Activists condemn Mona Iraqi, Egyptian TV presenter who reported men to the police for "deviance" then filmed them as they were arrested

Egyptian morality police of the Cairo Security Directorate, arrested approximately 26 individuals while at a public bathhouse for men. The men were arrested for the alleged “group practice of deviance” in exchange for money inside the bathhouse.

This incident happened after the bathhouse was reported to police by media presenter Mona Iraqi, who claimed that the men turned the place into a “den of group deviance.” Iraqi did not stop at reporting these men: she accompanied the police while they stormed the place and photographed groups of men while police gathered them naked, denying them the right to put on their clothes. The men desperately tried to conceal their identities, but they were filmed and photographed in clear infringement of their privacy rights and in obvious disregard to the law.

Arrests like these have been accompanied by a still more monstrous media crusade. The media present homosexuals as a group of “sick” individuals and criminals in need of therapy — or paints them as a deviant community that spread after the revolution. Read More

Watch - Living in fear: Egypt's gay community

Two men exchange rings and hug in celebration aboard a Nile boat, as ululations fill the air and a traditional engagement song plays in the background.

But within days, their celebration has turned to shock and sadness: after a video of the "gay wedding" spread across Egyptian social media, the men were arrested and eventually sentenced to three years in prison for distributing pornographic material.

Homosexuality is not mentioned in the Egyptian penal code, and technically it is not illegal, but members of the LGBT community are often arrested and charged with pornography, prostitution or debauchery. Read More

35 gay activists attacked in Zimbabwe

A dozen unidentified men Friday (19 December) crashed an end-of-year party thrown by the Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe at a private venue in the capital Harare.

'The unidentified men entered the venue and started beating people using logs, iron bars, empty beer bottles and clenched fists. The men also demanded cash and gadgets from the members present in the hall whilst attacking them.' Read More

At Least 594 LGBT People Were Murdered In The Americas In A 15-Month Period

A report just released identified 594 people believed to be LGBT were murdered between the beginning of 2013 and the end of March, 2014. The victims include four who were decapitated.

The count was compiled by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), which is an arm of the Organization of American States. In addition to the 594 killed, an additional 176 people survived “serious attacks.” The IACHR said the real count of LGBT people killed or assaulted during this period is likely higher than these figures suggest, because the majority of countries in the Americas do not track hate crimes targeting LGBTI people. As governments do little documentation of such crimes, this count was largely compiled from media accounts and reports by activist organizations, and many crimes may have gone unreported. Read More

Google Play takes down homophobic game that had 10K downloads

Google is being criticized after hosting a homophobic app on their Google Play store.

The app, named "Ass Hunter," allowed players to shoot naked gay men that randomly appeared running across the phone's screen.

"This developer is despicable. I cannot comprehend how someone could create a 'game' so willfully ignorant, hateful, vile and violent," said Marcus Hamilton in a review left on the Google Play store. Read more

Nigeria: Country's Homophobic Law Driving Gays Into Shadows

Award-winning Nigerian writer Jude Dibia’s first novel, Walking With Shadows, has as its central character a gay man who lives his life as a married family man. Dibia’s novel is one of the first to deal with the taboo subject of homosexuality in Nigeria. 

“People have gone further underground, but they still are trying to survive. And, I think maybe that is why online now on the Internet and on blogs you are seeing more stories coming out,” he says.

“There is a lot of anger festering in the underbelly. … But, more stories are popping out there because of this law. And, I think it is a good thing. In its own way, it is a good thing,” Dibia says.   Read More

Conservative Paper Attacks Turkish MPs Who Attend LGBTI Conference

Conservative Turkish newspaper Milli Gazete attacked the Turkish MPs who participated in the conference titled “Fundamental Rights, Non-Discrimination and the Protection of Vulnerable Groups, Including LGBTI” organized by the European Parliament. Following reporting on the event, “Parliament gives pass for immorality,” three MPs withdrew their participation. Read More 

Pastor Calls for LGBT Holocaust to Eradicate AIDS by Christmas

In the U.S., even the most right-wing of religious fundamentalists, even if they believe Scripture condemns LGBT people as deserving of death, usually pull their punches (or stones) and stop short of actually calling for the execution of anyone based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

But one Baptist minister in Arizona has not only called for an LGBT holocaust but put forth the claim that such a mass killing would wipe out AIDS by Christmas. Read More

Latvian Ruling Party Official Laimdota Straujuma Resigns After Praising Nazi Extermination Of Gays

In a Twitter discussion with party colleagues that included former Welfare Minister Ilze Viņķele, the subject wandered onto the possibility of same-sex partnerships being introduced in Latvia. Challenged on the point, Laimdota Straujuma said she approved of homosexuals having to leave the country as a result of opposition to homosexuality in society at large.

"Thank god - at one time, the Germans shot them. It improves fertility," Priede said in a tweet that was subsequently deleted and replaced with a call for "Christian values." Priede was immediately warned by Viņķele and others that her comments were inappropriate and might amount to a incitement to hate crimes. Read More

Rights and repercussions: The paradox of LGBT life in Georgia

Former Russian republic makes progress on paper as discrimination continues. “It is becoming a dangerous trend in Georgia to condone and leave unpunished the acts of violence against religious and sexual minorities if they are perpetrated by the Orthodox religious clergy or their followers.

It is simply unacceptable for the authorities to continue to allow attacks in the name of religion or on the basis of anyone’s real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity,” said John Dalhuisen, Europe and Central Asia program director at Amnesty International, in the aftermath of the chaos. Read More

4 Russian Journalists, Activist Seek Asylum in West, Citing Anti-LGBT Abuse

Three journalists and an LGBT activist have fled Russia in recent days, seeking asylum in Germany and the U.S. on the basis of alleged homophobic abuse, a series of recent news reports revealed.  Lauding the move, St. Petersburg lawmaker Vitaly Milonov told reporters that now it is the best time for Russia's gays to leave their country.

"It is clear that St. Petersburg 'homos' felt that they were needed [by the West]. This is the right time to leave Russia, in a state of political humiliation. This situation even gives these people the possibility to claim social benefits [in the West]," said Milonov, who is well known for his anti-gay sentiments. Read More

Lesbians in Kenya: The forgotten victims of AIDS

Brenda was gang-raped to ‘cure’ her of being lesbian, leaving her with HIV which she passed on to her female partner. In Kenya, health workers are often particularly insensitive and ill-equipped to serve lesbians, lacking the knowledge on how to prevent HIV transmission between two women.

‘We are told that women cannot infect each other and sometimes they even ask us about our male sexual partners,’ Brenda adds. ‘Unfortunately our society defines us and our roles from the day we are born and we are raised to actively live up to those roles or face being ostracized.’ 

It is impossible to know how many ‘corrective rape’ cases there are each year, but the phenomenon is reported by lesbians all over Africa. Read More