Egyptian Police Use Grindr to Arrest Gay Men, Lesbians

A new report reveals police in Egypt are using dating apps, like the gay hookup app Grindr to track down gay men. It should be noted the report comes not long after it was revealed that the app had a flaw in its GPS function that showed users' exact locations, sparking Grindr officials to disable the option in anti-gay countries.

According to the report, published by France 24 (an international news website), Egyptian police have been using the app to "hunt down and arrest gays and lesbians."

The site notes that although homosexuality is not illegal in the north African country, a number of people have been arrested for taking part in same-sex ceremonies and unions, as they were accused of "debauchery." France 24 points to an incident, which occurred in May, where four men were arrested during a party organized by Nasr City, located east of Cairo. One of the men was sentenced to 12 years in prison - the largest sentence ever given to an LGBT person in Egypt.

According to reports, many witnesses claim that police are using gay dating apps like Grindr to find LGBT people. LGBT-based groups in the country have published several messages warning the LGBT community, urging them to not use the apps. France 24 reports gay rights activists say 77 LGBT people have been arrested in Egypt since October 2013.