Several gay dating apps have issued warnings and tips to users in majority-Muslim Egypt, where the LGBT community is currently facing persecution.
Grindr and Hornet are two examples of gay dating apps that have reportedly provided tips to vulnerable users.
According to the Himalyan Times, “Some of Grindr’s 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.”
“It will make people take more precautions,” claimed Grindr Director Jack Harrison-Quintana. “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.”
“We always send out messages like this to users who are in places where there is an elevated level of risk,” he declared.
Hornet President Sean Howell also weighed in, adding, “Significant percentages of gay men in the Middle East find online as a safer way to connect.”
“We are being cautious. We have not received many reports from users that make us think that the security online is worse than before,” he continued, claiming his app’s safety tips are not meant to “create fear.”
Though homosexuality is not explicitly illegal in Egypt, crackdowns on homosexual activities have been on the rise.
Dozens of men “suspected of homosexuality” have been tried in Egypt recently, which, according to Deutsche Welle, “is part of a wider crackdown on homosexuality.”
Following reports, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International called on Egyptian authorities to halt their crackdown on homosexuals in the country, which increased following a concert in Cairo where an LGBT rainbow flag was spotted.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International also urged Egyptian authorities to end the practice of “anal examinations” on suspected homosexuals, branding the practice “abhorrent” and a form of torture.
Alleged homosexuals accused of “debauchery” and “blasphemy,” have previously been persecuted in the country, including 26 men in 2014 who were tried for “debauchery,” before being acquitted the following year.
As previously reported, “The LGBT community are routinely persecuted in Muslim-majority nations, including the United Arab Emirates, Iran, and Chechnya, an autonomous, Muslim-majority province in Russia.”
The only LGBT club in majority-Muslim nation Kyrgyzstan was recently closed after numerous incidents of violent abuse against its patrons and staff.
Charlie Nash covers technology and LGBT news for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington and Gab @Nash, or like his page at Facebook.
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