Tunisia: Sentencing of
six men for same-sex relations highlights state’s entrenched homophobia
amnesty.org, 14/12/2015
The jailing of six Tunisian men sentenced to
three years in prison for sodomy is a shocking example of deep-rooted state
sanctioned discrimination against LGBTI people in the country, said Amnesty
International today.
The men, some of them university students,
appeared to have been convicted following anal examinations. Such tests are
considered by Amnesty International to amount to torture when carried out
involuntarily. The organization is calling for their immediate and
unconditional release.
“The verdict against these men is absolutely
shocking, especially at a time when rights groups in Tunisia are increasingly
speaking out against the criminalization of same-sex sexual relations,” said
Said Boumedouha, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East
and North Africa.
“Nobody
should be imprisoned based on their sexual orientation or sexual activity. This
case highlights the entrenched levels of state homophobia in the country and
how far Tunisia still has to go before LGBTI people can enjoy full sexual and
gender identity rights.”
The Court of First Instance in the city of
Kairouan sentenced the men under Article 230 of the Tunisian Penal Code which
criminalizes ‘sodomy and lesbianism’, and carries a maximum prison term of
three years. One of the men was additionally sentenced to six months in prison
for ‘indecency’ after police found a pornographic video on his computer.
According to LGBTI activists following the case,
the six men were arrested on 2 December after the police raided a house in
which they were having a gathering. They appeared before the court on 10
December, which marked International Human Rights Day. Only one of the men was
represented by a lawyer at the time.
The men have also been banned from residing in
Kairouan for a period of five years under Articles 5 and 22 of the Penal Code,
a ban which will come into force when they have completed their prison
sentences. According to a lawyer involved in the case, this is the first known
case in which such punishment has been used in recent years.
“The fact that, in 2015, a Tunisian court can
still jail six young men for same-sex relations and punish them with banishment
shows how taboo same-sex relationships still are in Tunisia. Banning them from
residing in the city sets a dangerous precedent and is likely to lead to
further stigmatisation.
“This
verdict makes nonsense of the country’s own Constitution which includes
important safeguards that protect the rights of LGBTI people, guaranteeing the
right to a private life and freedom of expression, thought and opinion,” said
Said Boumedouha.
“Ultimately it is only through undertaking
urgent substantial review of the Penal Code and decriminalizing consensual
same-sex relations once and for all that the Tunisian authorities will have any
hope of providing adequate protection against violence and safeguarding against
discrimination.”
Amnesty International considers people who are
arrested and detained solely on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender
identity to be prisoners of conscience, and is urging the Tunisian authorities
to release the men and quash the convictions immediately.
Background
In a recently published report Amnesty International
has also documented how the authorities frequently fail to duly investigate and
punish homophobic and transphobic hate crimes. Likewise, gay men in Tunisia are
often arrested without any evidence that they have engaged in same-sex
relations and without hardly ever having been caught in the act. Instead, most
arrests are carried out based on gender stereotypes, such as appearance and
behaviour, with gay men who are considered ‘effeminate’ and transgender women
targeted the most.
Men accused of engaging in same-sex relations
are routinely subjected to anal examinations by medical doctors, usually
ordered by a judge in an attempt to find ‘proof’ of anal sex, a method that has
been discredited as unscientific.
Although in theory the suspect may refuse the
examination, activists say that most men are unaware of their rights and feel
pressured to agree to the test. They are often intimidated by the police and
told that a refusal could be used as evidence against them.
The issue was brought to light recently with the
case of a 22-year-old known as ‘Marwan’, who was sentenced to a year in prison
for engaging in ‘homosexual relations’. Initially police had summoned Marwan in
relation to the murder of a man in Sousse, which he denied any involvement in.
He admitted to having sex with the victim reportedly after the police
threatened to bring a murder charge against him, and was consequently charged
with ‘sodomy’ under Article 230.
Amnesty International has spoken to LGBTI people
in Tunisia who have been stabbed or slashed with knives, kicked in the head,
burnt with cigarette butts and threatened with death because of their gender
identity or sexual orientation. Their reports to the police were often
dismissed or ignored because of provisions in Article 230.
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