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Sentenced in Cameroon for Being Gay
16 Jan 2008- Yaounde, Cameroon -Three men
convicted of homosexuality a crime in Cameroon were sentenced to six
months' hard labor, their lawyer said Wednesday.
Lazare Baeeg, Emmanuel Balep and Tony Dikongue were
arrested last August and have already spent nearly six months in
detention in the port city of Douala, lawyer Alice Nkom said.
In Cameroon and several other African nations,
homosexuality is a crime. Convictions carries a maximum penalty of three
years in prison and a fine of up to $450.
Nkom said she would appeal the convictions and
sentences.
"None of these people were caught in homosexual act,
so the court cannot condemn them for something they never did," she
said.
Nkom said all three "have already suffered innocently
so they need to be released, since they have already spent nearly six
months in prison cells without trial."
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