Zambian men deny same sex charge

Two Zambian men have pleaded not guilty during a court appearance in the small central town  of Kapiri Mposhi to a charge of engaging in homosexual acts.

James Mwape and Philip Mubiana, both 22, have been charged with four counts of committing "unnatural" sexual acts.
Zambia is a socially conservative country and homosexual acts carry a jail sentence of up to 14 years.
The government has resisted pressure from campaign groups and Western governments to scrap the law.
Amnesty International called for the immediate release of Mr Mwape and Mr Mubiana, saying it regarded them as prisoners of conscience.
"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," said Simeon Mawanza, Amnesty International's Zambia researcher.
'Packed courtroom'
Last month, local human rights activist Paul Kasonkomona was arrested soon after appearing on a live television programme in the capital, Lusaka, calling for homosexuality to be decriminalised.
He was charged with being idle and disorderly in a public place. He denied the charge, and was freed on bail.
Mr Mwape and Mr Mubiana have been arrested twice in the last few days following allegations that they have engaged in homosexual acts.
Police first arrested them over the weekend, apparently after a tip-off, he says.
They were released on bail on Monday after undergoing medical examinations to check if they had engaged in homosexual acts, our reporter says.
Mr Mwape and Mr Mubiana were re-arrested the next day for allegedly having sex on the night of their release, he says.
Amnesty International said it had learned from sources in Zambia that a neighbour had reported the men, who had a poor level of literacy and had not yet met a lawyer.
"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," said Mr Mawanza.
"In addition, the doctors who conduct these examinations, by doing so forcibly, violate their ethical obligations towards people they examine," he added.
The courtroom in Kapiri Mposhi was packed with onlookers as such cases are almost unheard of, our correspondent adds.
The two men were remanded in police custody until their trial starts on 22 May.Kasonkomona, the man in the picture.
On April 7 this year, a human rights activist Paul Kasonkomona was  arrested  and held without a court appearance, despite international protests.
Kasonkomona faces charges of being idle and disorderly in a public place because he appeared on television, calling for the repeal of Zambia’s laws against homosexual acts.
He could be fined and imprisoned for up to a month if he is found guilty.
Under Zambian law, sexual relations between men are punishable by up to 14 years in prison.The man in the picture
Kasonkomona was ordered to pay 5,000 kwacha ($930, £605), BBC reported. His trial is scheduled to start May 15.