Egyptian TV Host Sentenced to Jail for Interviewing Gay Man

In a true “wtf” reminder of how difficult LGBTQ life in some countries can be, a TV host was sentenced to a year in Egyptian jail after interviewing a gay man on his show.

Mohamed al-Gheiti, who has actually been outspoken against homosexuality on multiple occasions, interviewed a sex worker who also talked about being gay and having a boyfriend on his show last summer.

A lawsuit was filed, accusing the interview of suggesting there is a monetary benefit to “practising homosexuality.”

Al-Gheiti was ultimately charged with promoting homosexuality, incitement to debauchery and immorality, and contempt of religion, resulting in a one year prison sentence and a fine of 3,000 Egyptian pounds.

Shortly after the interview aired, the Supreme Council for Media Regulation, which definitely doesn’t sound like a villainous enterprise, suspended the privately owned TV channel, saying it violated its decision to ban “the appearance of homosexuals or promotions of their slogans” on TV.

Gays were banned from Egyptian TV after a rainbow flag appeared in a televised concert in Cairo in 2017.

While homosexuality isn’t technically illegal in Egypt, there is a prostitution-related law forbidding “habitual debauchery” that the authorities have been using to crack down on gay people in the predominantly Muslim country.

And apparently even just showing a gay person on television counts as “inciting” that debauchery.