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Malawi gay activist arrested
16 Feb 2010- Malawi - A gay activist in Malawi, Peter Sawali, was arrested
in early February for putting up posters in the city of Blantyre that said "Gay
rights are human rights," according to the European Parliament’s Intergroup on
LGBT Rights.
He was later convicted of
conduct likely to cause breach of the peace and sentenced to two months’
cleaning duty at the Blantyre Magistrate’s Court.
The arrest came on the heels
of the arrest and jailing of a Blantyre gay couple who staged a public
engagement ceremony.
Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge
Chimbalanga were taken into custody in December and remain jailed awaiting
trial.
They could face
14 years behind bars if found guilty of "unnatural offenses" and "indecent
practices between males."
Police
subjected Chimbalanga to a forced medical exam to purportedly determine if he’s
had gay sex.
"Using
post-colonial laws to oppress citizens instead of protecting them is unworthy of
any sovereign nation in the world," said Intergroup Co-President Michael Cashman.
"Given that Malawi is now chairing the African Union, it is incumbent upon them
to uphold the human rights of all their citizens, and that includes lesbian, gay
and bisexual people."
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