Egypt: Seven arrested in latest raid for charges of homosexuality

Egyptian police arrested seven people for “debauchery,” the charge routinely used against men accused of homosexuality, according to a report in the Egyptian tabloid Al-Youm el-Saba.

This is the first highly publicized arrest of allegedly gay or trans people since the January acquittal of 26 men arrested in a raid on a working-class bathhouse that was featured in a television broadcast purporting to tell “the whole story of the dens for spreading AIDS in Egypt.” 

Major General Magdy Moussa of the Morality Police told Al-Youm el-Saba that the seven arrested Thursday were part of a “network for practicing debauchery” and had been targeted through social media. Read More

Syria: Pictures released of another gay man thrown to his death by ISIS

The blindfolded man believed to be in his 20s was dragged to the top of a seven-story building by three extremists in black masks in Raqqa earlier this week. 

In the images, released by activist group Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently, crowds of people are seen underneath the building watching the horrific murder. Please note: Disturbing images at link. Read More

Syria: ISIS Publishes Propaganda Piece 'Explaining' Recent Antigay Atrocities

The brutal murders of allegedly gay men by the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, which claims the killings were lawful executions for the "crime" of homosexuality under its unprecedented interpretation of Sharia Law, have been documented in what amounts to a perverse "explainer" article published by ISIS in its propaganda magazine.  Read More

US: Two more trans teens commit suicide because of bullying

15-year-old trans teenager Zander Mahaffey from Georgia has killed himself after scheduling a suicide note to be published on Tumblr. And 16-year-old transgender boy Ash Haffner from North Carolina took his life after enduring years of bullying. Ash stepped into oncoming traffic near his home in Indian Trail, as did Leelah Acorn earlier this year.

Haffner also left a note on his iPad that read: 'Please be WHO YOU ARE... Do it for yourself. Do it for your happiness. That's what matters in YOUR life. You don't need approval on who you are. Don't let people or society change who you are just because they're not satisfied with your image.'

The hashtags "HisNameWas" has gone viral in support of trans teens:
#HisNameWasZander
#HisNameWasAsh

Kenya: Incidence and risk factors for sexual assault among MSM and women

In Kenya, these key populations are known to be vulnerable in the countries HIV epidemic, but service responses are challenging due to criminalisation of sex work and same sex behaviour, homophobia, and public antipathy toward these groups.

MSM reported a very similar incidence of rape to female sex workers. Most perpetrators of rape were known to the victim of assault, but MSMs were more often assaulted by random members of the public than FSWs were.

These first data on the incidence of rape among MSM in Kenya suggest that the need for post-rape care is likely similar to that among FSW.  This may need to involve health interventions such as post-exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV transmission and to support mental health as well as access to broader social and legal support. Read More

Kenya: Gay Rwandan refugee assaulted, blackmailed

A gay Rwandan refugee was brutally attacked and blackmailed in Pipeline estate. According to the victim, who cannot be named as his asylum process is underway, he was attacked by 5 men after meeting and agreeing to visit one of them in a house in Pipeline estate, Embakasi. Read More

US: Christian activist files ballot measure to execute all gay people by 'bullets to the head'

A Christian activist would like to see all gay people in California executed by firing squad, just so the rest of the citizenry can avoid having to endure God's "wrath." Matthew McLaughlin last week paid $200 to file a ballot initiative with the Attorney General in Sacramento that proposes his Sodomite Suppression Act, modelled after the Ugandan Anti-Homosexual act, become law. 

While there is no chance that McLaughlin will get the 365,000 California resident signatures needed to move the Sodomite Suppression Act forward, the ballot reflects ongoing hate among conservative pockets even in "liberal" America. Read More

Ghana: Residents flood town with posters of alleged lesbians after mob attack

Posters of suspected lesbians have been printed and circulated as part of plans by homophobic residents to out the ladies.

The women, all of whom the neighbours suspected were lesbians, got stoned and pelted with human faeces by an angry mob who claimed the alleged ritual ceremony was a guise for a lesbian birthday bash. The homophobic residents have vowed to hunt down and bay for the blood of all lesbians, locally called ‘supi’ in the area. Read More

Ireland: Two young women savagely beaten in homophobic attack

Roisin Prendergast (20) and her girlfriend 17-year-old Ciara Murphy were attacked by two unidentified men on Cruises Street in Limerick. The verbal assault quickly turned into a vicious beating and kicking.  

"We thought it was over. Then one guy came back, threw Ciara against a shop window and ripped up her hat in front of her," she said.

When the unprovoked attack was finally over, Ms Murphy lay unconscious on the street following a knock to her head, while Ms Prendergast had been beaten and was in shock beside her. The two women said they are overwhelmed with the support they have received on social media following the attack. Read More

Russia: Gay man dies after being stabbed 26 times

Two men have been arrested near Saint Petersburg, Russia, over the murder of a gay man. The body of a 38-year-old man who had been stabbed 26 times was found on Monday night in a town in the Vsevolozhsk region of Russia. 

According to Tetu, the two men told police following their arrest that they stabbed the victim because he had attempted to sexually proposition them. Read More

Russia: This Shadowy Group Is Targeting Teachers Who Support LGBT Rights

A shadowy group identifying itself as the “public ombudsman for children’s rights” turned up at a school in St. Petersburg in what it called a “raid” to demand the dismissal of a teacher supportive of LGBT rights, local media outlets reported.

The group said it showed the school director photos from Maksim Ivantsov’s wall on the Russian social network VKontakte as proof of the teacher’s “propaganda” of “LGBT values.” Ivantsov has spoken out publicly against anti-LGBT discrimination.

Ivantsov is only the latest in a growing list of teachers who have been targeted using the anti-LGBT propaganda law. Read More

Tanzania: Trans man, wife arrested on gay-sex charges

Police in Tanzania have arrested a trans man and his female partner on suspicion of violating the Tanzanian law against same-sex intimacy.

News of the arrest, and the couple’s photos, were splashed across the local newspaper with the headline, “Beautiful girls arrested for homosexuality.” The arrests came after their neighbors told police that they suspected the two people were married and in a same-sex relationship.  Read More