Report: Gambian arrests of LGBTI now total 16

Colin Stewart is a 45-year journalism veteran living in Southern…

Gambia President Yahya Jammeh (Photo courtesy of WIki Commons) — Gambian President Yahya Jammeh (Photo courtesy Wiki Commons)

Gambian security forces have arrested even more LGBTI people, reports Fatou Camara, a journalist and former Gambian official who fled to the United States:

Right now about 16 are in detention; they have still not been released nor charged.

The president’s personal doctor was named by the teenager, [a gay youth who is being taken door-to-door to identify other allegedly gay Gambians,] but security forces let him go.

A businessman was named, but he too was let go. This means only poor gays/lesbians are being detained, not fair at all.

8 are on the run in Senegal, 2 in Guinea Bissau.

The security forces of Gambian strongman Yahya Jammeh began their latest round of anti-gay arrests in early November. For details, see the articles below.

Jammeh is virulently homophobic, often referring to LGBTI people as “vermin,” “satanic,” a threat to population growth, “anti-god, anti-human, and anti-civilization.”