Report: Total of Gambia’s anti-gay arrests reaches 8
A police sweep of suspected LGBT people continued in Gambia, with a total of five men, three women and one teenage boy all in custody, according to the Fatu Radio website, run by Fatu (Fatou) Camara, a journalist and former Gambian official.
Gambia secret police reportedly went door-to-door with the teenager so he could identify more people suspected of being gay or lesbian.
The latest arrests were “two businessmen and three ladies,” Fatu Radio said.
No other articles about the arrests could be found on Gambian news websites.
Camara, who was once called the “Oprah of Gambia,” said on her Facebook page that she was withholding the names of the latest arrestees until their identities are confirmed.
“The continued arrest of people suspected of being gay is getting crazy, the last two victims are well-known businessmen in Gambia. I am beginning to get scared,” she said.
The reported crackdown on gays and lesbians began last weekend with a raid on the Duplex Nightclub in the capital city of Banjul.
All those arrested are in the custody of the National Intelligence Agency,Fatu Radio reported.
Many commenters on Camara’s Facebook page criticized her for opposing the arrests and called for harsh punishment, even death, for Gambian gays and lesbians.
For more information on Camara, her clashes with Gambian President Yahya Jammeh, his frequent anti-gay threats, and the previous reports of recent arrests of LGBT people, see this blog’s Nov. 13 article “Report: Gambian arrests, detention, search for gays.”