A court in Egypt has used a law banning “debauchery” to sentence for gay men to jail sentences of up to eight years.

The court on Monday handed down the sentences to the four men. They were accused of holding “deviant parties”, and for wearing women’s clothes.

Three men were given prison sentences of eight years, and the fourth was sentenced to three years in jail.

The same law, which bans “debauchery”, has been used in a similar fashion in the past.

While Egypt does not have explicitly anti-gay legislation, gay people are can be arrested on the “debauchery” charges, as was also the case with seven men in November 2012.