Reports suggest that Uganda’s new parliament will consider the notorious anti-homosexuality bill

The last parliament, which was dissolved last week, ran out of time to debate the draft legislation, which calls for the death penalty for some cases of gay sex.

A BBC World News Service report said the ninth parliament has inherited three bills from its predecessor – one of which is the anti-homosexuality bill.

The Ugandan Daily Monitor also reports that the bill is expected to be debated.

According to Box Turtle Bulletin blogger Jim Burroway, the BBC report said: “The 9th Parliament has inherited three controversial bills that form part of its deliberations. They include the anti-homosexuality bill which was shoved at the 11th hour of the 8th Parliament, the Marriage and Divorce Bill which, among other things, would criminalise marital rape, widow inheritance [sic], in addition to providing for women’s property rights and rights to negotiate sex including seeking divorce on grounds of the man’s impotence or the size of their sexual organ. Another controversial bill is the one that seeks to enact more stringent laws for the media.”

The bill, introduced by MP David Bahati, was designed to strengthen Uganda’s already-harsh laws against homosexuality.

Clauses called for the death penalty for “aggravated” homosexuality, while those who fail to report incidences to police would be jailed.

The bill received worldwide condemnation from countries, gay rights campaigners and human rights groups.

Source: PinkNews, May 19, 2011

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Uganda anti-homosexuality bill off the table as parliament is dissolved

A Ugandan parliamentary debate and vote on a draconian anti-homosexuality bill due to happen today did not take place after the country’s parliament was officially dissolved.

Ugandan MPs had been set to debate the bill, which could allow the death penalty for homosexual acts in some cases, but parliament was dissolved on Friday without any new legislation being discussed.

“We are relieved that the Anti-Homosexuality Bill was not passed into law today,” said Michelle Kagari, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Africa.

"This bill would have institutionalised the discrimination, including harassment and arbitrary arrests, that LGBT people in Uganda already face."

New Members of Parliament will be sworn in next week after February 2011’s general elections. The bill could be reintroduced when the new parliament begins sitting then.

Ugandan and international rights organisations, including Amnesty International, have been campaigning for parliament to reject the bill, which also proposes life imprisonment for entering into a same-sex marriage.

Source: Amnesty International, May 13, 2011

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Uganda’s anti-gay bill disappears from parliament’s agenda after global outcry against bill

Uganda’s parliament appeared Wednesday to have dropped plans to debate a controversial anti-gay bill after a global outcry from U.S. leaders, rights groups and an Internet campaign.

The anti-gay bill was first proposed in 2009 but wasn’t debated until last Friday. The bill had been scheduled to be debated before the full parliament on Wednesday but was dropped from the schedule.

The future of the bill remained murky. Wednesday was parliament’s last scheduled day of session, and President Yoweri Museveni was scheduled on Thursday to be sworn in after his February re-election. It wasn’t clear if the bill could be carried forward to the next session or if the bill’s author would have to offer a new bill, which he has said he will do if needed.

The original bill would mandate a death sentence in some cases, part of the reason it attracted global attention. The bill’s author, David Bahati, has said a new version of the bill would not contain the death penalty, but no amended version has been released publicly.

One member of parliament, John Alimadi, said Wednesday that the bill may have been dropped from the agenda because of the worldwide outcry against it.

Online petitions from the groups Avaaz and Allout said they had gathered more than 1.4 million signatures. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch called the bill’s progress deeply alarming. A U.S. congressman said if the bill passes he would urge huge cuts in international aid, and the U.S. State Department again voiced its opposition.

“If adopted, a bill further criminalizing homosexuality would constitute a significant step backwards for the protection of human rights in Uganda,” said Hilary Fuller Renner, a spokeswoman for the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs. “Respect for human rights is key to Uganda’s long-term political stability and democratic development, as well as its public health and economic prosperity."

Gay rights groups say that the harassment of gays has increased in Uganda since the introduction of the bill in October 2009.

Last year a tabloid newspaper in Uganda published the names and photos of men it alleged were gay. One cover included the words “Hang Them.” Shortly afterward, in January, a prominent gay rights activist whose picture was published was bludgeoned to death, though authorities contend David Kato’s sexual orientation had nothing to do with the killing.

Bahati’s original bill carries harsh provisions. It would mandate a death sentence for active homosexuals living with HIV or in cases of same-sex rape. “Serial offenders” also would face capital punishment. Anyone convicted of a homosexual act would face life imprisonment.

Anyone who “aids, abets, counsels or procures another to engage of acts of homosexuality” would face 7 years in prison. Landlords who rent rooms or homes to homosexuals also could get 7 years.

If the bill is picked up by the next session, some, all or none of those provision could change during parliament negotiations.

Homosexuality is highly unpopular in Uganda, and pastors in this Christian country speak out loudly against it. Bahati has said he thinks the bill would become law if voted on.

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank said in a statement Tuesday he was disturbed that parliamentarians were again discussing the bill. He said if it becomes law that he would urge the U.S. government to oppose any aid to Uganda from international institutions that the U.S. belongs to, such as the World Bank and African Development Bank.

Avaaz, an Internet group that champions action on issues like poverty and climate change, said it had collected more than 1 million Internet signatures from people opposed to the bill. The group wants parliament to reject the bill or Museveni to veto it if it passes.

“In 24 hours, the Ugandan Parliament may vote on a brutal new law that carries the death penalty for homosexuality. Thousands of Ugandans could face execution — just for being gay,” the group’s website said. “We’ve helped stop this bill before, and we can do it again."

Source: Associated Press, May 11, 2011

May 11, 2011, 17.30 GMT Update

Associated Press reports that officials have indicated that the bill will now be debated on Friday in an extra session.
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British Foreign Secretary William Hague urges Uganda not to pass Anti-Homosexuality Bill

Foreign Secretary William Hague has re-iterated the government's opposition to Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill, urging local officials to reject it.

Writing on micro-blogging site Twitter he said: “We oppose this bill and will continue to raise our concerns with Ugandan government. We urge Ugandan MPs to reject it.”

He continued: “Our embassy is lobbying Ugandan go and the UK initiated a formal EU demarche to the Ugandan foreign minister on the bill.”

Currently under review, the bill could see homosexuals either placed in prison or - if earlier versions of the Bill are passed - sentenced to the death penalty.

The proposed bill has been under a committee review for the past 48 hours and is expected to be either voted-in or rejected imminently.

A core supporter of the Bill told the parliamentary committee he doesn’t support the Bill’s death penalty clause. Despite this, Pastor Martin Ssempa still urged MPs to pass the legislation to control queers.

Naturally, global pressure is mounting. Conservative civil liberties spokesman in the European Parliament, Timothy Kirkhope, and Charles Tannock MEP also called on the EU's External Action Service to reinforce the EU's opposition to such a Bill, which the parliament has twice condemned in foreign affairs resolutions.

Tannock said: "The European Parliament and the EU's High Representative Ashton must bring the influence of the international community to bear on Uganda. We must make it clear that this outrageous law must not be allowed to pass.

"There is a very worrying violent and abusive environment towards homosexual people in Uganda and it must be condemned as far and wide as possible by the West."

Kirkhope added: "The right to live free from fear on the basis of sexuality should be an inviolable right across the world.

"There is no place in this world for laws that make homosexuality a criminal offence punishable by either long prison sentences or even death. The parliament of Uganda needs to look at how it can create a climate of tolerance in its country, rather than the very worrying climate of hatred that we have seen in recent years."

Source: PinkPaper.com, May 11, 2011

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Uganda Kill The Gays Bill May Become Fast Tracked Into Law

The Uganda Kill The Gays Bill, aka the Anti-Homosexuality Bill (AHB) may be quickly on its way to becoming law, as the Uganda lame duck parliament’s session comes to a fast close, possibly on May 11 — just days from now. The bill, infamous around the world for its provision mandating the death penalty for anyone convicted of the “crime” of homosexuality, anyone convicted of same-sex rape, anyone who is classified as a “serial offender,” even anyone with HIV, may or may not include the death penalty provision, according to author of the bill, David Bahati, who claimed last week he would “concede” the provision if it would move the bill into law. Many believe that concession to be a ruse. Contrary to a published AP report, the death penalty provision has not been dropped.

“I know that the process of legislation is moving forward,” said Bahati, according to a report from Warren Throckmorton, who writes, “Today, public hearings on Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill took place before the Parliamentary and Legal Affairs Committee, according to the bill author, David Bahati. In an interview, Bahati said that the Uganda Reform Commission and several religious leaders were on the list of those slated to provide testimony.”

“Bahati declined to say that the bill would be voted on next week, saying that the actual end of Parliament is not until May 18 when the 9th Parliament also begins. According to Charles Tuhaise, a researcher for parliament’s research office, most of the business will be concluded by the end of next week. He told me that the hearings for the Marriage and Divorce Bill have concluded and those for the Anti-Homosexuality Bill began today. Tuhaise said the antigay bill hearings will probably conclude on Monday."

No word yet from Uganda President Museveni, who recently stated he wanted the Kill The Gays Bill dropped, on whether he would sign it.

