Indonesia: Anti-gay campaign sweeps Jakarta

Source:  Website – Action in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific
Date: Not precisely dated, probably July 2008

Indonesia: Anti-gay campaign sweeps Jakarta

According to Rido Triawan, the chairperson of Arus Pelangi (“Rainbow Current”), an Indonesian LGBTI rights organisation, a new anti-gay and lesbian campaign is sweeping Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, in the wake of hysterical media coverage about a so-called “Gay mutilation murder case”.

Verry Idam Henyansyah, better known as “Ryan” confessed to the murder and mutilation of a gay man, Heri Santoso, in Jakarta a few weeks ago. He has subsequently confessed to 10 other murders.

Two held in Gambia on gay charges

Source: BBC
3 June 2008

Two held in Gambia on gay charges

Two Spanish men have been arrested in The Gambia accused of making homosexual advances to taxi drivers, police say.

Last month, President Yahya Jammeh’s threatened to behead gay people at a political rally and said they had 24 hours to leave the country.

He promised “stricter laws than Iran” on homosexuality and said he would “cut off the head” of any gay person.

Moldova police helping gay bashers attack minorities

Source: The Tiraspol Times and Weekly Review
13 May 2008

Moldova police helping gay bashers attack minorities

With Moldova’s police providing protective cover, armed gay bashers attacked a bus of participants bound for a march in Chisinau. It is the second year in a row that the march had to be canceled as a result of violence. Victims say authorities are aiding and abetting by allowing the gay bashing to take place.

By Karen Ryan, 13/May/2008

CHISINAU (Tiraspol Times) – For the second time in two years, a gay pride event had to be called off after homophobic mobs attacked organizers and participants in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, as police simply watched on.

Police raid gay sauna and cuff owner

In a press release issued the day after, One Seven, a well-known bathhouse catering to a gay male clientele said they were rudely raided by the police the previous night. In their statement , they described the sequence of events as follows: The police turned off the water supply and then when owner Harvey “Sam” Schwartz opened to back door to investigate the problem, the police rushed in for what they described as a “spot check”. The statement said the police did not reply to Schwartz’s question about whether they had a search warrant. When Schwartz took a stand against the female officer entering the premises – which included open showers and a men’s changing room – he was knocked down to the ground, handcuffed and spent the night in a lock-up. He has since been charged with “assaulting (pushing) the officer that handcuffed him”.

(Note however, that there is some confusion about the date in the press release by One Seven and it’s not clear whether the incident took place on Friday 25 April or Saturday 26 April 2008.)

If the link above is broken, click the graphic for a copy of the Press Release.

Yahoo news: Egypt sentences 5 men for homosexuality

Egypt sentences 5 men for homosexuality

By MAGGIE MICHAEL
Associated Press Writer

Wed Apr 9, 4:37 PM ET

CAIRO, Egypt – An Egyptian court convicted five men Wednesday on charges of homosexual behavior and sentenced them to three years in prison, officials said.

Defense lawyer, Adel Ramadan, said the judge found the men guilty of the “habitual practice of debauchery” — a term used in the Egyptian legal system to denote consensual homosexual acts.

The convictions were confirmed by a judicial official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to journalists.

Egypt steps up HIV arrests

15 February 2008
The Associated Press

Egypt Steps Up HIV Arrests

By KATARINA KRATOVAC

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) ­ Egyptian police have stepped up arrests of persons suspected of having HIV, detaining four men this month in a crackdown that violates basic human rights, two international rights groups said Friday.

New York-based Human Rights Watch and London-based Amnesty International warned in a joint statement that the arrests could undermine HIV/AIDS prevention effort as people in Egypt become increasingly afraid to seek information on the subject.