Lamanda(Michelle) Reid/11:55 p.m./Jan. 22/poverty and inequality
Three men were sentenced for being homosexual in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Yaoundé is the capitol of Cameroon which is located on the west coast of Africa. This isn’t uncommon in Cameroon. Lazare Baeeg, Emmanuel Balep and Tony Dikongue were all convicted and sentenced to six months hard labor. Under Cameroon law, homosexuality is a crime with a maximum punishment of three years in jail and a fine up to 200,000 African francs (USD$450). Cameroon isn’t the only African country that treats homosexuality as a crime; this is a relatively normal practice throughout Africa. Alice Nkom is the lawyer that represents the three men, she said, “None of these people were caught in a homosexual act, so the court cannot condemn them for something they never did.” While awaiting trial the three men have already spent over six months in prison. There lawyer feels all three men should be released, because they have already served their time.
Inequality is when something is unequal and I think that homosexuals and heterosexuals aren’t being treated equally. I might not agree one hundred percent with homosexuality, but I think it is a person’s right to choose their sexuality. I don’t think they should be punished for their choice. Also I agree with the lawyer if they weren’t actually caught in a sexually act, they should have never been charged with a crime. The men should have been released after being convicted and sentenced, because they already paid their debt to society. I think the whole trial was unfair and this case just shows the inequality throughout the world.
2 comments:
I think that the men should be released, if they've already spent 6 months in jail awaiting their trial. It's ridiculous that they're even being punished in the first place, however, if they were never caught in an act, I wonder how they plan to prove it. Of course, it probably doesn't really matter if it can be proved or not, because with this type of thing in this type of country, this isn't seen as inequality and punishment is believed to be the best option..
It seems like a really harsh punishment especially if they were not caught in the act. I can't believe that they haven't already been released since they have already served six months in jail!
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