According to trusted reports, including Jim Burroway of Box Turtle Bulletin, the AHB’s chances may be growing, as Uganda is currently experiencing great citizen unrest, and parliament sees passage of the bill as an opportunity to create a “diversion."

“Uganda has been rocked in recent weeks with rioting and demonstrations against rising gas prices,” Burroway writes. “The government has been responding with extraordinarily violent crackdown on dissent. One opposition leader was seriously injured and fled to neighboring Kenya for treatment. The disturbances even spilled onto the floor of Parliament, which had to suspend its session temporarily on Tuesday."

Relying on information from GayUganda, Burroway adds ”that forces behind the bill see as an opportunistic diversion for the violence that is racking the country,” but adds that the “diversion also can work both ways. With most of the media’s attention focus on the ongoing violence and protests, it could also be that the bill’s supporters see an opening for it to be passed when nobody’s paying attention."

The Kill The Gays Bill also mandates jail time for those who know of homosexuals but do not report them to authorities within 24 hours and offers a maximum of seven years prison time for even renting a room to someone who is homosexual. Any assistance to a gay man or lesbian would be considered criminal.

The bill reportedly was shelved in March, but Bahati — who has said he wants to “kill every last gay person” — appeared defiant, stating at the time, “I think that the government is aware that 95 % of Ugandans do not condone homosexuality."

One week later, supporters of the bill, lead by right-wing zealot Pastor Martin Ssempa, presented to Speaker of the Uganda Parliament, Edward Ssekandi, a petition reportedly carrying 2 million signatures, demanding the “Kill The Gays” bill — also known as the “Anti-Homosexuality Bill” — become law.

The “Kill The Gays” bill, which has also become known as the “Bahati bill,” is necessary — according to the team of Pastor Ssempa and David Bahati — because homosexuals are supposedly “recruiting children” in Uganda, and, the two claim, paying them large sums of money to have same-gender sex or to become homosexual. The petition reportedly came with a list of nineteen organizations that they claim are “promoting” homosexuality in Uganda.

But no one has ever provided actual proof. Bahati, who has a Cardiff University MBA, has been repeatedly asked in this country by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow for any proof of these allegations. Bahati promised to provide it but never has.

Source: The Advocate, May 6, 2011


Gay activists’ petition against Ugandan ‘kill gays’ bill

Gay rights campaigners hope to collect enough signatures to ask Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni to refuse to sign an anti-homosexuality bill.

The legislation, in its current form, calls for harsher punishments for homosexuality. For “aggravated” case, such as those involving disabled people, those with HIV or minors, it calls for the death penalty.

Landlords, teachers and family members could also be prosecuted for failing to report gay people to police.
The status of the bill has been unclear for months, with conflicting reports about its progress through the legislature.

Late last year, it appeared to have been scrapped. However, campaigners say that parliament may vote on it this week and are urging people to sign a petition against it.

The petition, started by Allout.org, says: “Our best chance at stopping the bill is each other – if thousands of us spread the word we can make clear that the world is watching and we will not allow this to stand.”

The appeal adds: “Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has shown himself to be sensitive to international pressure. Last year, a massive response from people around the world pushed him to stop the bill in its tracks.”

President Museveni has not given his opinions on the bill but ethics minister James Nsaba Buturo said last January that the leader did not agree with killing gays and lesbians.

The anonymous blogger GayUganda wrote last week that parliament’s return to the bill was a “diversion” tactic to take attention away from riots and the fear of more civil unrest.

Source: PinkNews, May 9, 2011

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Uganda gay bill may lose death penalty clause

The Ugandan parliamentarian behind an anti-gay bill that attracted worldwide condemnation has said the most controversial part of the legislation - the death penalty provision - is likely to be dropped from the bill.

David Bahati said yesterday that if the parliament committee the bill currently sits before recommends that the death penalty provision be removed, "I would concede."

"The death penalty is something we have moved away from," Mr Bahati said.

After his anti-gay bill was proposed some 18 months ago, it attracted international condemnation, including from President Barack Obama. Since the initial uproar, the bill has languished in committee.

But Stephen Tashobya, the chairman of the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, said the legislation may come up for a vote before parliament's session ends on May 12.

"We shall try and see how far we can go with the bill," he said.

Source: The Scotsman, April 27, 2011

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Germany expels imam advocating death penalty for "practicing homosexuals"

Frankfurt - Authorities in Germany have ordered the expulsion of a visiting imam who argues that practicing homosexuals should be sentenced to death, officials said Thursday.

The move comes a day after Abu Ameena Bilal Philips delivered an open-air speech to around 2,000 Muslims in Frankfurt.

