New in Burundi: An arrest for ‘homosexual practices’
A Vietnamese telecommunications worker was arrested Sept. 16 in northern Burundi on charges of “homosexual practices,” according to Agence France-Presse and other media accounts.
Under a Burundian law, passed in 2009, homosexual intimacy is punishable by three months to two years in prison and/or a fine of 50,000 to 100,000 Burundian francs (US $32 to $64). At least until this month, that law reportedly had not led to any convictions.
The man was arrested after he was found with a Burundian partner, AFP was told by Richard Nzokirantevye, governor of Karuzi Province.
The Burundian partner escaped and is sought by police, Nzokirantevye said.
The arrestee, whose name was not released, is an employee of the Vietnamese telecommunications company Viettel, which received a license in February to provide mobile phone service in Burundi.
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