Source: The Guardian
More than 70 gay men were jailed by Tunisian authorities last year, according to activists, who warn anal tests and phone searches are being used to identify suspects.
Mounir Baatour, lawyer and president of the Tunisian LGBT association Shams, said that while the 2011 revolution had given greater freedoms to civil society groups, this had been accompanied by a rise in discrimination. “When LGBT people started [speaking out] after the revolution, stigma and homophobia increased,” he said.
Shams recorded 71 prosecutions for homosexuality and sodomy in 2017, and a further 53 prosecutions so far in 2018. Under article 230 of the penal code, gay or lesbian sex is punishable by up to three years in prison.
Human Rights Watch and Shams said anal examinations to determine sexual orientation should be banned.
Categories: Africa, Homosexuality, The Muslim Times, Tunisia