The convert to Islam, who is in his 60s, did not repeat his views on homosexuality during Wednesday's rally. Bystanders said the speeches at the rally for Islam were not inflammatory. About 500 opponents demonstrated against him as he spoke.

German officials said they had prepared an order, before he was due to speak, instructing Philips to leave the country by Saturday night and never return.

German immigration law allows for the expulsion of aliens who 'incite hatred against parts of the population' or advocate violence against them. In a video on YouTube, Philips has defended the death penalty for proven homosexual acts.

Philips is entitled to appeal the order, but only from abroad, police said, and must mail in proof that he has left. An arrest warrant is ready in case he does not leave before the expulsion deadline.

Philips was invited to address a demonstration in defence of 'Islam, the Misunderstood Religion' by Pierre Vogel, a German-born convert to Islam who authorities describe as Salafist.

Salafism is a fundamentalist form of Islam that advocates literal adherence to what believers say was the religion's original form, and is closely connected to Islamism, the belief that Islam must prevail over political life.

Philips, who was born in Jamaica and grew up Canada, has said he was a communist before he turned to Islam, at the age of 25.

Gay rights groups round the globe have repeatedly protested at his speeches.

Source: M&C News, April 21, 2011

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EU tells Uganda to protect gays

David Kato

The European Parliament has urged Uganda to decriminalise homosexuality and protect gays and lesbians after a prominent gay rights activist was murdered last month.

The 27-nation assembly adopted a resolution on Thursday calling on Ugandan authorities to conduct an in-depth investigation into the murder of David Kato and probe individuals who publicly called for his killing.

It urged Uganda to ensure gays and lesbians "are adequately protected against violence, and to take prompt action against all threats or hate speech likely to incite violence, discrimination or hostility towards them".

The call came on the same day that a leaked US embassy cable on WikiLeaks revealed that Kato was mocked at a UN-backed debate on Uganda's anti-homosexuality bill where a member of the Uganda Human Rights Commission "openly joked and snickered" with the supporters of the bill.

According to the cable, the debate in December 2009 was organised with funding from the UN and sought to discuss a controversial bill seeking to impose the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality" for consenting adults who have gay sex.

A US diplomat quoted in the cable said Kato delivered a well-written speech against the bill introduced by a born-again MP, David Bahati, but his words were almost inaudible due to "his evident nervousness".

Homophobia in Uganda runs deep and ministers and pastors often rail against gays and lesbians, accusing them of importing and adopting "rotten" Western culture.

Kato's murder on January 26 triggered a wave of condemnation from rights groups who criticised Uganda for ignoring the plight of gay people in the country and urged authorities to investigate the murder.

Although the Ugandan police have since arrested a suspect in connection with Kato's murder, they insist his death was a not a consequence of his gay activism.

The suspect is a male prostitute who confessed to murdering Kato after he reneged on an agreement to pay for sex, police say.

Last year, Kato was named and pictured by an anti-gay tabloid called Rolling Stone in a story that carried the headline "Hang Them" in reference to gay rights campaigners.

The people who appeared in the tabloid are "now in genuine danger of being persecuted, are in most cases now homeless, unemployed and forced to avoid public places, and must hide from public view," the parliament resolution said.

Source: Al Jazeera, Feb. 18, 2011

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Scott Mills: ‘Gay hatred is everywhere in Uganda’

"Hang them!"

The situation for gay people in Uganda was far worse than he expected, Scott Mills says.

Speaking to PinkNews.co.uk about an upcoming documentary, the gay Radio 1 presenter told how he feared for his own safety in the country.

Mills met anti-gay MP David Bahati as part of filming for ‘The World’s Worst Place to be Gay?’.

When the presenter said he was gay, Bahati became enraged and the film crew fled.

Later, they heard that Bahati had sent armed police to a hotel he thought they were staying at.

“I was really frightened,” Mills said. “It’s just something that you wouldn’t think would happen. It was a real shock to the system and we were told to lie low.”

He said: “I wasn’t aware before I went about what was going on in Uganda.

“I met gay people in safe houses because they had to flee their homes. The newspapers print their names, their photos, even what car they drive. These people are just hounded.

“It’s so bizarre that somewhere just seven hours away by plane can be so different.”

During filming, Mills met victims of homophobia and the pastors preaching against homosexuality.

“All the gay people we met had a story about how they had been tormented or attacked,” he said.

“There was a guy we saw in hospital, he had AIDS and was very ill. But because they knew he was gay, he wasn’t getting the right treatment. He’s dead now.

“Then there was a girl called Stosh, who had to go into hiding after her face was plastered across the newspapers.

“It’s all very well reading about these things but when you actually go to Uganda, you realise how bad things are. It was a lot worse than I expected.”

