Omar* is a 30-year-old physician living in Alexandria, Egypt, the country’s second largest city. He is also a gay man who has spent most of his life in what has become one of the most dangerous places to be a sexual minority.

“It’s difficult to be gay in Egypt,” he told NBC News. “You can’t be out. If you’re out, you can be subjected to discrimination, abuse, being arrested, having forced physical examinations or being sentenced to time in jail.”

A fan of Lebanese alternative rock band Mashrou' Leila holds a rainbow flag during their concert at the Ehdeniyat International Festival in Ehden town, Lebanon on August 12, 2017. Jamal Saidi / Reuters file

Homosexuality is not explicitly illegal in this country that bridges northeast Africa with the Middle East, but people are routinely arrested and imprisoned on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity, according to Amnesty International.

Last September was the worst crackdown in the country’s history, with up to 76 people being detained, according to the human-rights organization. The crackdown was sparked after a gay man waving a rainbow flag was arrested during a concert in Cairo. The incident garnered international attention, but one year later, gay Egyptians and human-rights advocates say the persecution continues, and Egypt’s LGBTQ community is living in fear.

EGYPTIAN LAW

While same-sex sexual relations are not explicitly prohibited in Egyptian law, a 2017 report by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) found that “the Law on the Combating of Prostitution, and the law against debauchery have been used liberally to imprison gay men in recent years.” As such, ILGA includes Egypt in its list of 72 countries that criminalize homosexuality.

Omar, however, said, “It’s not just gay, bisexual and transgender people who the authorities are after.”

“Just for waving a rainbow flag you can get arrested,” he explained. “You don’t even necessarily need to be gay to get arrested, just seen to be associated with the LGBTQ community.”

GAY LIFE IN EGYPT

Omar said the LGBTQ community has not always been so aggressively targeted. He said the 2011 Egyptian Revolution contributed to the growing hostility. The revolution, he explained, opened the floodgates to extreme politics in Egypt and forced the gay community underground.

“There are spots that are, to some extent, gay friendly, but even these places declined after 2011.” Omar recalled. “The Islamic Brotherhood coming to power meant that there was a lot of fear from the owners of these places. They didn’t want to look like they were that friendly towards gay people, so they closed their bars and cafés and left.”