senegalese homosexuals face torture after release

By Abeli Zahabu (BTM French Reporter)

SENEGAL – February 18, 2008: About twenty Senegalese men arrested recently in Dakar on charges of homosexuality have been released without any official explanation.

Since their release, these men experienced torture from the local residents where some were forced to flee their country.

“Those who have been released are being chased and beaten by the local people”, states a terrified Jean-Louis R., who heads a gay organisation AND LIGEEY and who managed to find safety in a neighbouring country.

This came after police in Dakar arrested between seven and twenty men for attending an alleged gay marriage after a local magazine published photographs of that ceremony. The men were later charged on suspicion of homosexuality.

“Even people who were not part of the wedding ceremony but have an effeminate look are subjected to the same treatment”, Jean-Louis added.

Soon after the arrests, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) and Pan-Africa ILGA sent a letter to Senegalese Ministry of Justice, demanding immediate and unconditional release of the men.

However, Jean-Louis feels that the release, only, is not enough. He demands that clause 3.913 of the Senegalese Penal Code – which criminalises homosexuality – simply be scrapped.

“This article is against the human rights. It is unfair and has to be abrogated. Under this kind of legislation, gay people feel helpless and unprotected”, he concluded.

Senegal is one of the Francophone African countries that criminalise homosexuality. Under article 3.913 of the Senegalese Penal Code, homosexual acts are punishable by imprisonment of between one and five years and a fine of $200 to $3,000.

While there are occasional arrests and convictions of homosexual men under the said article, social stigma and blackmail are the most prevalent form of abuse faced by homosexual men in the country.

Hence those who could not find refuge in Gambia, Mauritania and Mali are constantly subjected to mob justice.