Crackdown on LGBT community intensifies

On a slow news morning for Egypt in the international press, the crackdown on the LGBTQ community in Egypt continues to be the most prominent story of note. Sudarsan Raghavan writes for The Washington Post writes that the crackdown intensified over the weekend as security forces raided cafes in downtown Cairo and courts delivered harsh prison sentences. “The targeting of the community was never on this scale before,” said Doaa Mostafa, a human rights lawyer. LGBTQ rights activists say the crackdown is part of an effort “to distract from the country’s pressing political and economic woes, including rising costs of living and declining government subsidies, that have fomented anger on the streets.”