[ Send all responses to Robert_B._Riley@tvo.org only. Any responses to the list or list editors will be returned! ] AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL STUDIES LESBIANS AND GAY MEN Iran, Mauritania and Yemen execute homosexual citizens From: XTRA! (Toronto's Lesbian and Gay Biweekly) P.O. Box 7289, Station 'A', Toronto, Ontario May 27, 1994 Story by: Michael Battista ------------------------------------------------------------------ Governments throughout the world are harassing, detaining and in some cases executing people because of their sexual orientation, according to Amnesty International. In Breaking The Silence, the human rights organization's first report dealing exclusively with human rights violations against lesbians and gay men, Amnesty states there is ample evidence that governments in all regions of the world direct abuse specifically at homosexuals. In countries such as Iran, Mauritania and the Republic of Yemen, homosexuality is punished by death. Other countries regularly detain people for their real or perceived homosexuality, despite little or no evidence of their having engaged in sexual acts. Such arrests show the function of these laws to be regulators of gay identity, Amnesty says. The report cites the case of a Romanian couple, Mirel Ciprian Cucu and Milorad Mutascu, arrested in January 1993 and jailed. The two men were living together at the time of their arrest. They were charged under Article 200 of the Romanian Penal Code, which carries a prison sentence of up to five years for "having sexual relations with a person of the same sex." After spending six months in jail, the two were convicted and received suspended sentences of one and two years' imprisonment respectively. Amnesty is working on the cases of three other Romanian men convicted under Article 200. They are serving up to two-and-a-half years. The organization considers the men to be prisoners of conscience and is calling for their immediate and unconditional release. Other countries singled out by Amnesty for their treatment of lesbians and gay men include: * Turkey, where 28 foreign and three Turkish gay activists were detained in July 1993, prior to that country's first Congress of Homosexual Solidarity. The foreign delegates were told that they would have to undergo HIV tests and strip searches; they were then deported. * Mexico, where two gay activists known for their AIDS education work among male prostitutes were detained and beaten by Mexico City police in June 1992. They were detained for more than one year -- for reasons Amnesty believes are related solely to their advocacy of rights for Mexico's gay community. * China, where a Cantonese man was sentenced in February 1993 to eight years for having homosexual relations. A lesbian couple was detained for 15 days on charges of "unruly behaviour" in April 1992. China also uses electric shocks and psychotropic drugs on detainees to change their sexual orientation. Interlocking prejudices and discrimination often underlie execution, torture and detention, according to Amnesty. "For example, a woman in prison may be raped not only because she is a female, but because she is a lesbian," the report states, "and the action is specifically targeted at breaking down her sexual identity." A section of the report is devoted to burgeoning international lesbian and gay movements and their victories. An Asian lesbian network, for example, which includes groups from Bangladesh, India, Singapore and Thailand, held its first formal meeting in 1990. And in Nigeria, the first gay conference was held in 1991, despite a law that makes homosexual acts punishable by up to 14 years in jail. Amnesty International's work on behalf of lesbians and gay men is recent. In 1979 the organization affirmed that those imprisoned for advocating gay rights would be considered prisoners of conscience. In 1982, Amnesty condemned the forced medical treatments carried out on people in detention to alter their sexual orientation. In 1991, AI finally expanded its mandate to consider adopting anyone imprisoned for homosexual acts. Its fundraising merchandise now includes buttons and T- shirts with the message "Love Is a Basic Human Right" over a large pink triangle. The report states that the ultimate goal is to ensure that human rights violations against lesbians and gay men be placed squarely onto the agenda of the United Nations and other intergovernmental bodies.