Release gay couple: Amnesty
2010-01-06 17:03
Johannesburg - Amnesty International on Wednesday called on Malawian authorities to immediately release two men who were arrested for being gay.
Two Malawian men, Steven Monjeza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20, were arrested on December 28 and charged with unnatural practices between males and gross public indecency.
According to Amnesty International the two were arrested two days after they had a traditional engagement ceremony in Blantyre's Chirimba.
"They were reportedly beaten by police while in custody."
They appeared in court on Monday and the matter was postponed to January 11. They are currently being held at Chichiri prison.
Violation of rights
"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."
The organisation said laws criminalising homosexuality and gender identity criminalised the legitimate exercise of human rights, which were protected in treaties ratified by Malawi, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.
"Under these treaties, Malawi has a legal obligation to respect and protect the right to freedom of conscience, freedom of expression and the right to privacy, without discrimination on the grounds of, inter alia, sexual orientation."
Amnesty International said it considered individuals imprisoned solely for their consensual sexual relationship in private as prisoners of conscience and called for their "immediate and unconditional release".
Anal exam
The organisation also criticised attempts by the Malawian authorities to "subject the two men to forcible anal medical examinations to establish if they had had sex so that they could be charged with sodomy".
On Monday, the authorities attempted to have the men undergo forcible anal examinations to establish whether the men had "consummated" their engagement but this was aborted when they could not get an expert to examine them.
Amnesty International said that the men needed support from their community and government, not confinement to prison because of their sexual orientation.
"They should be released unconditionally and supported to recover from this traumatising experience."
- SAPA