A court in Kairouan, Tunisia jailed six students for homosexual activity, which in their city, is against the law. The six men were all sentenced to the maximum sentence, which is three years in prison and a five year ban from the city, according to Kairouan’s criminal code.
Human rights activists around the world are condemning the sentencing, which is being called extremely harsh, with one of the offenders being handed down an extra six months for “offensive videos” found on his computer. The young men were taken into custody in November and December and forced to undergo anal examinations after neighbours denounced them. AI says anal examinations “amount to torture when carried out involuntarily” and called for the immediate release of the young men.
The human rights group Amnesty International denounced the ruling as “a shocking example of deep-rooted state sanctioned discrimination.”
