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(New York City) The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission said Tuesday it has learned seven men accused of sodomy have been sentenced to prison in a second trial after the government refused to accept a not guilty verdict in their first court appearance.
All seven were sentenced to 10-month jail terms.
They have been in jail for more than a year but it is not yet clear if that will be applied against the sentences. Cameroon traditionally does not recognized "time served" but the IGLHRC said Tuesday it expects they will be released shortly.
One of the men, Christian Angoula, suffered a homophobic attack by fellow prisoners last week and had to be carried into the courtroom by one of his fellow prisoners, the IGLHRC said in a statement.
The seven were among 11 men arrested during a June 2005 raid on a gay bar. Two men were later convicted and two others released.
In April, at the initial trial of the remaining seven, Judge Tonye, the magistrate overseeing the case, declared the men innocent of all charges after the prosecution called not witnesses and presented no proof that a crime had occurred.
The government refused to accept the verdict and ordered the men held pending a new trial. (story)
Homosexuality is illegal in the African nation. A conviction could have resulted in sentences up to five years in prison.
"One wonders on what basis the convictions were made as there was no evidence presented by the prosecution of the commission of sodomy,” said Paula Ettelbrick, IGLHRC’s executive director, noting that a sodomy conviction requires being apprehended or witnessed in the act.
"These men were railroaded and the guilty verdicts make a mockery of the Cameroonian justice system."
Four women are awaiting trial on the same charges.
The United Nations Human Rights Committee has declared that sodomy laws are inconsistent with countries’ obligations to non-discrimination under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. At its 39th Session in Banjul, Gambia last month, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights also questioned the Cameroonian government about its treatment of gays.
©365Gay.com 2006
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