Gay rights activists in Egypt say they are facing the worst government crackdown in more than a decade.

It comes after eight men were jailed for three years by a Cairo court after video emerged of them allegedly taking part in a same-sex wedding ceremony.

The mobile phone footage shows two men exchanging rings during a private boat party on the Nile. There is also a cake and at one point the men are seen embracing while others cheer.

While the ceremony is not legally or religiously binding, in a conservative society where homosexuality is frowned upon, the video, leaked months after the event, has sparked controversy.

Within days of its release, dozens were rounded up by police.

After a short trial, eight of the men in the video were handed jail sentences for "inciting debauchery" and other charges.

A close friend of the men in the video told us the sentencing has sent shockwaves through the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.