Tanzania doesn't have a good track record when it comes to LGBT rights.
In the most recent addition to the list, 13 activists and lawyers were jailed for "promoting homosexuality."
Earlier this week, Tanzanian policed raided a consultation where the group was planning to bring a case against the government for it's decision to limit health services to citizens. The main issues at hand were a ban on drop-in centers serving key areas at risk for HIV and the ban on imported water based lube.
After the group was arrested, they were let out on bail. However, on Friday, the bail was revoked the group was arrested again before the weekend.
No charges have been made yet.
Audrey Gaughran, of Amnesty International, said, "This peaceful group of activists and lawyers will now spend the weekend behind bars despite having done nothing wrong – as illustrated by the fact the authorities have failed to even find a crime to charge them with. These baseless detentions are the latest example of the Tanzanian authorities’ ongoing, unlawful witch hunt against the country’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community."
A petition has been launched to put international pressure on Tanzania to release the group. You can sign it here.
H/T: Eyewitness News
I am from Tanzania and this
I am from Tanzania and this is offensive to me.