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Fifty-two Egyptian men standing trial on "debauchery" and "contempt for religion? charges told the court on Wednesday that they have been subjected to weekly torture sessions with interrogators applying electric shocks and prison guards beating them regularly.

Ashraf al-Zannati, an Arabic language said through the iron bars of the courtroom cage that the defendants were subjected to a weekly "session of torture", reports Agence French-Presse (AFP).

"We had one two days ago... You have to take off your t-shirt or whatever you're wearing and they get other people to hit you on the back," he said. "They use wire and they usually hit us on the back so it doesn't show, and with their hands." Zannati said prison guards regularly defiled their food, making it inedible.

The main defendant, Sherif Farahat, who also stands accused of "exploiting the Islamic religion to spread extremist ideas", told AFP that he had been coerced to confess and that security officers subjected him to "all that you can imagine" during his interrogation.

"I stayed there for more than three weeks, blindfolded. I could not see the people who were asking me questions and hitting me," he said. "I'm afraid that they will hurt us if I tell you this, but electricity, this is the first thing I can tell you, not only to me but to other people."

State prosecutor Ashraf Hilal demanded the judge prosecute the men, saying the defendants had used the Internet to promote homosexuality.

He presented "evidence" to the court claiming that many of the accused had "confessed" to engaging in sexual activity with Farahat. The news service also reported that observers say the doctor's report cited by Hilal is probably related to reports made by human rights groups that the prisoners have been forced to undergo invasive rectal examinations.

Defense lawyer Farid al-Dib urged the presiding judge to dismiss the charges as the confessions had been forced out of the defendants.

The men were arrested four months ago following a May 11 party on the Queen Boat nightclub on the Nile, a once popular gay club.

While the families of the defendants were not allowed into the courtroom, lawyers, journalists and diplomats from different countries were given permission to watch the proceedings.

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The men are currently tried in a state security court, established in 1981to counter Muslim violence, where defendants have no right of appeal.

Earlier this week, a cross-party group of 30 German parliamentarians sent a letter to the Egyptian ambassador calling for an end to the trial and the immediate release of the detained men.

The court case, which began in July, has received worldwide media coverage as well as sharp criticism from more than 60 international rights groups including Amnesty International, International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and gay Muslim group Al-Fatiha Foundation.

The trial will resume on 18 September. A fifty-third suspect, who is a minor, is facing the same charges in a special court. His trial will also resume on 18 September.

In related news, GayEgypt.com is offering a US$2,000 reward for information leading to the eventual arrest of a State Security Officer who has been using the said site and other chatrooms to entrap gays in Egypt.

In a statement on their website, gays have been urged to be alert and to be extra careful when meeting others as they have received information from sources that ?many people have recently been arrested after having responded to invitations to various rendezvous arrangements made via email?.