May 25th, 2010
Two employees of Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe, the country’s only gay and lesbian advocacy group, have been arrested after police raided their offices.
Ellen Chademana and Ignatius Muhambi were accused of possessing pornographic materials and dangerous drugs, after a search conducted under Zimbabwe’s repressive censorship laws which also saw the seizure of documents and computers. Since their arrest, the suspects have been
denied contact with their lawyers, despite the fact that Chademana suffers from diabetes. Police have not confirmed either the specific charges being brought against the pair, or when they are likely to be released.
February 11th, 2010
Moscow gay pride parade organisers have complained to the European Court of Human Rights about the ban on the 2009 parade. Moscow’s
Mayor Luzhkow has previously labelled the parade “satanic” and the case follows a number of unsuccessful appeals against the bans in the Russian court system. Moscow Pride are seeking €200,000 in damages from the Russian Federation. The Strasbourg court has given Russian authorities ten days to lay out their position on the ban.
February 4th, 2010
Peter Sawali was arrested in Blantyre on 3 February for putting up posters saying ‘Gay rights are human rights’. He was charged with ‘conduct likely to cause a breach of peace’ and could face up to three months in prison. A police spokesman
Dave Chingwalu said “We cannot rule out international sponsors because of the quality and the quantity of the posters.”
June 29th, 2009
A law passed by the Lithuanian parliament that would ban “propaganda for homosexuality and bisexuality” from public places for their ‘detrimental’ effect on children has been vetoed by the president after protests by gay-rights activists
Read more
here
