Senegal police arrest 15 LGBT people who shared a WhatsApp group
Homophobic raids in Senegal have continued since August.
Police in Senegal arrested 15 LGBT people on charges of “unnatural acts” last weekend, continuing a series of anti-LGBT arrests that stretches back at least to last summer.
The string of arrests and court judgments were reported by the Tribune of Senegal, labeled “Jamra”, which suggests that the news came from the extreme Islamist pressure group Jamra.
Under current Senegalese law, people convicted of an “act against nature” with another person of the same gender can be sentenced to one to five years in prison and/or fined.
The article uses the word “gordjiguene”, a pejorative term that means “man-woman” in the Wolof language. In the translated and edited version below, “gordjiguene” is translated as “LGBT person”.
According to the account in the Tribune:
Senegal police arrested 15 LGBT people last weekend, including a Quranic teacher, a marabout (religious leader), and a person living with HIV. All were members of a WhatsApp group. They were taken into custody.
The LGBT people who played a passive role during these unnatural acts underwent medical examinations, which found anal tears. One of the suspects is reportedly HIV-positive and was receiving treatment at the hospital. Investigators also seized a large quantity of condoms and lubricants.
In a previous raid, 17 LGBT people were caught on Oct. 22 in the act of participating in an orgy in the Kalia neighborhood, including athletes, artists, tailors, and students.
Before that, on the night of Aug. 20-21, three men (E. Diop, M. Touré, and Pape O. Mbaye) were caught by passersby engaging in sexual acts on the beach near the Court of Cassation in Dakar.
Alerted, an angry mob attempted to lynch them before the Point-E police intervened and secured the suspects, one of whom was injured. Placed in police custody, they are the subject of a judicial investigation.
At an unspecified date, police arrested B.K. Borrys, 26 years old, single, father of one, and a marketing and communications student residing in the Ouakam neighborhood of Dakar. He confessed to engaging in unnatural sexual acts and informed investigators that he is a member of a WhatsApp group for gay men called “Grindy Gay Dating,” where they arrange meetings.
He concluded his confession by providing the identities of his partners, Nigerian S. Clepret, residing in Liberté 6, and Senegalese men I. Ndiaye, residing in Ouakam, and C. Pouye, residing in the Niary Tally neighborhood. These men were also arrested.
They were all brought before the Public Prosecutor at the Dakar High Court, who charged them with the offenses of unnatural acts and indecent assault. Immediately remanded in custody, they were brought before the Magistrates’ Court and each received a two-year prison sentence.
