Egyptian TV host sentenced to hard labor for interviewing gay man

A television host in Egypt has been sentenced to one year of hard labor for interviewing a gay man last year on his privately owned channel.

Mohamed al-Ghiety, the television host, was also fined 3,000 Egyptian pounds by the court for “promoting homosexuality,” according to the BBC. He will also face one year of surveillance following the end of his sentence.

Though homosexuality is not illegal in Egypt, the sentence handed down to al-Ghiety is the latest development in an LGBT crackdown within the country, according to media reports.

{mosads}The man who was interviewed on al-Ghiety’s program had spoken about being a sex worker and regretting his sexuality, the BBC reported. The man was kept anonymous during the interview and his identity has not been revealed.

Following the interview, Egypt’s Supreme Council for Media Regulation took al-Ghiety’s LTC TV channel off the air for “professional violations,” according to the BBC.

The television host was taken to court after a lawyer in Egypt, Samir Sabry, filed a lawsuit against him over the interview, which reportedly occurred in August of last year. 

The sentence handed down Sunday can be appealed and suspended if al-Ghiety pays bail of 1,000 Egyptian pounds, according to the BBC.