Cameroon denies homosexuals face persecution Skip to main content

Cameroon denies homosexuals face persecution

HT gardening The asylum seeker from Cameroon has spent four years in the UK
Cameroon's government has rejected the claim by a gay asylum seeker in the UK that he would face persecution if he returned home.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court in London ruled in favour of the man, and a similar claimant from Iran.
Homosexuality in Cameroon is punishable by up to three years in jail.
However, Cameroon's communications minister told the BBC homosexuals were free to behave as they wished in private without any harassment.
"Homosexuality is forbidden by the law, there is not doubt. But what I can emphasise is the fact that no homosexual is persecuted in Cameroon"," Communications Minister Issa Tchiroma said.
He told the BBC's Network Africa programme that the claimant was simply using the law as an excuse to claim asylum in Britain.
"Do you think he is the only gay person in Cameroon?"
'Angry mob' The two men who have won the right to claim asylum in the UK and been refused by the previous British government.
Gay asylum seeker HT: 'If I go back I will live my life in fear'
That decision was backed by a lower court, on the grounds that they could avoid ill-treatment by keeping their sexuality secret or behaving discreetly.
But the Supreme Court judges ruled that this was a violation of their human rights.
The applicant from Cameroon, who is only identified as HT, had been told he should relocate elsewhere in his country and be "more discreet" in future.
He had been attacked by an angry mob at home after being seen kissing his partner. He has been fighting removal from the UK for the past four years.
"Some people stopped me and said 'we know you are a gay man'," HT earlier told the BBC.
"I cannot go back and hide who I am or lie about my sexuality.
"If I go back I will live my life in fear."
HT and the applicant from Iran, where homosexual acts are punishable by death, will now have their cases reviewed by immigration tribunals.
The BBC's Randy Joe Sa'ah in Cameroon says apart from a few lawyers and the popular Cameroonian singer Petit Pays, there are no groups advocating gay rights in the country.

BBC
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sri Bhaddanta Chandramani Mahathera

The Life Story of A Distinguished And Outstanding Bhikkhu The Most Venerable Saradawpharagree Sri Bhaddanta Chandramani Mahathera The Buddhist missionary Saradaw Ashin U Chandramani was endowed with great gifts and led a famous and long life. He was a very well known, distinguished and outstanding Bhikkhu Mahathera. While living in the Kushinagar Monastery, a place close to where the Lord Buddha had passed away to Nirvana, the Government of India had offered, and he had accepted, the highest, most honourable and respected title "Guru Guru MahaGuru". He became the first ever President of all Buddhists in India.A World Buddhist Conference took place in Kathmandu during the reign of King Mahindra of Nepal. The Conference was very well attended by over one hundred thousand Buddhists from various parts of the world and it was opened by King Mahindra himself. As requested by the King, Saradawpharagree blessed all the participants with the power of Triple Gems...
Post a Comment
Read more

Yangon’s Hero, Wielding Power of Stop and Go

By THOMAS FULLER NOV. 21, 2014 Sgt. Khin Myint Maung directing cars in Myanmar’s largest city, where his accolades are also an indictment of others’ corruption. Credit Tomas Munita for The New York Times YANGON, Myanmar — For 12 hours nearly every day, Sgt. Khin Myint Maung stands in one of the most chaotic intersections in this chronically gridlocked city, untangling traffic snarls with patience and unflagging good humor. It is not the most likely résumé for a recipient of a hero of the year award from a leading daily newspaper, or designation as a “role model” officer by the Yangon police force or a “real-life hero” by a German foundation. But the 26-year-old from the provinces, only recently promoted to sergeant, has earned all those awards, rising to fame purely by word of mouth. It is nearly impossible to find a taxi driver in Yangon who does n...
Post a Comment
Read more

Three Dead, Seven Injured by Artillery Shells in Two Incidents in Myanmar’s Mrauk-U

By MIN AUNG KHINE 2 December 2019 Sittwe, Rakhine State –Three Mrauk-U township residents died and four others were injured when an artillery shell struck their community in the Ale Zay quarter of Mrauk-U town on Monday afternoon after 4 p.m. A month-old girl, a 4-year-old boy and a 30-year-old woman died, according to Dr. Khin Maung Yin, the head of Mrauk-U hospital. He said, “A man and three other women were injured. One of the women sustained severe injures to her left leg and her right knee was dislocated. The injured will be operated on.” Details of what occurred were not yet known. A few hours earlier, three civilians were injured when an artillery shell fell on the village of Na Leik in Mrauk-U Township, Rakhine State, western Myanmar, on Monday at around 1 p.m., according to Yan Aung Pyin village-tract administrator U Sein Hla Aung. Two females, aged 13 and 27, and an 18-year-old male were injured in the incident, he said. Three people were hit by shrapnel and we have...
Post a Comment
Read more