1- Sentencing.
Gay couple could get 14 years in prison
A gay couple in Malawi who celebrated their union in a traditional engagement ceremony could be sentenced to up to 14 years of hard labor, according to lawyers familiar with the case.
Steven Monjenza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20, conducted a traditional engagement ceremony in late December in Chirimba, near Blantyre. After news reports surfaced of the same-sex engagement, they were rounded up by Malawi's police and charged under colonial-era sodomy laws. Their sentencing is Tuesday.
The arrest received some popular support in the conservative southern African nation, but sparked outrage among Malawian and international gay rights campaigners.
The presiding judge refused bail for the men, who are being held in Chichiru Prison in Blantyre.
"It is quite outrageous," said Peter Tatchell, a gay rights activist from Britain who is supporting the pair. "In Malawi, people facing much more serious felony charges for serious crimes usually get bail."
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have called for the release of the young men. The Malawi Law Society said the case has been driven by prejudice and not jurisprudence.
"Our law is outdated," said Jabbar Alide, secretary of the Law Society. "Our constitution grants freedoms, but most local laws do not fit."
The Malawi constitutional court refused to review the case. And the court and police have maintained that they are only upholding the law.
The actions of the state has many supporters. Malawi, like much of Africa, is a deeply conservative country and the majority of the population is Christian.
"Most people are repugnant towards homosexuality," said Canaan Phiri, secretary general of the Malawi Council of Churches (MCC). "People do not declare their homosexuality because people are against this."
The MCC issued a statement charging that the homosexual act is a violation of the Bible and underlining its support of the law making it illegal.
But activists in Malawi and in several other countries say that the country's constitution -- which outlaws discrimination -- is not being upheld.
The ultimate cost is a personal one. Tatchell says he recently received a defiant message from Chimbalanga from prison.
"If people or the world cannot give me the chance and freedom to continue living with him as my lover, then I am better off to die here in prison," the message said. "Freedom without him is useless and meaningless."
(Published by CNN – May 17, 2010)
Gay couple could get 14 years in prison
A gay couple in Malawi who celebrated their union in a traditional engagement ceremony could be sentenced to up to 14 years of hard labor, according to lawyers familiar with the case.
Steven Monjenza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20, conducted a traditional engagement ceremony in late December in Chirimba, near Blantyre. After news reports surfaced of the same-sex engagement, they were rounded up by Malawi's police and charged under colonial-era sodomy laws. Their sentencing is Tuesday.
The arrest received some popular support in the conservative southern African nation, but sparked outrage among Malawian and international gay rights campaigners.
The presiding judge refused bail for the men, who are being held in Chichiru Prison in Blantyre.
"It is quite outrageous," said Peter Tatchell, a gay rights activist from Britain who is supporting the pair. "In Malawi, people facing much more serious felony charges for serious crimes usually get bail."
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have called for the release of the young men. The Malawi Law Society said the case has been driven by prejudice and not jurisprudence.
"Our law is outdated," said Jabbar Alide, secretary of the Law Society. "Our constitution grants freedoms, but most local laws do not fit."
The Malawi constitutional court refused to review the case. And the court and police have maintained that they are only upholding the law.
The actions of the state has many supporters. Malawi, like much of Africa, is a deeply conservative country and the majority of the population is Christian.
"Most people are repugnant towards homosexuality," said Canaan Phiri, secretary general of the Malawi Council of Churches (MCC). "People do not declare their homosexuality because people are against this."
The MCC issued a statement charging that the homosexual act is a violation of the Bible and underlining its support of the law making it illegal.
But activists in Malawi and in several other countries say that the country's constitution -- which outlaws discrimination -- is not being upheld.
The ultimate cost is a personal one. Tatchell says he recently received a defiant message from Chimbalanga from prison.
"If people or the world cannot give me the chance and freedom to continue living with him as my lover, then I am better off to die here in prison," the message said. "Freedom without him is useless and meaningless."
(Published by CNN – May 17, 2010)
2- Presidente de Portugal promulga lei que permite casamento entre pessoas do mesmo sexo.
O presidente de Portugal Aníbal Cavaco Silva, anunciou ontem, 17/5, a promulgação da lei do casamento homossexual, aprovada no começo do ano.
A lei foi promulgada no mesmo dia em que se comemora o Dia Mundial contra a Homofobia, que tinha levado à rua, em Coimbra, cerca de três centenas de pessoas na primeira marcha do género realizada na cidade.
O chefe de Estado assinalou que optou por sancionar a lei - que exclui o direito à adoção - porque devolvê-la ao Parlamento só causaria um atraso de sua entrada em vigor já que as forças de esquerda que a aprovaram não iriam mudar suas posições.
Cavaco, católico praticante, demorou várias semanas para tomar sua decisão e a anunciou em uma mensagem à nação. O anúncio ocorre três dias depois do fim de uma visita do Papa Bento XVI ao país, em que o pontífice se pronunciou contra o casamento e a adoção por homossexuais.
O presidente defendeu a necessidade do consenso nacional perante a crise econômica que Portugal vive e disse que não quer "alongar inutilmente este debate" nem "desviar a atenção dos portugueses dos problemas que afetam gravemente a vida das pessoas".
Resssaltou ainda que, somente sete países do mundo inteiro o aprovaram, sendo quatro deles parte dos 27 que integram a União Europeia. Não é verdade que "a ausência de casamento entre pessoas do mesmo sexo seja um fenômeno residual no mundo contemporâneo, um resquício arcaico típico de sociedades culturalmente mais atrasadas", sustentou Cavaco.
O presidente pôs como exemplo "as soluções jurídicas adotadas na França, Alemanha, Dinamarca e Reino Unido que não são discriminatórias e respeitam a instituição matrimonial como união entre homem e mulher". Também lembrou que tinha enviado a norma para exame do Tribunal Constitucional, o qual deu sinal verde a seu conteúdo no mês passado.
No final de seu breve discurso Cavaco anunciou que sancionava a lei após especificar que "há momentos na vida de um país no qual a ética da responsabilidade tem que se colocar acima das convicções pessoais".
(fonte: www.migalhas.com.br)
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário