IGLRHC Calls on Minister of Justice to Release 11 Men Unfairly
Detained in Jail
02 Dec 2005-
The
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) delivered
a letter yesterday to the Minister of Justice of the West African nation
of Cameroon urging him to release 11 men detained for the last seven
months on suspicion or "sodomy" and to prevent a government -ordered
"medical examination" to whether the men have engaged in homosexual
conduct.
The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission joined with
seven other groups, including Human Rights Watch and Doctors of the
world, in asking S.E. Monsieur Amadou Ali to prevent the exams ordered
by the government prosecutor.
"These examinations have no investigative value, are abusive, intrusive,
and when conducted non-consensually and under incarcerated
circumstances, amount to cruel and in human treatment, "the letter said"
The 11 men, who range in age between 17 and 35, were arrested at a night
club and have been detained since May, according to the global gay
rights group. The letter also maintains that Cameroon's sodomy law
violates protections of privacy and non-discrimination in the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the
country agreed in 1984.
Anal examinations of men arrested for homosexuality have been documented
in such countries as Egypt, Romania and Zimbabwe as means of "proving"
homosexual conduct, the global gay rights group reports.
"The pain, humiliation and invasiveness involved in these forced
examinations make them a direct violation of human rights norms," said
Paula Ettelbrick, executive director of the International Gay and
Lesbian Human Rights Commission. Cameroon is a signatory to regional and
international agreements that prohibit such treatment, and we ask the
government to repect its international obligation."
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