Eleven men arrested for ‘homosexual acts’ at wedding celebration in Senegal
Eleven men have been arrested in Senegal accused of participating in a gay wedding celebration.
The men were arrested in the town of Kaolack, and residents said police had taken the men to the police station.
The Associated Press reports that Boukhari Ndiaye, a resident in the town, said the men were arrested after attending the celebration of a same-sex wedding.
According to Ndiaye, 20 people were attending the wedding which took place at a school in the town.
He said the eleven remained in custody at the police station.
Calls were made in August to release seven men arrested in July and sentenced to six months in prison for ‘homosexual acts’.
A gay rights activist Djamil Bangoura, the president of Prudence, gay rights group, on Friday said Senegal must release the men arrested in July in Dakar.
In July, a journalist in Senegal was sentenced to six months in prison for ‘acts of homosexuality’.
Tamsir Jupiter Ndiaye – who has previously been convicted of homosexuality – was arrested in June, accused of attempted rape.
After being chased by an angry mob, the well known journalist took shelter in a Dakar police station.
In 2012, Ndiaye was sentenced to four years in prison for homosexual acts, illegal possession of arms and battery.
His sentence was reduced to two years, and he received parole in 2013.
