Cairo — Sarah Hegazy had fled Egypt after waving the rainbow flag at a concert in rare show of LGBT+ visibility
The death of a high-profile Egyptian LGBT+ activist who sought asylum in Canada after being jailed for waving the rainbow flag was mourned on Monday by followers highlighting the nation's ongoing discrimination against the gay community.
Hegazy rose to prominence in October 2017 when she was arrested after raising the LGBT+ rainbow flag at a concert by popular Lebanese alternative rock band Mashrou'Leila band whose lead singer Hamed Sino is openly gay.
It was a rare public show of support for LGBT+ rights in the conservative Muslim country.
LGBT+ rights activists paid tribute to Hegazy, circulating a handwritten message attributed to her and written before her death.
"You may differ with Sarah Hegazy in her thinking and way of life, and this is your right, but is it your right to persecute her and besiege her right to life simply because of your disagreement with her?"
