JEDDAH — The Criminal Court in Jeddah has dealt with 60 cases of homosexuality and transvestism in recent months, Al-Watan daily reported quoting a court source. Those found guilty of the crimes were sentenced to imprisonment and lashing, but none of the accused were given the death sentence, the source said. In the latest case of transvestism, the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Haia) arrested five young men at a local restaurant. "The Haia was informed about three girls sitting with two young men in a restaurant. The girls were not wearing abayas (the long flowing outer garment worn by women in public) but were in full makeup," said the source. "The Haia inspectors who showed up at the restaurant to arrest them realized the three girls in the company of the two young men were in fact men wearing women's clothes and makeup." He added that the five young men tried to escape the Haia inspectors but were arrested nevertheless. "The inspectors reported the three transvestite men had shaved their facial hair and arms and legs, pierced their ears, pumped their lips and manicured their fingernails. One of the transvestite had a social media account where he posted videos in which he compared himself with a famous female singer," said the source. The source also said the man claimed he had a medical condition of female hormones and brought a medical report to prove his claim. The man was sentenced to four months in prison and 100 lashes while the others are still on trial. Former judge Nasr Al-Yamani said such cases have no fixed sentence as it is up to the judge and his analysis of each case. "Each case is different from the other. Some men have psychological illnesses, others have homosexual tendencies and some others are transitioning to the opposite sex. If the arrested men had psychological illnesses, they would be admitted to a mental hospital for treatment. If the arrested men had no psychological conditions and have been proven to practice homosexuality, they would be penalized by the law," said Al-Yamani. He added the penalty varies from imprisonment to the death sentence depending on the details of the case. Dr. Yasser Jamal, plastic surgeon at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, said he has performed 850 gender correction surgeries throughout his 32-year career. "I performed gender correction surgeries for both males and females in my career. People who perform transgender surgeries without a valid reason are violating Islamic teachings. But there are patients who undergo what is called gender correction surgeries because they have clear signs showing that they belong to the opposite gender," said Jamal. He added there are patients with sexual identity disorientation. These patients suffer from a psychological condition rather than a physical one. They do not need any surgery, only psychological therapy.
