Egyptians arrested for wife-swapping on Facebook

An Egyptian couple who created a wife-swapping Facebook page are facing prison after police sent undercover operatives as potential participants to a meeting organised for the event. Vice officers in the mainly Muslim country, where extra-marital sex is illegal, received a tip off that several couples had become members of the Facebook page which appeared to organise partner-swaps for married couples. The Facebook page for spouse-swapping, created by an Egyptian accountant and his wife, attracted several couples, Omar Abdul Al, a top security official at the Giza police department said. The page facilitated spouse-swapping under the condition that the swingers be married and they rejected customary marriage even if it was officialy documented, Abdul Al said. The undercover officers met with the couple early one morning in Giza. As soon as they agreed on a place to meet later, police moved in and made the arrests. According to the Egyptian authorities the man claims he got the idea after seeing a similar page set up by a Qatari man six months ago. He suggested it to his wife and she welcomed the idea. Upon questioning them, the suspects said that they had been married for five years and that they had a four-year-old girl. They said that many couples have showed interest in their project. Four swaps had already made with the interested couples who were satisfied with the conditions, one of the suspects told the police. In April 2009, a Cairo court sentenced a man to seven years and his wife to three for setting up a swingers’ club. The court said they confessed to having sex with other couples. A controversial 1961 Egyptian law allows suspects to be prosecuted for prostitution even if no money was exchanged.