The latest on debates over how Russia’s new anti-“gay propaganda” law will or won’t affect the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and whether to boycott the games: Russia: Putin Says Sochi Welcomes Gays (Associated Press) President Vladimir V. Putin promised Monday that gay athletes and guests at the Winter Olympics in Sochi would feel at … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: October 2013
Lawyer challenges Kenya’s rejection of pro-LGBT group
Eric Gitari, director at the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission in Kenya, has gone to court in hopes of compelling the Kenyan government to give official recognition to his group, which seeks to improve the lives of LGBT people. Kenyan law provides for up to 14 years in prison for homosexual activity. Occasionally … Continue reading
Zambian charge: Defendant’s anti-AIDS advocacy was immoral
Legal proceedings against AIDS fighter Paul Kasonkomona continued Oct. 29 on the charge that, by proposing the repeal of Zambia’s anti-homosexuality law, he was “soliciting for immoral purposes.” Here is what Kasonkomona said on Muvi TV, as described by Anneke Meerkotter, a lawyer for the Southern Africa Litigation Centre, which has been helping Kasonkomona: Kasonkomona … Continue reading
Jamaican-style ‘Les Mis’: Help for LGBTs forced into the sewers?
Homeless LGBT men whom Jamaican police burned out of their shelter in a drainage ditch have relocated to the sewers, according to an informed activist. The men’s plight — evicted from their homes by family, chased out of abandoned houses by police, forced out of a ditch where they huddled, now hiding in the sewers … Continue reading
29 who are in prison for being gay, 41 more awaiting trial
Worldwide, at least 29 people are currently in prison for violating laws that punish those who are born gay, lesbian or bisexual. In addition, at least 41 other people are awaiting trial on charges related to homosexuality. The list of these victims of anti-gay laws grew today by 10 with the addition of newly located … Continue reading
Cameroon: 10 more victims of anti-gay laws, many tortured
Cameroonian prison personnel continue to torture suspected homosexuals even though the Government of Cameroon has agreed to comply with international recommendations such as: End torture in prison; Investigate police violence against people because of their sexual orientation; Ensure human rights for all. In a press release today, the LGBT rights group Camfaids (the Cameroonian Foundation … Continue reading
In Zambia, ‘trial by ambush’ in anti-gay case
The defense attorney for two young Zambian men charged with homosexual activity has challenged the testimony of a medical assistant whom the prosecution called as an expert witness in the case. In the Oct. 25 continuation of the trial in the Kapiri Mposhi magistrate’s court, the defense objected that it had been seeking information about … Continue reading
Politically motivated trial of Zambian AIDS fighter
Anneke Meerkotter, lawyer for the Southern Africa Litigation Centre’s LGBT and Sex Worker Rights Programme, wrote this analysis of the ongoing trial of AIDS fighter Paul Kasonkomona in Zambia. The trial is scheduled to resume Oct. 29. The account originally appeared on the website of the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa. Zambia: ‘Gay’ Trial … Continue reading
Waiting to hear if hard work pays off at African Commission
The second of a series of dispatches by the Rev. Canon Albert Ogle on efforts to protect human rights of LGBT people by working with the African Commission for Human and Peoples’ Rights, currently meeting in the Gambia, West Africa. This is an edited version of Ogle’s column of Oct. 25, 2013, from the San … Continue reading
In Africa, for once, free debate on LGBT issues, much more
The first of a series of dispatches by the Rev. Canon Albert Ogle on efforts to protect human rights of LGBT people by working with the African Commission for Human and Peoples’ Rights, currently meeting in the Gambia, West Africa. These are excerpts from Ogle’s column: What I learned in The Gambia at human-rights conference … Continue reading
