includes carrying gay pride flags or logos in public spaces, as had been the case when a group of Egyptians waved a rainbow flag at a concert of Lebanese rock group Mashrou' Leila last year.
In the case of Abol Naga, the whole controversy started with a photo posted on Instagram Aug. 10 by the actor himself. The photo showed Abol Naga lying in bed, next to Egyptian actor Tamer Hagras. Faced with accusations that he was “gay” and “abnormal,” Abol Naga wrote that this was an old photo taken by his photographer friend Youssef Nabil. He praised the photo as "one that told a story, even if some people saw in the photo a 'batihka'" — a word that means watermelon in Arabic but is also slang to describe gays.
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