Around 25 men arrested at gay parties in Syria earlier this year are expected to go on trial shortly, according to a note posted on Facebook. Seventeen of them are facing three to seven years in jail for "unnatural acts" while others are likely to be tried for drugs offences.

The Gay Middle East website (GME) says four private parties were raided between March and April. Some of the men have been detained ever since, because their families refused to stand bail for them.

GME quotes a senior police officer as saying "Syrian authorities' major interest is the safety of people, we targeted those parties only because of the increasing rate of drug use."

In February, there were unsuccessful raids on two gay parties, at separate locations in Damascus, on the same day.

GME says this was the result of a tip given to a policeman by a bar owner in Damascus who overheard a phone conversation discussing the parties. "Fortunately, a gay man was present at the time and he called a few guys he knew that were going to those parties, warning them about the raids. When the police arrived everyone had already left and no arrests were made."

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 30 June 2010.