A judge in Senegal on Friday handed
down a six month jail sentence to two men for having consensual sex.
According to the AP, neighbors turned
in the men to authorities.
The two acknowledged having consensual
sex and were found guilty of violating Senegal's penal code that
criminalizes “an improper or unnatural act with a person of the
same sex.” Violators face up to five years in prison and fines of
up to $3,000
Discrimination and violence against the
LGBT community runs high in the majority of African countries,
two-thirds of which prohibit gay sex.
Recent laws in Uganda and Nigeria that
increase the penalties against gays have been widely protested in the
West.
(Related: Gay
“witch hunt” follows passage of Nigerian anti-gay law.)