Gay people in Uganda have “an air of optimism”, he said. “But they’re faced with every pastor, every teacher in every school, saying the same thing.

“They think things will change but it’s going to take a long time.”

When asked how attitudes could change, Mills said: “I don’t really know. The West has been quite vocal and President Obama publicly denounced Uganda but [the preachers] still say homosexuality is un-African, that it is against the family.

“They think it was brought in by the West.”

Many of those he met had been accused of “promoting” homosexuality and “recruiting” children.

He said: “The pastors claim that gay people go into schools and offer children money but when you talk to the schools, they say it hasn’t happened. There’s no evidence for it.”

The film crew also saw first-hand the influence Western preachers have on anti-gay sentiment in Uganda.

“It’s all wrapped up in Christianity and evangelicalism,” Mills said. “And Americans come over to preach. We went to a sermon and saw a guy from Atlanta preaching gay hate.”

He added: “I went to Uganda with the aim of making a fair and balanced film but in two weeks, we couldn’t find any [non-gay] person saying that homosexuality was okay.”

‘The World’s Worst Place to be Gay?’ will be shown on BBC Three at 9pm on Monday February 14th.

Source:Pink News, Feb. 11, 2011

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UK: Men charged with anti-gay hatred over execution leaflets

Two men in Derby are the first to be charged under new laws against stirring up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation.

Razwan Javed, 30, and Kabir Ahmed, 27, were accused of handing out leaflets called ‘The Death Penalty?’ outside a Derby mosque.

It reportedly said that gay people should be executed and the pair are also accused of pushing it through letterboxes.

The pair were reportedly arrested after a tip-off from a member of the public.

If convicted at a crown court, they could face up to seven years in prison or an unlimited fine. They will appear before magistrates today.

This is the first time anyone has been prosecuted for inciting hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

Sue Hemming, a lawyer for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “The charges relate to the distribution of a leaflet, ‘The Death Penalty?’, outside the Jamia Mosque in Derby in July 2010 and through letterboxes during the same month.

“This is the first-ever prosecution for this offence and it is the result of close working between the Crown Prosecution Service and Derbyshire Police.”

Stonewall chief executive Ben Summerskill said: “We welcome the Attorney General’s decision to allow this prosecution to go ahead. We lobbied for a number of years for a specific law to protect gay people, matching offences against inciting racial and religious hatred.

“Materials like the leaflets posted to homes in Derby create fear and inflame hatred and violence towards gay people. We uncovered a range of similar materials during our campaign to secure much-needed legal protections in this area.”

Source: Pink News, January 28, 2011

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Ugandan gay rights activist beaten to death

David Kato

A Ugandan gay rights campaigner who sued a newspaper for publishing the names and photos of gay people has been beaten to death.

David Kato’s death is being investigated by police and activists say he was attacked in his home near Kampala yesterday afternoon.

His name, photograph and address were published by the tabloid newspaper Rolling Stone last year and he is said to have received death threats.

Mr Kato, along with a few others, complained to a judge about Rolling Stone’s anti-gay campaign and the newspaper was ordered to cease outing gays and lesbians.

Sexual Minorities Uganda called him a “dear friend, colleague, teacher, family member and human rights defender”.

Frank Mugisha, of the group, said: “No form of intimidation will stop our cause. The death of David will only be honored when the struggle for justice and equality is won. David is gone and many of us will follow, but the struggle will be won. David wanted to see a Uganda where all people will be treated equally despite their sexual orientation.”

The Human Rights Campaign has called for a full investigation into his death.

"Hang them!"

Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda and an MP introduced a bill last year to punish “aggravated” cases with the death penalty.

Giles Muhame, the editor of Rolling Stone, told Reuters he condemned the murder but still wanted the government to hang gay people.

He said: “If he has been murdered, that’s bad and we pray for his soul.

“There has been a lot of crime, it may not be because he is gay. We want the government to hang people who promote homosexuality, not for the public to attack them. We said they should be hanged, not stoned or attacked.”

Source: Pink News, January 27, 2011

David Kato buried as pastor condemns homosexuality

Ugandan gay rights campaigner David Kato was buried today but scuffles broke out at his funeral as the pastor urged gays to repent.

Mr Kato, who was murdered in his home on Wednesday, was laid to rest in his village near Kampala.

Around 300 people attended the ceremony, including around 100 gays and lesbians.

US president Barack Obama sent a message to mourners, calling Mr Kato a “powerful advocate for fairness and freedom”.

He urged Ugandan authorities to find and punish Mr Kato’s killers.

Mr Kato’s body was displayed overnight in an open casket at his parents’ home and mourners at his funeral today wore t-shirts with his picture on.

