COMMENTARY Good can come from the shameful treatment of a gay couple from Palm Springs, Calif., who were arrested recently on a cruise in Dominica, says the Rev. Canon Albert Ogle of St. Paul’s Cathedral in San Diego. This is a “teachable moment” that could make people in affluent countries realize the plight of LGBT … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: March 2012
Prison term for two men kissing in Abu Dhabi
Two men in Abu Dhabi were sentenced to six months in prison, followed by deportation, for kissing on a public widewalk, the Emirates 24/7 website reported. They were charged with public indecency under United Arab Emirates law. Two years ago, a straight British couple was similarly sentenced to one month in prison for kissing in … Continue reading
Ugandan president praises gay forefathers
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni this week gave LGBT activists a glimmer of hope that he will prevent enactment of the so-called “Kill the Gays” bill, which would toughen the country’s laws against homosexual activities. In a meeting with several European Union ambassadors on Wednesday, March 28, Museveni praised the work of homosexuals in Uganda’s past. … Continue reading
Russian bill would ban ‘homosexual propaganda’
A bill submitted Thursday, March 29, to the lower house of the Russian parliament would impose fines of 500,000 rubles (about $17,000) for “spreading homosexual propaganda” among minors, AP reported. Laws against homosexuality were eliminated in Russia in 1993. Supporters said the bill was in response to media “promoting gay lifestyles as ‘normal behavior.’ ” … Continue reading
Cameroon police raid anti-AIDS rights meeting
Police in Cameroon on Wednesday, March 28, broke up a planned three-day meeting on AIDS and the human rights of sexual minorities, Africa Review and the French-language daily Le Jour reported. The event was organized by the Association of Adolescents Against HIV/AIDS, or Sid’Ado. Twenty armed policemen raided the session at the Mansel Hotel in … Continue reading
India’s top court might reinstate law against gay sex
The Indian Supreme Court is pondering whether to reverse a lower-court ruling that overturned the Indian law against homosexual activity. [But by the end of 2012, the court had not done so, which suggests that it won’t.] A month of legal arguments concluded Monday, March 26, on several petitioners’ challenge to a Delhi High Court … Continue reading
U.K. rejects Nigerian man’s asylum bid
John Abraham, 25, of Nigeria was deported from the United Kingdom on March 16, despite his plea for asylum from attacks on gay men in Nigeria, the online African news service Behind the Mask reported. His lawyers argued that he would face persecution and physical attacks in Nigeria because he is gay. Abraham said British … Continue reading
Three executions in Iran for sodomy in 2011
Three people were executed in Iran last year for sodomy, according to Amnesty International’s newly released 2011 report on capital punishment. Amnesty International report on capital punishment in 2011. A total of at least 676 people were executed for all types of crimes last year, not counting executions in China, where they are estimated to … Continue reading
Dutch fund supports endangered LBGT activists
The Amnesty International chapter in the Netherlands and a Dutch gay-rights group are raising money to help LGBT activists facing violence and intimidation. The websites Expatica.com and Radio Netherlands Worldwide reported: The Pride Fund is intended to provide support to activists facing acute danger or imprisonment. The Fund will pay for legal costs or travel … Continue reading
17 people who ran afoul of anti-LGBT laws
The “Erasing 76 Crimes” blog is attempting to follow the stories of these 17 people who have run afoul of laws against homosexual behavior. All but two of them are from the West African nation of Cameroon. Ifeanyi Chukwu Agah and Rabiu Benedict Yusuf of Nigeria, who were sentenced on Wednesday, March 21, to two … Continue reading
