Egyptian Officials Search Red Hot Chili Peppers Fans for Pride Flags
Egyptian officials searched concertgoers at a Red Hot Chili Peppers show over the weekend for Pride flags, according to multiple reports.
Thousands attended the performance in front of the Giza Pyramids on Friday, and many took to Twitter to share their encounters with security and their aim to keep out rainbow flags.
Journalist Eduard Cousins said he was "asked if we have any flags with us: 'With the colors, for the gays, not allowed!'"
Another individual tweeted that their friends' daughter's crayons were confiscated for fear they might be used to create a makeshift Pride flag.
And yet another local journalist, Samer Al-Atrush, said he was also told he couldn't bring in a "flag for the gays."
The incident comes two years after a number of people were arrested for displaying the flags at a concert by Mashrou’ Leila, whose lead singer, Hamed Sinno, is openly gay. Those arrested were charged with "promoting sexual deviancy" and were handed sentences ranging from six months to six years in prison, The New Arab reports.
The situation for the LGBTQ community in Egypt remains dire, with police using public morality laws to target them for arrest.