On Sunday, an Egyptian court sentenced a popular TV host, Mohamed
al-Gheiti to one year in prison for interviewing a gay man in 2018.
Mohamed, who has expressed his stance against homosexuality on
several occasions, was accused of promoting homosexuality and contempt
of religion.
The misdemeanours court in Giza also fined him 3,000 Egyptian pounds
($147) and ordered he be put under surveillance for one year after
serving his sentence, said Samir Sabri, the lawyer who brought the case
against him.
In August 2018, Gheiti hosted a gay man on his talk show and
discussed homosexuality on air. During the interview, the gay man, whose
face was blurred to hide his identity, said he was a sex worker and
openly talked about his relationship with another man. After the
interview was aired, the Supreme Council for Media Regulation, Egypt’s
top media body, suspended the channel for two weeks for “professional
violations”.