Gay nouakchott, mauritania

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania (AP) — Authorities in Mauritania have arrested 10 men after a video appeared on social media of a gay couple appearing to take part in a traditional wedding ceremony, human rights groups said. Police later determined the gathering was a birthday party but the men remain in custody with no trial date set yet. 1 Update: On March 4, , the Court of Appeal in Nouakchott confirmed the conviction of the eight defendants but reduced their original sentences to six months in prison, suspended for seven of the defendants. The court sentenced the eighth defendant, the organizer of the birthday celebration, to imprisonment for two out of the six months, which he served. 2 LGBT Rights in Nouakchott-Sud, Mauritania: homosexuality, gay marriage, gay adoption, serving in the military, sexual orientation discrimination protection, changing legal gender, donating blood, age of consent, and more. 3 Any news concerning the struggles of LGBTI is rare out of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, a West-African country of about 3. This following article, slightly edited here, was originally published by Aidspan in the December, , issue of the Global Fund Observer , and written by Robert Bourgoing. 4 Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in Mauritania face severe legal challenges not experienced by non- LGBTQ residents. Both male and female kinds of same-sex sexual activity are illegal in Mauritania. Openly homosexual Muslim men face stoning to death, though there have been no known cases of executions caused by homosexuality charges in the country; whereas women. 5 Police originally targeted the 10 after the video — spread widely on social media and viewed by Gay City News — was mislabeled as representing a same-sex wedding in the Northwest African nation, which enforces Sharia law and restricts LGBTQ rights. Rather, it was merely a birthday party where individuals of different genders were dancing. 6 Prosecutors in the Mauritania, where homosexuality is outlawed, have detained and charged 10 young men after a video presented as a “gay marriage” surfaced, a legal source said on Tuesday. “The prosecutor’s office sent the young homosexual delinquents to prison to await judgment for acts contrary to morality, committing acts forbidden by Allah and circulating [ ]. 7 In a suburb of Nouakchott, Mauritania, a tent has gone up for an evening of counselling and HIV testing. Staff of the nongovernmental organization SOS Pairs Educateurs field questions, and people wanting to know their HIV status queue for a rapid test. 8 The party at a restaurant in the capital Nouakchott on January 11 was initially described as the first "gay wedding" in the history of semi-desert country, which bans homosexual behaviour between Muslim adults. Police later said the occasion was the birthday party "of a homosexual to which he invited only those like him". 9 Events of Mauritania President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani at Nouakchott Oumtounsy International Airport on June 30, 10