A Cameroon appeal court has acquitted
two men found guilty of homosexuality because they wore women's clothes
and ordered Bailey's Irish Cream, according to rights groups.
Jonas Kimie and Franky Ndome were arrested outside a nightclub and sentenced to five years in prison in November 2011
"The
acquittal of two Cameroonian men jailed for looking gay because they
wore women's clothes exposes the systematic discrimination against
perceived homosexuals in the country," Amnesty International said in a
statement.
The conviction was based on stereotypes because authorities never saw them engage in homosexual acts, according to their lawyer.
"The
judge who originally sentenced them had stated that the way they
dressed, the way they spoke, and the fact that they drank Bailey's Irish
Cream proved they were gay," their lawyer, Alice N'Kom, told global gay
rights group All Out, which launched a petition demanding the men's
release.
The court overturned the conviction Monday, but it was unclear whether they have left prison.
Homosexuality
is illegal in Cameroon, where sodomy laws were introduced during
colonialism. Sentences for homosexual acts vary between six months to
five years.
Rights groups applauded the ruling, but called on the nation to free others imprisoned under anti-gay laws.
Last
month, a Cameroon appeal court upheld a three-year sentence against a
man convicted of homosexuality for texting his male friend to say, "I'm
very much in love with you."
The university student was arrested in 2011 after the man who received the message tipped off authorities.
Authorities in the west African nation were not immediately available for comment.
A series of countries have criminalized homosexuality, but prosecutions are rare.
CNN
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