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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIn Gambia, Being LGBT Now Means Torture, Life in Jail
The west African nation has been cracking down on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and will now throw away the key for those convicted of "aggravated homosexuality."Gambian president Yahya Jammeh, infamous for his frequent violent antigay public statements, has signed a law that calls for lifelong prison sentences for acts of "aggravated homosexuality," reports the Associated Press.
The Gambian Parliament passed the legislation which is nearly identical to Uganda's infamous "Jail the Gays" law in September, prompting a marked increase in detentions, arrests, and torture of those suspected to be LGBT, according to Amnesty International.
The AP reports that Gambian authorities have arrested five men, a 17-year-old boy, and three women, subjecting them to torture and demanding they reveal the names of others "guilty" of homosexuality. Jammeh said in May that if LGBT Gambians tried to leave the country and report human rights abuses, "if I catch them I will kill them."
With language suspiciously similar to a law that was in force in Uganda until it was overturned by a constitutional court in August, Gambia's new law defines "aggravated homosexuality" as acts committed by "serial offenders" and people living with HIV or AIDS, as well as someone who has sex with a minor or a disabled person or someone under the influence of drugs. The law also equates pedophilia with homosexuality, prescribing lifelong prison terms for parents or guardians who have sex with same-sex dependents.
http://www.advocate.com/world/2014/11/21/gambia-being-lgbt-now-means-torture-life-jail
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In Gambia, Being LGBT Now Means Torture, Life in Jail (Original Post)
William769
Nov 2014
OP
I thought this had been overturned in Uganda? Now another nation follows their lead?
freshwest
Nov 2014
#4
shenmue
(38,506 posts)1. Awful
I hope the U.N. steps in. Don't know what the likelihood is, but somebody's got to do something.
William769
(55,147 posts)2. I agree.
This is just beyond the pale and what's worse, it's not the only place this is happening.
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)3. I hope this does not continue to spread in Africa
The blame rest squarely on the shoulders of American missionaries.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)4. I thought this had been overturned in Uganda? Now another nation follows their lead?
And they can't leave the country?
If they don't want them, let them get away from that horrible place!
Uganda