An Egyptian court ordered on Monday the release of 26 men who were arrested during a raid on a Cairo bath house where gay "orgies" were supposedly held.

The court judge ruled all the accused are not guilty- a surprise decision in the largely conservative Middle Eastern country. Last month, a local television station showed footage of police taking the shirtless men out of the bath house. Charges of debauchery were later filed against them.

Like Us on Facebook

Covering their faces to remain anonymous, the accused were taken to court on Monday, with police manhandling one, spurring them to hurry as they came near an enclosure where defendants stayed during court hearings.

Tensions ran high in Egypt, a traditionalist Muslim-dominated state, as shown when the court audience erupted in anger after a journalist snapped an image of one of the accused. Someone even tried to choke the photographer.

Gay discrimination is common in Egypt, although sex between two adult consenting males has not been outlawed. Homosexuals are routinely taken into police custody and are usually charged with immorality, debauchery or blasphemy.

In November, one of the biggest cases to grab the nation's headlines involved eight men sentenced to three years in jail after they took part in an online clip supposedly showing Egypt's first gay marriage rites.

However, the biggest crackdown on gays in Egypt happened in 2001, when police swooped down on a floating dance club called the Queen Boat. Charges were brought against 52 men in the case, which drew flak from Western governments and human rights groups.

TagsEgypt, bath house scandal, gay bath house, debauchery, LGBT, not guilty