Subject: Chamorro signs Sodomy Law /* Written 11:34 pm Aug 6, 1992 by jbinder in cdp:queerplanet */ /* ---------- "Chamorro signs Sodomy Law" ---------- */ Urgent Press Release August 7, 1992 Contact: Enrique Asis, Latin American Coordinator, International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (415) 255-8680 Nicaraguan President Signs Sodomy Law Nicaraguan president Violeta Chamorro has signed into law a new penal code that makes sodomy a crime punishable by up to four years in prison. The bill, which defines sodomy broadly as "the cohabitation between individuals of the same sex," was passed by the National Assembly on June 11 and sent to Chamorro, who signed the legislation on July 8 without informing either the press or the opposition Sandinista block. Because the Assembly was in recess until the first week of August, and because of what activists describe as "chaos" and "anarchy" in the country, word of the signing did not reach gay leaders until August 6. "While other countries are making progress on human rights issues, the Nicaraguan government is moving backwards by making homosexual relations illegal," said Enrique Asis, Latin American Coordinator of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. "States of the former Soviet Union have begun to repeal sodomy laws, while Nicaragua is enacting Latin AmericaUs most repressive anti-sodomy legislation." Nicaraguan gay leaders were stunned to learn that the bill had been signed into law without public notice, blaming the government for trying to circumvent protest. "They manipulated everything in a sleazy, underhanded way," said Hazel Fonseca of Colectivo Nosotras, the country's main lesbian group. According the Nicaraguan law, the new code cannot be enforced until it has been published, an event that has not yet occurred. Following publication, opponents of the law have sixty days to challenge its constitutionality before the Supreme Court. The Nicaraguan Center for Constitutional Rights plans to make such a challenge, based on the guarantee of the right to privacy that is stated in Article 11 of the country's constitution. In addition, gay and lesbian activists plan to flood the Nicaraguan courts with separate challenges to the new law. They will petition the courts to exempt them, as individuals and as groups, from the anti-sodomy provisions, arguing that the law violates not only their right to privacy, but also their human rights guaranteed under international treaty. Lawyers at the Center for Constitutional Rights believe that the justices of the Nicaraguan Supreme Court may vote to overturn the new law, especially if international pressure is brought to bear upon them. For more information, contact Enrique Asis, Latin American Coordinator, IGLHRC, at (415) 255-8680 or (415) 281-0763, or contact Milu Vargas at The Center for Constitutional Rights in Managua at 505-2-26301. This IGLHRC press release on Nicaragua's new sodomy law was ob- tained via the Queer Nation mailing list qn-request@queernet.org To help focus international pressure on Nicaragua's Supreme Court, write the Court at: Corte Suprema Ciudad Jardin Managua NICARAGUA Alejandro Serrando Caldera is the president of the Court; Vilma Nunez is the vice-president; Mariano Barahona, Alvaro Ramirez, and Hernaldo Zuniga are the remaining justices. Air mail letters from the U.S. to Nicaragua cost 50 cents. In addition, the Nicaraguan Ambassador to the U.S. can be reached at: Ambassador Ernesto Palazio Embassy of Nicaragua 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW Washington, DC 20009 voice: 202-939-6570 fax: 202-939-6542