Senegal / Queerty

Recently settled homos should stay away from Senegal, where they just jailed two men who married in Belgium.

The charges, however, are deeper than just tying the same-sex knot:

Senegal has jailed a Belgian retiree and his male Senegalese domestic helper for two years for "homosexual marriage and acts against nature," their lawyer said Thursday.

Richard Lambot, 61, and Moustapha Gueye, 63, who wedded in Belgium — where civil gay marriage is legal — last month, were sentenced by the Dakar regional court on Augusut 21, said lawyer Seyni Ndione.

"To help Moustapha Gueye get papers to live in Belgium, Richard Lambot married him in July," Ndione said, after which they returned to Senegal — a predominantly Muslim nation where homosexuality is frowned upon.

"Acts against nature"? That's more than a frown. Ndione blames a botched police investigation for that charge, not the nation's rampant homophobia.

Aug 28, 2008 · Link · 6 Responses

» Senegalese Gays On The Run

The rising tide of homophobia in Senegal forced "dozens" of gays to flee across the border in Mali and Gambia, where homosexuality remains illegal. They're obviously not thinking with their heads on that one… [Afrol]

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» Gay Conspiracy Theory

Senegal's rapidly becoming an epicenter of anti-gay activity in Africa. First, officials arrested men for participating in a "gay marriage". The subsequent prison release sparked riots and an activist's call for no amnesty. Now local media are reporting that the "gays" were released because they threatened to out high-ranking politicos. This shit's got more twists than Dynasty, but not nearly as entertaining. [Pink News]

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» Senegalese Amnesty Member Against Gays

Someone's got a limited view of amnesty. Senegalese activist Samba Guissé of the Council of Amnesty Senegal asked fellow members of Amnesty International to oppose any movements hoping to legalize same-sex relations. …[Guissé urged] various groups to dissociate themselves from the position of the International Human Rights Federation (FIDH) calling on the Senegalese authorities to "review the criminal code with a view to decriminalizing homosexual acts". He said that rights activists, particularly those belonging to AI Senegal, had no right, even in defense of human rights, to ask Senegal's core values be ignored." The statement comes just days after police broke up an anti-gay protest outside a mosque. [Africa News]

1 Response

Tear Gas Disperses Anti-Gay Protest In Senegal

Things are really heating up in Senegal, where police dispersed a crowd of homophobic protesters earlier today. The uprising came in response to the recent arrest and subsequent release of six men accused of holding a "gay wedding". Infuriated by the so-called injustice, dozens of rabble-rousers met at a Mosque to cause a bit of chaos:

"We want homosexuals to be wiped out in this country. We will continue to fight for Senegal to become a Muslim nation," said Cheikh Tidiane Ndiaye, a fisheries agent among the stone-throwing demonstrators around the Grande Mosquee de Dakar.

"This practice does not conform to the religion practiced in our country," he said, dressed in traditional blue robes and a white skull cap, as police fired tear gas behind him.

Piles of rubbish were set ablaze in several blocks around the mosque and groups of youths shouting "We don't want homosexuals" barricaded roads.

Police originally attempted to ban the march, but were unsuccessful - until they got the tear gas, of course. Works like a charm!

Feb 15, 2008 · Link · 1 Response

» Gay "Wedding" Arrests in Senegal

No honeymoon here! Senegalese officials have arrested at least five men after a magazine published pictures from a same-sex "wedding ceremony," reports BBC. A pro-government paper describes the event's location as a "a meeting house which could act as a brothel". Can't any space act as a brothel?!

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Italy Stays Gay Sengalese Man's Deportation

Homosexuality Deserves "Legal Protection"

A Senegalese man got his non-denominational holiday wish!

The Italian high court overruled a lower court's deportation order:

[The court] has ruled that a gay illegal immigrant from Senegal can remain in Italy for now, and ordered a judge to examine the man's claim that he faces persecution in Senegal based on his sexual orientation.
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The new ruling said "homosexuality is a condition of the human being deserving legal protection" and "sexual freedom must be construed as freedom to live without interference and restrictions with reference to sexual preferences."

How long until the right wing launches a crusade against the "protective" judiciary?

Dec 10, 2007 · Link · 1 Response