News
2006-06-14
Cameroon men
"guilty" of sodomy
Seven men who
have been on trial for homosexuality in the African nation
have been sentenced to a 10-month jail term.
Seven of the nine
men who have been on trial for homosexuality in the
African nation of Cameroon have been found guilty of sodomy
and sentenced to a 10-month jail term, according to
the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights
Commission. Since the men have already been
imprisoned for more than a year, they are expected to
be released shortly for time served.
One of the men,
Christian Angoula, was reportedly gay-bashed by
fellow prisoners last week and had to be carried into the
courtroom by one of his fellow prisoners. Two of the
men—Ayissi Francois and Lamba Marc
Lambert—were acquitted of all charges. “We can
only begin to imagine the impact that unfair
imprisonment and now these bogus convictions has had
on these men,” said Cary Alan Johnson,
IGLHRC’s senior coordinator for Africa.
“The abuse they have suffered is
unacceptable.”
Two other men
were convicted on sodomy charges earlier this year and
sentenced to one year in prison. Four women are awaiting
trial on the same charges. Cameroon has become famous
this past year for detention of its citizens on sodomy
charges, sanctioning the expelling of young women from
secondary schools for their stated sexual orientation, and
for gay-baiting high level officials and public
personalities with charges of homosexuality in local
papers. (The Advocate)
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