But reports say that the ceremony was disturbed when the pastor began urging gays and lesbians to repent.

According to Reuters, the unnamed pastor told the crowd: “The world has gone crazy.

“People are turning away from the scriptures. They should turn back, they should abandon what they are doing. You cannot start admiring a fellow man.”

Mr Kato’s friends angrily stormed the pulpit before the pastor was taken away.

The activist’s friends had to bury his coffin because villagers refused to do it, reports said.

He was killed several months after suing a newspaper for publishing his name, address and photo in a homophobic campaign.

Source: Pink News, January 28, 2011
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Two Iranian men to be stoned to death over gay sex

Two young men who filmed themselves having sex with a 17-year-old have been sentenced to death by stoning in Iran.

The film was discovered on the mobile phones of Ayub and Mosleh, 20 and 21 years old, by agents of the Iranian regime in the Kurdistan city of Piranshahr in northwest Iran. It has been claimed that the video included them having sex with a third, 17-year-old who told religious police that the pair raped him in exchange for sparing his own life.

The pair’s full names have not been released.

Pictures of President Ahmadinejad and a headshot of Supreme Leader Khamenei pasted over a donkey were allegedly incorporated into the film.

Reports say that the young men’s stoning was immediately ordered for this Friday “to instill fear in the people of Iran”.

News of the sentence originates from a Kurdish newspaper and has been distributed by the International Committee Against Stoning, which launched the worldwide campaign against the stoning of Sakineh Ashtiani for adultery.

It has since been confirmed by other sources.

Iranian LGBT activists and human rights organisations have reported a number of other death sentences for homosexuality in the past two years. However the Iranian government maintains that “most of these individuals have been charged for forcible sodomy or rape”.

The original newspaper report claimed that the boys raped another.

Soheila Vahdati, an independent human rights defender for Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the Iranian Queer Organisation based in San Francisco, said: “They don’t differentiate between rape and homosexual acts. As well, there is a culture of shame. The families won’t defend their loved ones from this brutal punishment.”

“We are very concerned even though we haven’t got all the details,” she added. “We’ll try to save their lives but unfortunately Iran has quickly executed people in the past.”

Judges order execution by stoning under a 1983 law detailing offences proscribed by God, and then under the general Islamic penal code. Some senior Shia clerics have spoken out against stoning.

The International Committee Against Stoning has urged “the young people of Piranshahr to hasten to the aid of Ayub and Mosleh and declare that they will not permit this tragedy to occur”.

The Association of British Muslims, alongside an international coalition of Muslim organisations, has condemned the sentence and says it does not see anything in the Koran to justify such punishment.

The group said: “Allah says in the Holy Qur’an, ‘…if anyone slays a human being unless it be [in punishment] for murder or for spreading corruption on earth – it shall be as though he had slain all mankind; whereas, if anyone saves a life, it shall be as though he had saved the lives of all mankind…’”

Last month Human Rights Watch published a large scale report on the repression of LGBT in Iran. It said that those charged with same-sex offences stand little chance of receiving a fair trial.

There are few reliable statistics on the frequency with which stonings take place in Iran. Recent years have seen a rising number of cases reported. Some members of parliament are reportedly hoping that the Supreme Leader will pass a fatwa against stoning.

Source: Pink News, January 18, 2011

British MEP Michael Cashman says he’s working to stop Iranian gay executions

Gay Labour MEP Michael Cashman has said he is working to stop the planned executions of two young men for alleged homosexuality offences.

The two men, named only as Ayub, 21, and Mosleh, 20, were arrested by agents of the Iranian regime in the Kurdistan city of Piranshahr in northwest Iran after mobile phone footage was discovered of them having sex.

It has been claimed that the video included them having sex with a 17-year-old who told religious police that the pair raped him in exchange for sparing his own life.

Homosexuality is illegal in Iran.

Mr Cashman tweeted yesterday: “Working to stop the execution of Ayoub and Mosleh in Iran.”

PinkNews.co.uk understands he has alerted EU Foreign Minister Cathy Ashton about the men’s plight, while MPs Chris Bryant and Caroline Lucas have written to the Foreign Secretary to highlight the case.

The US State Department has also been asked to intervene by gay rights campaigners.

The date of the execution was originally reported as today (January 21st) although this is now unclear.

Gay rights activist Paul Canning, who wrote for PinkNews.co.uk about the case this week, said: “This case has been difficult to write about because of the dangers for sources of information in Iran, changing or limited information and because of the obvious politics which surround any such case.

“However this does not mean we can stand by and do nothing. Previous cases, in particular that of the woman sentenced to stoning for adultery, now changed to imprisonment, show that sometimes international pressure works.

