Egyptian police dating gay app

Egyptian authorities are cracking down on LGBTQ people after the crowd flew rainbow flags during the band's recent concert in Cairo.

"Rainbow is not a crime"

In a new crackdown, Egyptian authorities are using dating apps to find gay men, arresting and prosecuting them, and subjecting them to forced anal examinations, according to human rights organizations. At least 33 people have been arrested since Sept. A verdict is due on Oct. Germany legalizes same-sex marriage after Merkel u-turn. According to a press release from Human Rights Watch, the police arrested one man through entrapment on a dating app — something they say is a common police technique in Egypt.

The government claimed to have identified others through video footage of the concert, says Human Rights Watch, and one woman has also been arrested. Egyptian authorities have long used dating apps targeted at the LGBTQ community, such as Grindr, to track down people.

Amid Egypt's anti-gay crackdown, gay dating apps send tips to stop entrapment

News reports from as early as suggest that the Grindr app warned users about potential danger when they logged in from Egypt. Although homosexuality is not specifically outlawed in Egypt, it is a conservative society and discrimination is rife. Gay men are frequently arrested and typically charged with debauchery, immorality or blasphemy. Police, state-aligned media, and the religious establishment see it as a public duty to combat the spread of homosexuality.

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We have not received many reports from users that make us think that the security online is worse than before," said Howell. The dating apps have sent these kinds of warnings before in various countries, such as Russia where a law against the promotion of homosexuality has been used to stop gay pride marches and detain gay rights activists.


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EIPR and Amnesty International said most of the arrests were unrelated to the concert - some people were arrested in public spaces and others were "entrapped" via dating apps. News LGBT.

Police in Egypt are using Grindr to lure gay men to hotel rooms and arrest them

Gay dating app's new Egyptian alert: The police want to arrest you. The warning from Grindr comes after a homophobic purge in Egypt that has seen around 70 people arrested. Imagine meeting someone on a gay dating app like Grindr or Scruff. You exchange small talk and sexy photos for a couple days before asking him on a date.

He suggests a nearby, popular cafe, but when you arrive, police officers swoop in and arrest you. As it turns out, your beau was an undercover officer; you're told that you're being charged with "debauchery," and your conversations and photos will be used as evidence against you in trial. You could end up spending six months to six years in jail, where you may be subject to torture.

Earlier this month, Grindr sent tips to users in Egypt, in an effort to protect them

This isn't some Orwellian hypothetical; it's a serious reality for queer people in Egypt, and one that seems to be getting worse. Mashrou' Leila's lead singer is openly gay, and some fans waved pride rainbow flags in the crowd—a serious political act in a country like Egypt, with a long history of state-sponsored queer oppression. Photos of the flag-waving incident quickly spread on social media, triggering a public outcry.

And in the days following, seven alleged LGBTQ people were arrested and charged with promoting sexual deviancy. Since then, human rights groups have said that more than 60 have been arrested, with some sentenced to years in prison. Rupert Colville, a UN human rights spokesman, told the Washington Post that some have been entrapped by police using gay dating apps and chat rooms, part of a campaign of digital entrapment on the part of Egyptian authorities that's been ongoing since , when President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's government came into power.

In response, the gay dating apps Grindr and Hornet are taking steps to help ensure their users' safety in countries where they may be unsafe. They're necessary steps to reclaim some of the few online spaces where queer people can meet in repressive societies.


  1. Egyptian police 'are using Grindr to find and arrest LGBT people' | The Independent.
  2. Egyptian police dating gay app | Psychic Horizons Boulder.
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  5. A recent update to Grindr in Middle Eastern, Gulf and North African areas enables users to change the Grindr thumbnail on their phone into something less conspicuous, and set a passcode to open the app and protect the content inside.