Here’s a quick update on what’s making news in LGBTIQ communities around the globe.
Indonesia
An Indonesian policeman has been accused of forcing another man into a homosexual relationship after intimate photos of him and the other man were posted to social media.
The man posting the photos suggested the officer had promised to help the other man get a job in the police force in return for sex. When he didn’t hold up his end of the bargain the photos were shared to social media.
The Jakarta Post has reported that the officer in East Java will be investigated over the accusation. Homosexuality is not illegal in Indonesia but people have been fired from their jobs over accusations they are homosexual.
USA
Former US Secretary of State, and one-time Democratic Presidential candidate, John Kerry has criticised current President Donald Trump’s handling of COVID-19.
Speaking to CNN Kerry said the US deserved a leader who took charge and made decision during a pandemic, citing former Presidents John F Kennedy and Ronald Regan as good role models.
LGBTI rights advocates have been quick to highlight that Ronald Regan had a terrible record in responding to the AIDS crisis, noting that it was four years after the virus was detected that the then President made his first official comments on the virus.
Nigeria
A Nigerian policeman was reportedly beaten by a local mob, stripped naked and needed to be rescued by his colleagues after locals accused him of having sex with another man.
Mamba Online highlighted a report in a local Nigerian media that said the officer was beaten by a group of local residents who accused him and another man of having sex. Homosexual sex is illegal in Nigeria and publishable with a fourteen year prison sentence.
After being beaten, the two men were stripped naked and taken to the palace of a traditional ruler. The mob presented condoms as evidence that the two men had been having sex.
The officer was rescued from the mob by his colleagues, but a police spokesman for Imo State say he will “face the law” if the claims are proven to be true. The police spokesperson advise that members of the public should not be taking the law into their own hands, but rather report suspected crimes to authorities.
Morocco
A transgender Instagram influencer has encouraged Morrocan women to use gay dating apps to out gay men in their vicinity.
According to Morrocan World News, Sofia Talouni, a Morrocan woman living in Turkey encouraged her followers to download apps and discover who the gay men in their neighbourhood were.
Her Instagram broadcast was watched by 100,000 of her over half a million followers, before her account was deactivated. The broadcast allegedly contained multiple gay slurs and a call for gay men to be reported to authorities. In Morroco homosexuality is illegal and pubishable by six months to three years in prison.
OIP Staff
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