The group of eight men arrested in Egypt for appearing in a video back in September purportedly featuring a gay marriage have had their jail sentences reduced from 3 years each to one year each by an Egyptian appeals court.

The men were originally convicted in November of broadcasting images that “violated public decency” after video surfaced of what prosecutors said was a gay wedding ceremony aboard a Nile riverboat. 

AFP reports:

The defendants’ families, who were expecting their acquittal, screamed and wept on hearing the new sentences, according to an AFP reporter.

Homosexuality is not specifically banned under Egyptian law and the men were initially accused of debauchery.

That charge was dropped after an invasive anal exam of the men showed that they did not have receptive anal sex.

The defence repeatedly denied that the men were gay, and insisted that the lower court had caved in to popular pressure.

One of the defendants told a television talk show prior to their arrest that the video was recorded during a birthday party.

Earlier this month, Egyptian police raided a bathhouse in Cairo and arrested a large group of men on charges of “perversion”.