Gay man ‘beaten to a pulp’ by ‘homophobic mob’ in Ghana. The media ‘glorified’ the attack
A gay man has been violently beaten by an angry mob in a homophobic attack in Ghana. (Twitter)
A gay man has been “beaten to a pulp” by a “homophobic mob” in Wa, Ghana, according to a human rights group.
In video footage shared by Atinka Online, the victim – who has been named only as Rahaman – can be seen sporting a bloody lip and an open cut on his forehead while another person interrogates him.
The shocking video shows the man crying as another person holds him by his shirt and shines a torch into his face.
“In another attack against the LGBTQI community, a gay person has been beaten to a pulp in Wa, the Upper West regional capital,” Rightify Ghana, a human rights group, wrote on Twitter.
The organisation went on to hit out at Kantanka TV, a Ghanian television station, saying the news anchor and reporter “glorified” the attack and failed to condemn it.
https://twitter.com/RightifyGhana/status/1415647582047637508
Gay man in Ghana targeted with ‘hateful words’ following brutal homophobic attack
Writing on social media, Rightify Ghana said: “The raw video is even harder to watch as you see his bleeding face and having to stand to listen to the hateful words from his attackers.”
The group continued: “The video we shared highlights how the Ghanian media covers LGBTQ issues in Ghana. Even when a victim has his rights taken away in a life threatening situation, you see how the anchor and reporter glorified the violent attack, saying gays should be beaten.
“Very unfortunate.”
Ghana’s LGBT+ community continues to face rampant discrimination, with perpetrators justifying their actions by citing colonial-era laws forbidding “unnatural carnal knowledge”.
Human rights for queer people lag far behind in the country and violent attacks are frequent.
The incident comes just weeks after Ghana’s speaker of parliament Alban Bagbin said the “LGBT+ pandemic” is “worse than COVID-19”.
He made his comments as he filed a bill that would criminalise the “promotion, advocacy, funding and act of homosexuality in all its forms” if passed.
Activists have warned that the bill could also promote conversion therapy for Ghana’s embattled LGBT+ community.
