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Cameroon Urged to Release 2 Gay Youths Sentenced to 5 Years Prison

More from Cameroon, where gay men are routinely and randomly arrested and subjected to legal ordeals that continue for years. Since late July, a 19-year-old and a 20-year-old have been in police custody. Reports suggest the youths were arrested because they appeared "feminine". The two men received the maximum prison sentence of five years last week. A third man was sentenced in absentia after jumping bail.

Prominent human rights attorney and LGBT rights activist Alice Nkom  "told the BBC that the men were jailed because they looked like women," reports the LA Times. "The prosecution accused them of having oral sex in a car, a claim the men denied."

Amnesty International is urging President Paul Biya to release the young men.

"People accused of such crimes in Cameroon often face abuse and violence from other detainees or prison officers in detention. The two men must be released immediately and the Cameroonian authorities must repeal the country’s discriminatory anti-homosexuality laws," said Erwin van der Borght, Amnesty International’s director for Africa.

In addition to the five-year prison sentence, the maximum sentence for homosexual acts in Cameroon, the men, only known as Francky, Jonas and Hilaire,, were each fined 200,000 CFA francs ($400). Their lawyer has appealed against the sentence.

Homosexuality is illegal in Cameroon and the country has recently seen a wave of anti-gay persecution. At least ten individuals in Yaounde and Douala have been arrested under the discriminatory anti-gay laws since March this year. One man, Jean-Claude Roger Mbede, was convicted and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment on 28 April 2011. At least six others, arrested in July and August 2011, remain in custody, while three men were arrested and then released.

Cameroon is one of at least 32 of Africa's 54 nations that currently have laws penalizing same-sex relations or even sexuality. Three nations—Mauritania, Nigeria and Sudan—boast the death penalty for gays or same-sex activity.

The beautiful central African nation boasts one of continent's more repressive anti-LGBT regimes. Recent months, have seen an increase in arrests and prosecutions under section 347a of its penal code, which criminalizes same-sex sexual acts. The government is preparing to toughen its already harsh penalties against homosexuality by equating them with pedophilia.

Background:

CAMEROON: 3 Gay Youths Sentenced to Five Years
CAMEROON: Alice Nkom Warns of Rise in Arrests
CAMEROON: 2 Teens, 2 Men Face Trial
2 Gay Youth Arrested for "Looking Feminine"
2 Gay Youth Face Trial for Homosexuality
Air France Refuses to Deport Gay Asylum Seeker
CAMEROON: 3 More Arrests for Homosexuality
Cameroon: Pro-LGBT Attorney Threatened w/ Arrest
Cameroon Sentences Journalist to 6 Months
Cameroon Sentences Three for Homosexuality
Gay Man Imprisoned for Two Years Without Trial
"Homosexuelle en Afrique"
Cameroon Gay Man Re-Arrested

Car Veers Out of Control, Pedestrian Killed at Alaska Pride Parade

PHOTOS: BENT ALASKA and ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS

Saturday's gay pride parade in Anchorage was canceled after the convertible carrying the grand marshal careened out of control and fatally struck a man, reports KTUU. The freak accident happened only minutes after the parade started at 11AM.

Police say James L Crump, 50, of Anchorage, died after he was struck by a 1971 Triumph Stag convertible, which was carrying grand marshal of the Pridefest Parade Doug Frank. The driver of the vehicle, Edith Baily, 70, of Eagle River and Frank were unharmed.

Police officers who were nearby at the time of the accident attempted to revive Crump using CPR, but he was declared deceased at the scene, according to an Anchorage Police press release. "As I understand, the vehicle hit him and continued on," said Anchorage Police Department spokesperson Lt. Dave Parker. "I don't know if there was a mechanical problem or not."

Parade organizers promptly canceled the parade and directed parade goers to the Delaney Park Strip, where festivities continued in a subdued manner.

Crump was a public health nurse "employed by the City of Anchorage and "a member of our community who had attended the local [Metropolitan Community Church]," reports eyewitness Mel Green, who blogs at Bent Alaska. "The driver, Edie, was a straight ally who also was associated with MCC."

The accident was apparently caused by an inexperienced driver, according to eyewitness accounts at the Alaska Dispatch. "The driver of parade grand marshal Doug Frank's convertible did not know how to operate the car's stick-shift. A witness called it an 'irresponsible"'decision that left a woman dead and ruined a day of celebration for Alaska's queer communities."

The AP and Alaska Daily News initially incorrectly reported the victim as female. Those reports have since been retracted.

Anchorage Mayor Sullivan Vetoes Gay Rights Ordinance

A setback in Alaska. Last week an ordinance banning discrimination based on sexual orientation was passed by the Anchorage Assembly. On Monday the measure was vetoed by the new Republican Mayor Dan Sullivan.

Sullivan tells KTUU-TV: "I spent a lot of time over the weekend looking at the statements that came on the emails and reviewing the information that came in with the Assembly and listening to their deliberations, and quite frankly I just don't think there's enough evidence to support the necessity for an ordinance. And you combine that with the overwhelming support from the community for me to veto it, and it made my decision pretty clear."

After months of debate, the Assembly approved the measure last week by a 7-4 vote. This follows "decades of efforts to pass similar measures," reports the New York Times. The mayor's father, George Sullivan, who also served as mayor, "vetoed an initial proposal in 1976. Then, as now, the ordinance met with vocal opposition among Christian conservatives"

The Assembly has three weeks to override Sullivan's veto with eight votes.