More Egyptian men were arrested in crackdown against “sexual deviancy” and “debauchery.” This news come after gay men were arrested for waving a rainbow flag at a concert. News reports say that over 70 people have been arrested with one man receiving a six-year jail sentence. Additionally, the story gets more horrifying. The Forensic Medical Authority will require that all six men receive anal examinations that would confirm they have had anal sex.

“Allegations of torturing or insulting those medically examined are lies not worth responding to. The examinations are carried out by a forensic doctor who swore to respect his profession and its ethics,” one judicial source said.

Najia Bounaim, North Africa Campaigns Director at Amnesty International fired back by saying: “The fact that Egypt’s Public Prosecutor is prioritizing hunting down people based on their perceived sexual orientation is utterly deplorable. These men should be released immediately and unconditionally – not put on trial.”

“Forced anal examinations are abhorrent and amount to torture. The Egyptian authorities have an appalling track record of using invasive physical tests which amount to torture against detainees in their custody. All plans to carry out such tests on these men must be stopped immediately.”

It is being claimed that government officials are using gay dating apps like Grindr and Hornet to track gay men.

The apps have taken extra precaution with users in Egypt by issuing pop-up warnings and safety tips.

“It will make people take more precautions … we know that the police are under pressure to arrest people and they are going about doing that through all the avenues that they have,” Jack Harrison-Quintana, a director at Grindr, said by phone from the United States.

The tips include “letting people know where you are going before meeting someone, checking if you have mutual friends and trying to meet virtually first through video so you know who you’re meeting.”

Egyptian authorities do not deny going after the LGBT community. Police, state-aligned media, and the religious establishment see it as a public duty to combat the spread of homosexuality.

“Significant percentages of gay men in the Middle East find online as a safer way to connect,” Sean Howell, president of Hornet, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation from New York.

Amnesty is warning that men were being “entrapped” by these dating apps. [Reuters]