Eight Egyptian men were each sentenced to three years in prison for participating in what prosecutors are calling a gay wedding ceremony. A statement from the office of Egypt's chief prosecutor in September said the video clip was "shameful to God" and "offensive to public morals". 

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The arrests are part of what social advocates condemn as raids on suspected LGBT people across Egypt, often seen as the benchmark of the Arab world.  

In the video, taken on board a boat cruising the Nile River, two men are seen to be kissing, exchanging rings and cutting a cake with their picture on it. Defense attorneys claim that the video shows a birthday, and the men deny the charges.

Due to Islam's tenant that the genders be separate, it is not unusual for strong emotional bonds to exist between members of the same sex that are affectionate, but not romantic or sexual. Although homosexuality as a state of being is not specifically illegal in the Muslim country, and the video does not show sexual acts, any so-called "promotion" of same-sex relations is strictly against the law.

The three-year sentence, three years of probation, and the mandate that the men in question remain under police surveillance after their incarceration, was met with cries of scorn from the men's families. The sentence can be appealed.

At a hearing in October, Hesham Abdel Hamed, a spokesman for the justice ministry's forensics department insisted the men were innocent.

"The entire case is made up and lacks basis. The police did not arrest them red-handed and the video does not prove anything," he said. "The medical test showed that the eight defendants have not practiced homosexuality recently or in the past."

Hamed was referring to anal examinations used to confirm homosexual sex, a practice that is widely condemned as inhuman and humiliating, plus highly inconclusive. 

Defense lawyer Emad Sobhi insisted that the court had caved in to popular pressure. 

"My clients are innocent of practicing homosexuality," he told the AFP news agency. "The court succumbed to public opinion."

In April, four men were sentenced to eight years in prison for practicing homosexual sex. Several governments, including those in the U.K. and U.S. recommend their LGBT citizens to avoid Egypt.

TagsEgypt, Gay, LGBT, trial, prison, sentence, homosexuality