“I am delighted that pressure does now appear to be being applied.”

Source: Pink News, January 21, 2011

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Condemned Ohio killer of 3 asks panel for mercy

A condemned Ohio inmate with Nazi sympathies who killed 3 men at Cleveland State University is asking the state's new governor for mercy.

Frank Spisak blamed the 1982 murders on his hatred of gays, blacks and Jews and also claimed his crimes were sparked by mental illness related to confusion about his sexual identity.

His attorneys planned to tell the Ohio Parole Board Thursday that Spisak suffers from a severe bipolar mood disorder that was not diagnosed until years after he was convicted.

The lawyers argue the information could have led jurors to consider a different sentence.

Spisak's plea to spare his life will be the 1st death penalty case to come before newly sworn-in Republican Gov. John Kasich

Source: Associated Press, January 13, 2011

UN votes to reinstate resolution condemning execution of gays

The United Nations General Assembly has voted to restore a reference to sexual orientation in a resolution opposing the unjustified killings of minority groups.

Last month, a UN panel deleted a reference to gays and lesbians in resolution introduced by Morocco and Mali. The vast majority of countries in support were African or Arabic.

Many of the supporting countries criminalise homosexuality and five treat it as a capital offence.

But today, the UN General Assembly voted 93 in favour of the United States’ proposal to restore the reference to sexual orientation, 55 countries voted against and 27 abstained. The assembly then approved the amended resolution with 122 in favour, none against and 59 abstentions.

The amendment passed last month called for the words “sexual orientation” to be replaced with “discriminatory reasons on any basis”. The resolution made explicit reference to a large number of groups, including human rights defenders, religious and ethnic minorities and street children.

It narrowly passed 79-70 and was then approved by the UN General Assembly committee with 165 in favour and ten abstentions. The motion condemns extra-judicial, summary and arbitrary executions and other killings, is voted on by the UN General Assembly every two years. For the past ten years, it contained references to sexual orientation.

Related articles: 'UN deletes gay reference from anti-execution measures', Reuters, Nov. 16, 2010, Pink News, Nov. 19, 2010, Pink News, Dec. 14, 2010, The Guardian, December 21, 2010

Source: Pink News, December 21, 2010

In Africa, homosexuality emerging as hot-button issue

In Kenya, Prime Minister Raila Odinga recently told supporters in the Nairobi slum of Kibera that he would order police to arrest gays. In Uganda and Malawi, debate is rising over the legality of homosexuality.

Long seen as a fringe societal taboo far from the realm of African politics, homosexuality is emerging as a hot-button issue throughout much of the continent. Kenya, East Africa's economic hub, joined the trend in late November when Prime Minister Raila Odinga told supporters in the Nairobi slum of Kibera that he would order police to arrest gays.

"We will not tolerate such behavior in the country. The Constitution is very clear on this issue, and men or women found engaging in homosexuality will not be spared," Mr. Odinga said in Swahili, in comments that were taped by several news organizations. "Any man found engaging in sexual activities with another man should be arrested. Even women found engaging in sexual activities will be arrested."

The statement -- which brought cheers in the Kibera slum -- has created a sharp divide between Christian conservatives, who argue that homosexuality is against religious laws and "the law of nature," and human rights activists, who argue that stigmatizing any minority is illegal. It serves as the latest example of an outlook driven by the growing political assertiveness of powerful Christian churches that bolster existing social stigmas against gays.

"Normally, we judge a country's development by its tolerance of minorities," says Njeri Kabeberi, executive director of the Center for Multiparty Democracy in Nairobi. "We've seen this same issue come up in Uganda, in Zimbabwe, in Malawi, where gays are assaulted, arrested, jailed. Anything like that, the prime minister should condemn, but instead, he's encouraging it."

Ms. Kabeberi encouraged the prime minister to retract his statement, if only because Kenya's newly enacted Constitution does not, in fact, make homosexuality illegal. (Kenyan law merely states that marriage should be defined as between a man and a woman.)

If the statement was Odinga's attempt to become popular with Kenya's powerful churches, she adds, "the wrath of the civil society is going to make him wish he wasn't popular on this issue. He should be urging Kenyans to be tolerant, instead of himself being intolerant."

While recordings of Odinga's speech have been made public online, Odinga's spokesman Dennis Onyango issued a statement saying that Odinga was misquoted.

Odinga said he intended to clarify that the Constitution was not, as alleged by opponents, going to legalize same-sex marriages.

Yet even this statement stops short of retracting the statement attributed to Odinga of calling for the arrest of gays.

