Amnesty urges Zambia to release 2 men charged with same-sex sexual conduct

 

Human rights activist Paul Kasonkomona (right) was arrested last month for supporting gay rights on the television

The Zambian authorities must immediately release two young men who have been denied bail after being arrested on charges of having sex “against the order of nature”, Amnesty International  has said.

Police in Kapiri Mposhi in central Zambia on Monday arrested Phil Mubiana and James Mwansa, both aged 21.
According to Amnesty, sources said one of the men’s neighbours reported them to the police, resulting in the arrest for alleged same-sex sexual conduct, considered a crime under Zambia’s penal code.
Authorities subjected the men to anal examinations without their consent.
“The arrest of the two men solely for their real or perceived sexual orientation amounts to discrimination and it is in violation of their rights to freedom of conscience, expression, and privacy,' Amnesty said.
'Laws criminalizing homosexuality and gender identity criminalize the legitimate exercise of these human rights, which are protected in treaties ratified by Zambia, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights,” Simeon Mawanza, Amnesty International’s Zambia researcher, said Wednesday in a statement.
“Anal examinations conducted to ‘prove’ same-sex conduct are scientifically invalid, and furthermore, if they were conducted without the men’s consent, contravene the absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment under international law,” Mawanza stated.
“Such examinations are in every case highly invasive, abusive, and profoundly humiliating. In addition, the doctors who conduct these examinations, by doing so forcibly, violate their ethical obligations towards people they examine. Any persons subjected to such abuse should be afforded appropriate remedy and must be protected from further abuse.”
The two men were reportedly first arrested on 25 April and were detained at the Kapiri Mposhi police station before police released them on bail on 2 May.
According to Amnesty International, since being detained again, the men have yet to see a lawyer and have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. They are due to appear before the court on 22 May. 
“Amnesty International considers individuals imprisoned solely for their consensual sexual relationship in private as prisoners of conscience and calls for their immediate and unconditional release,” Mawanza added.
The latest arrest is the second recent case of the Zambian authorities carrying out arrests to suppress sexual minorities and their supporters.
Last month in Lusaka, a human rights activist was arrested after he appeared on television supporting gay rights. He was subsequently released on bail.