Source: Afrol News, AFP via Africasia.com, Kenya Today
Dakar -- Gay rights organizations, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) and Pan-Africa ILGA, condemned the arrest and detention of several gay suspects in the Senegalese capital Dakar at the weekend, demanding the "immediate and unconditional release" of the men.
In a letter to the Senegalese Minister of Justice, the organizations expressed outrage and concern over the issue.
Senegalese security clamped down on the men after a popular local magazine, Icones, splashed photographs of what was described as a "marriage ceremony" between two men. Icones is a glossy magazine specializing in Dakar’s trends, night life, and jet-setters.
The story in last week's issue of the magazine was illustrated with pictures of two men exchanging rings and several dozen guests whose faces were partially blackened.
According to local media, the detentions followed death threats against the editor and a photographer for Icone.
Believed to have taken place in a discrete location in Dakar more than a year ago, the
photographs of the marriage were reportedly sold to the magazine by the photographer for US $3,000.
In the pictures, one of the suspects appears to be putting a ring on his partner’s finger. The alleged gay marriage was between a young Senegalese national and another West African citizen, believed to have gone into hiding since the affair was made public.
With the police not making any official and public statement on the matter, the exact nationality of the runaway suspect is the subject of contradicting reports, some saying he is a Ghanaian national while others identify him as an Ivorian.
Due to the same silent attitude from the police, it was also difficult to clearly establish if the arrests were linked to the celebration of the marriage, to the death threats or to both.
According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), five people were detained and more were under investigation in Senegal over alleged death threats against the editor of a magazine which ran an article on a homosexual wedding, police said Tuesday.
"Five individuals have been taken into custody for the moment. The first ones on Saturday, all are being held in detention" at the police criminal investigations division, police told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Later reports indicate that as many as a dozen men had been arrested by Tuesday.
AFP's source declined to give details of the interrogations, but added that "the inquiry is ongoing, and other people are being investigated."
Homosexuality is outlawed in Senegal, a majority Muslim country in west Africa.
Under Senegalese laws acts "against nature with an individual of the same sex" are punishable with a maximum penalty of five years in jail and a fine of between 100,000 CFA francs (150 euros, 225 dollars) to one million francs.
There has been occasional arrests and convictions of gay men in Senegal, but the rampant "social stigma and blackmail have been the most prevalent abuses faced by gay men in the country."
"Mass arrests of people simply because they are gay terrorize the entire community," said Paula Ettelbrick, IGLHRC's executive director.
"The inhuman treatment of gay men and lesbians must stop. We call upon the world community to enforce international human rights law."
The gay rights organizations blamed Senegal for violating the UN convention that protects sexual orientation.
"We are afraid for our lives, especially those of us shown in the photographs," a Senegalese gay activist who is hiding in a hotel told ILGA and IGLHRC. "Some of us have gone into hiding and others are fleeing the country," he said.
Joel Nana, the Program Associate for IGLHRC in West Africa, found the arrests as "very distressing" because Senegal has been attained tremendous progress on the issue of homosexuality.
"The government has included a commitment to fighting HIV among men who have sex with men in its national AIDS response plan since 2005," Nana said.
Full article: Five detained in Senegal over gay wedding story: police | Africasia
Scandal over gay marriage rocks Senegal | Daily Nation, Kenya
Senegal gay arrest condemned | afrol News