Men Arrested for Egypt's First Gay Wedding 'Test Negative' for Homosexuality

Seven men arrested for participating in a viral video said to show Egypt's first gay wedding have never had gay sex, according to an arbitrary, unscientific "medical" examination performed by Egyptian forensics authorities.

Egyptian authorities arrested seven men earlier this week after a video of what appears to be a same-sex wedding held in April went viral. Those arrested faced charges of "incitement to debauchery" and "publishing indecent images," according to several news reports.

However, doctors in Cairo who reportedly examined the men declared that those arrested have "tested negative" for homosexuality, according to U.K. LGBT outlet Pink News. Because of this, the men could see the charges against them dropped.

Although details on the nature of the test were unavailable, such examinations -- which are commonplace in countries with strict antigay laws -- likely included rectal examinations intended to determine if the men had anal sex with other men. Human rights groups and global health authorities have condemned such procedures as purposeless and dehumanizing.

"According to inspection, the seven suspects have never had sex with other men," Pink News quoted Egyptian Forensic Authority spokesman Hisham Abdel-Hamid, as saying.

A man who claimed he was on the boat traveling the Nile River where the video was purportedly shot called into a popular Egyptian talk show, hosted by a noted homophobe named Tamer Amin, The Washington Post's Worldviews Blog reports. The man, who did not provide his name, said the entire affair is a misunderstanding about a birthday party on a boat and a video of a joke about a ring. He said the "misunderstanding" has ruined his life.

According to the Pew Research Global Attitudes Project, only 5 percent of Egyptians believe their society should accept homosexuality.