A regional trend

In Uganda, where homosexuality is already illegal under British colonial-era laws, the parliament briefly debated and then withdrew a proposed bill that would have imposed lengthy sentences, and in some cases the death penalty, for homosexuals.

In Malawi, an openly gay couple was convicted in May under a colonial-era law banning "unnatural acts" and sentenced to 14 years in prison, before international pressure prompted the government to set the sentences aside.

And in Kenya, as the country prepared to vote last summer in a referendum to establish the new Constitution -- an attempt to prevent a return of the leadership crisis that followed ethnic clashes after the December 2007 elections -- it was conservative Kenyan churches (urged on by the Pat Robertson-funded American Center for Law and Justice) who opposed the Constitution, arguing incorrectly that the new Constitution would have legalized abortion and same-sex marriages.

Converging reasons

Wanyeki Muthoni, executive director of the independent Kenya Human Rights Commission, says that the tumult over homosexuality is the result of three converging trends.

First, Kenyan gays are becoming more politically active and vocal, lobbying hard for "basic equality and nondiscrimination." Second, the global debate over the ordination of gay priests, increasingly accepted in Europe and the United States, has caused a conservative backlash here in Africa, with African churches largely rejecting those reforms. Finally, African churches have been radicalized by what Ms. Muthoni charges is "the ever-increasing influence of homophobic American Evangelicals in Africa."

For Kenyan gays, Odinga's statement means tough times ahead.

"Harassment has been going on. Yesterday, two people were arrested by cops for homosexuality; three people were arrested the day before, but they managed to get out of jail," says Zawadi Nyongo, an independent social justice activist. "I have been receiving hate mail myself, through e-mail, and I'm not even on the front lines."

"We're all baffled by this," she adds. "How can a government that is trying to help people to get tested for HIV and to seek treatment, how can thatsame government talk about arresting gays?"

Source: Christian Science Monitor, December 9, 2010

Montana: Death penalty, physician-assisted suicide, same-sex couples bills planned for 2011 Legislature

Montana lawmakers soon will be considering bills to ban the death penalty and to allow or forbid physician-assisted suicide when a terminally ill patient requests it.

The 2011 Legislature also will take up a proposal to add sexual orientation and "gender identity and expression" to the state Human Rights Act and protect those classes of people from discrimination.

Niki Zupanic of ACLU Montana said many of the new legislators were swept in with the national sentiment for a smaller, limited government.

"We're hoping that sentiment will hold true on social issues as well," she said. "Things like a woman's right to choose, reproductive freedom and freedom for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community."

The ACLU again will be working to ban the death penalty in Montana. The Senate approved a ban in 2009, but it stalled in a House committee on a tied vote.

"On the issue of whether the state should continue to hold onto this broken system of holding onto the death penalty, it costs way too much, it doesn't work and it's a poor use of tax dollars," Zupanic said.

Sen. Ron Erickson, D-Missoula, will sponsor the bill to abolish the death penalty.

As for physician-assisted suicide, Rep. Dick Barrett, D-Missoula, is introducing legislation to implement a 2009 Montana Supreme Court decision to allow this procedure when a terminally ill patient requests it.

"My sense is that terminally ill Montanans really do want to have this choice available to them, not that large numbers of people take advantage of it," Barrett said when requesting the bill draft earlier this year.

"We'll be advocating for Montanans to continue to have access in aid in dying and to make those decisions with their doctor without government interference," Zupanic said.

Jeff Laszloffy, president of the Montana Family Foundation, said his group stands against physician-assisted suicide.

"I think one of the big ones we're really going to be fighting is the legalization of assisted suicide in Montana," he said.

Meanwhile, Sen. Greg Hinkle, R-Thompson Falls, is requesting a bill to ban physician-assisted suicide in Montana. He has referred to it as "elder abuse."

The Montana Human Rights Network will try to expand the state's Human Rights Act to include "sexual orientation and gender identity and expression," program director Kim Abbott said. Among other things, that would forbid employment discrimination against this group.

"It's adding those classes to the bedrock human rights law in Montana." Abbott said. "We were able to get protection at the local level in Missoula, so we're feeling good about the effort."

However, Abbott predicted it would be an uphill battle at the Legislature because of its makeup.

"We think it's important to give lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people a space to tell their story and for people who are elected leaders to hear them," she said.

Sen.-elect Tom Facey, D-Missoula, has asked for this bill to be drafted.

However, Laszloffy said the Montana Family Foundation will stand opposed to any attempts to protect homosexuals under the state's hate crime law, to allow homosexual couples to get same benefits as heterosexual couples and to authorize civil unions between same-sex couples.

"This is probably not the best session for that agenda, given the numbers in the House and Senate," he said.

Source: Missoulian, December 8, 2010