Sénégal: HRW demande la libération des personnes arrêtées pour homosexualité présumée
Human Rights Watch (HRW) denounces in a statement the recent arrest in Senegal of twelve men for alleged homosexuality "under severe anti-LGBT laws" and demands their release from the government.
The Senegalese gendarmerie announced on February 7 the arrest of twelve men, including two local celebrities, accused in particular of "acts against nature", a term designating sexual relations between people of the same sex in this West African country where they are prohibited.
In Senegal, a predominantly Muslim and very devout country, the law punishes so-called "unnatural acts with a person of the same sex" with one to five years' imprisonment. People are regularly arrested there on these charges.
HRW is calling on the Senegalese government to "protect the rights of LGBT people" by "releasing those arrested" and "repealing discriminatory and homophobic laws" in force in the country, according to the statement.
These arrests "revive concerns about the criminalization of same-sex relationships and the safety of people living with HIV/AIDS," the statement continued.
Several of those arrested have tested positive for HIV and are accused by Senegalese authorities of "voluntary transmission of HIV/AIDS through unprotected sexual intercourse and endangering the lives of others".
The police had presented photos of condoms, presenting them as incriminating evidence.
"Using possession of condoms, lubricants or anti-HIV treatments as evidence of homosexuality, forcing HIV testing and publicly disclosing someone's HIV status violates their right to privacy (...) and undermines vital efforts to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS," HRW said.
In Senegal, where homosexuality is widely considered a deviance and where discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community is regular, the case has been making headlines in some parts of the press for several days.
In recent years, the issue of homosexuality has regularly stirred up Senegalese society. Homosexuality is also often denounced as a tool used by Westerners to impose values supposedly foreign to the country's culture.
Several demonstrations called for by religious associations have taken place in recent years to demand harsher penalties.
While still in the opposition, the current Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko repeatedly advocated for a tougher crackdown on homosexuality.
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