Eight men accused of taking part in a marriage-like ceremony have been put on trial in Cairo, prompting fears of another crackdown on LGBT Egyptians.

Prosecutors alleged the men had participated in a gay wedding, which sparked a media backlash after footage from the ceremony emerged on YouTube this month. Members of Egypt’s gay community believe at least 35 other men were also seized from public places, as police mounted a dragnet operation to gather information about the identity of those in the video.

Described online as Egypt’s “first gay marriage”, the footage showed two men embracing, exchanging rings and celebrating with their friends on a small boat on the Nile – a scene that scandalised conservative Egypt.

Members of the Muslim Brotherhood, the group ousted by Egypt’s current regime last summer, have used the footage to claim their overthrow has led to the destruction of Egyptian values. “The coup leaders have adopted the west’s agenda,” tweeted former Brotherhood MP, Azza al-Garf, who said Egypt had been turned into a “place of sin”.

The regime’s supporters also announced their revulsion at the video. “I don’t have a problem with anyone doing something wrong, and keeping it private,” Tamer Amin, a prominent television talkshow host, told his viewers. “But if that person is proud of it, and doesn’t try to hide it … that’s a disaster.”

In a subsequent interview with Amin, a man purporting to be one of those in the video sought to downplay the significance of the footage. Calling himself “Ali”, he said the ceremony was in fact a birthday party, not a wedding. “I’m not the groom, I’m just a normal guy, having a birthday party with one of our friends – nothing more, nothing less,” said the interviewee, who said he had a girlfriend. “I knew that he wanted a ring, so I brought it as a birthday present.”

Homosexuality is not illegal in Egypt, but it is a social taboo, and allegedly gay men have often been arrested on charges of immorality (pdf). In the most notorious example, 52 men were arrested in 2001 for their perceived sexuality, in what became known as the Queen Boat case.

Arrests have risen in Egypt since last autumn, peaking this spring with a wave of raids on private properties. In recent weeks, many LGBT Egyptians have scaled back their use of dating apps such as Grindr, fearing that the police may be using them to entrap gay men. Following the street arrests, some stayed at home for safety reasons.

“People stopped going to the cafes they usually hang out at, and all boat activity has stopped for obvious reasons,” said Abdallah, a journalist, and member of the LGBT community. “Things are slowly getting back to normal – but it feels slower that it usually does after a crackdown.”

But the scene has not completely shut down, said Mahmoud, an activist on gender issues.

“When a big case like this happens, some people get scared,” said Mahmoud. “Others also get infuriated and want to do something about it. And others just continue life as normal. So while there is awareness about the raids in the last few months, people are still gathering.”

Some Egyptians believe the government wants to prove that they – despite removing Islamist president Mohamed Morsi last summer – can be as conservative as the man they ousted. “These kinds of cases help show they can be society’s moral gatekeepers,” Mahmoud told the Guardian this year. “I guess their point is that even though the Islamists are gone, we’re still going to keep an eye on the behaviours that may, according to them, disrupt society.”

One anonymous policeman even told Buzzfeed that the crackdown had been ordered from on high. In protest against the recent arrests, Egypt’s LGBT community began a Twitter campaign on Wednesday with the hashtag #stopjailinggays.

Additional reporting by Manu Abdo