LGBT

Gambia: “Gay people are satanic, anti god and anti human”, rants president

Published by on March 30, 2013

Gay Star News 30th March 2013 Gambia’s president Yahya Jammeh, ranted against gay people in his speech addressing the country’s parliament. He called homosexuality ‘satanic’, as well as ‘anti-god, anti-human, and anti-civilization’. Jammeh also used his speech on Thursday evening (28 March) to send out a warning to LGBT people; Saying they are not allowed into the Gambia and that he stood by his previous anti-gay declarations, without any regrets. He ranted: ‘Homosexuality is anti-humanity. I have never seen homosexual chicken, or turkey… ‘If you are convicted of homosexuality in this country, there will be no mercy for offenders. We will put you in Read the full article…

Cameroon gay rights lawyer seeks US refuge

Published by on February 17, 2013

France 24 via AFP 17 February 2013 A Cameroonian lawyer who has received death threats for defending gays and lesbians in a country where homosexuality is outlawed has sought refuge with his family in the United States. In his home country, homosexuality is associated with “sorcery and black magic,” said Yaounde lawyer Michel Togue, amid rising concern by international rights groups about the treatment of gays in many African nations. “Homophobia is on the rise, and intolerance is growing,” he told AFP, recalling one case where a gay person was sentenced to “six months in prison just for declaring their Read the full article…

Cameroon: stop turning blind eye to death threats

Published by on February 13, 2013

Human Rights Watch 13 February 2013 The government of Cameroon should immediately take action against a series of death threats made over the last four months to two lawyers who represent clients accused of homosexual conduct, Human Rights Watch said today in an open letter to President Paul Biya. Alice Nkom and Michel Togué, Cameroonian human rights lawyers, began receiving death threats in October 2012, in the form of emails and text messages, assailing the lawyers for their work defending clients charged with homosexuality. Consensual same-sex conduct is criminalized under the Cameroonian penal code’s article 347 bis, and at least Read the full article…

Malawi president refuses to commit to repeal anti-gay laws

Published by on January 2, 2013

Dan Littauer, Gay Star News 2 January 2013 Joyce Banda, Malawi’s president, said she has no power to repeal anti-gay law and the matter is best left for the people to decide Malawian president, Joyce Banda, refused to commit to repealing the country’s anti-gay laws. She said she had nothing to state on whether the country should decriminalize same-sex relations or not, saying she would leave the matter for Malawians to decide for themselves. Banda made these statements in response to questions posed to her by callers from across the country on Zodiak Broadcasting Service, on Monday (31 December 2012). Read the full article…

Cameroon jails ‘gay’ man for texting ‘I’m in love with you’ to male friend

Published by on December 17, 2012

Associated Press via The Guardian 17 December 2012 Jean-Claude Roger Mbédé’s three-year prison term upheld by appeals court in Africa’s most repressive state for homosexuals An appeals court in Cameroon has upheld a three-year sentence against a man found guilty of homosexual conduct for sending a text message to another man saying: “I’m very much in love with you.” Activists said the court’s ruling on Monday in Yaoundé, the capital, marked yet another setback for gays and lesbians in the west African country, widely viewed as the most repressive country in the continent when it comes to prosecuting same-sex couples. Read the full article…

Uganda to pass anti-gay law as ‘Christmas gift’

Published by on November 13, 2012

BBC News 13 November 2012 Uganda will pass a new law against homosexuality by the end of 2012 as a “Christmas gift” to its advocates, the speaker of parliament has said. The AP news agency quoted Rebecca Kadaga as saying that Ugandans were “demanding” the law. Homosexual acts are already illegal in Uganda, but the bill which is before parliament proposes tougher sentences for people convicted. Foreign donors have threatened to cut aid if gay rights are not respected. The bill, tabled by MP David Bahati, proposes jail terms for homosexual acts, including a life sentence in certain circumstances. It Read the full article…

Jamaica: ‘There’s no safe place in this country’

Published by on October 26, 2012

The Guardian Owen Bowcott and Maya Wolfe-Robinson 26th October 2012 Gareth Henry hit the international headlines in his native Jamaica four years ago when he was beaten by policemen in front of a mob of 200 people who cornered him in a Kingston pharmacy. A year later, in 2008, the head of the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All Sexuals and Gays (J-Flag), fled to Canada following a series of death threats. He was granted asylum. The 35-year-old gay rights activist and social worker is now one of two co-petitioners bringing the legal challenge against his former homeland at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. “I Read the full article…

Zimbabwe: The mean season for gays

Published by on September 25, 2012

IRIN - the UN news service 25 September 2012 For Zimbabwe’s gay community, voting season is a time of dread. As political temperatures rise ahead of expected elections next year, gays and lesbians are being targeted by police in an apparent strategy to win over voters. On 11 August 2012, police raided a book launch at the headquarters of the Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ), an NGO based in Harare that promotes the rights of sexual minorities. The police arrested 44 people, and although none were formally charged, the incident followed a familiar pattern of harassment, beatings and threats Read the full article…

Nigerian court jails actor for homosexuality under colonial law

Published by on September 21, 2012

Monica Mark, The Guardian 21 September 2012 A Nigerian court has sentenced a 29-year-old actor to three months imprisonment under an archaic colonial law that deems sodomy an “against the order of nature”, as the government seeks to tighten the existing legislation by introducing an anti-gay bill. Bestwood Chukwuemeka, a minor star in the local Nollywood film industry, pleaded guilty after a male friend he had sex with in his private home later reported him to the police. “I was under the influence of alcohol and I want the court to temper justice with mercy,” local media reported him saying. Read the full article…

Nigeria: Where being openly gay comes at a steep price

Published by on August 13, 2012

Heather Murdock, Global Post 13 August 2012 ABUJA, Nigeria — There are no gay bars in this city and few, if any, people have heard of gay pride. Politicians and the press are openly hostile toward homosexuals, regularly calling them “barbaric” and “repulsive.” None of this, however, stops Ifeanyi Kelly Orazulike, an openly gay rights activist. Here in Africa’s most populous country, he is one of just dozens of openly gay men, he says. His openness comes at a steep price. “I have attacks,” he told GlobalPost in his office, the location of which is a closely guarded secret. “I’ve Read the full article…