AMNESTY CALLS FOR RELEASE OF ZAMBIAN GAY COUPLE

Amnesty International says that Zambian authorities must immediately release two young men who have been denied bail after being arrested on charges of having sex “against the order of nature”.

James Mwape and Philp Mubiana, both in their early twenties, were arrested on the weekend after one of the men’s relatives contacted the police and reported their relationship.

They were initially released on bail but were then re-arrested on Monday.

“The arrest of the two men solely for their real or perceived sexual orientation amounts to discrimination and it is in violation of their rights to freedom of conscience, expression, and privacy,” said Simeon Mawanza, Amnesty International’s Zambia researcher. 

According to Amnesty International’s sources, the detained men have low literacy levels and a poor understanding of the Zambian legal system or their personal rights.

The authorities reportedly subjected the men to anal examinations without their consent, and may have also forced them to make confessions to speed up the trial.

“Anal examinations conducted to ‘prove’ same-sex conduct are scientifically invalid, and furthermore, if they were conducted without the men’s consent, contravene the absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment under international law,” said Mawanza.

“Such examinations are in every case highly invasive, abusive, and profoundly humiliating. In addition, the doctors who conduct these examinations, by doing so forcibly, violate their ethical obligations towards people they examine. Any persons subjected to such abuse should be afforded appropriate remedy and must be protected from further abuse.”

Since being detained again, the men have yet to see a lawyer and have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. They are being held at Mpima Remand Prison and are due to appear before the court on 22 May. 

It is believed that they were detained in an overcrowded cell at Kapiri Mposhi and denied access to food and water for about 12 hours.

“Amnesty International considers individuals imprisoned solely for their consensual sexual relationship in private as prisoners of conscience and calls for their immediate and unconditional release,” said Mawanza.