We thought Uganda with their Kill the Gays Lifetime Imprisonment In Horrible Conditions That Will Lead to Death for Gays law was bad enough. But it apparently gets worse.
An appeals court in Cameroon has upheld a three-year sentence against a man found guilty of homosexual conduct for sending a text message to another man saying: "I'm very much in love with you."
Activists said the court's ruling on Monday in Yaoundé, the capital, marked yet another setback for gays and lesbians in the west African country, widely viewed as the most repressive country in the continent when it comes to prosecuting same-sex couples.
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"I am going back to the dismal conditions that got me critically ill before I was temporarily released for medical reasons," he told Associated Press by telephone. "I am not sure I can put up with the anti-gay attacks and harassment I underwent at the hands of fellow inmates and prison authorities on account of my perceived and unproven sexual orientation. The justice system in this country is just so unfair."
Mbédé's provisional release earlier this year followed pressure from rights activists over his deteriorating health aggravated by malnutrition and repeated assaults.
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Homosexuality is illegal in many African countries, and MPs in Liberia, Nigeria and Uganda have recently presented legislation that would strengthen anti-gay laws that are already on the books.
But even in those countries, prosecutions are rare or nonexistent, said Neela Ghoshal, a researcher in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights programme at Human Rights Watch.
As a shining beacon of hope and morality, one would think that the United States would be at least somewhat outraged over this travesty of justice. After all, when I've mentioned to anti-gay evangelicals the role that some of their fellows had in pushing the Ugandan bill:
They've consistently said that this is going much too far.
So, how outraged are we? ... Well, Korean Hip-hopper PSY's Gangnam Style went viral in August of this year, and had won several awards by September which would make it old news by October. However, with the minor exception (and I do mean minor) of MSNBC - the above clip comes from when Uganda's law was just a proposed bill, a while back - cable news still found Gangnam Style to be more relevant to the national discourse during all of November and then some.
Hat tip to Media Matters.
That's sad.