Gay Nigerians Face Death by Stoning

Suspects accused of violating Islamic law; parliament mulls ban on gay groups
By Heather McPherson,  Newser User
Posted Aug 10, 2007 6:41 PM CDT
Gay Nigerians Face Death by Stoning
Three months after the presidential elections, a campaign poster still hangs over street vendors in a commercial area of Lagos, Nigeria Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2007. In the first two months of his office, the shy, aristocratic new president of Nigeria has faced a national strike, continued violence in the...   (Associated Press)

Eighteen Nigerian men arrested on suspicion of sodomy face death by stoning under the nation’s Sharia law. Police found the men, reportedly dressed as women, in a hotel in the northern state of Bauchi, where they were allegedly celebrating a “gay wedding.”

More than a dozen of Nigeria’s Muslims have been condemned to stoning deaths for sexual crimes, the BBC reports, but pressure from humanitarian organizations has kept any sentences from being carried out. Despite vigorous opposition, Nigeria’s parliament is trying to ban gay rights groups from the country. (More Nigeria stories.)

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