Rights Group Condemns Jail Term for Cameroon Transgender Women
Voice of America
YAOUNDE, CAMEROON - Rights activists in Cameroon have condemned a five-year jail sentence given to two transgender women for "attempted homosexuality" and public indecency. A lawyer for the two, who were arrested for wearing women's clothing in a restaurant, say they are preparing an appeal.
In a statement, Human Rights Watch describes the jail sentence issued by the court as harsh. Police arrested Njeuken Loic, also known as Shakiro, and Mouthe Roland, also known as Patricia, in the coastal city of Douala on February 8. Police said they were wearing typically female clothing while eating in a restaurant. Prosecutors charged them with attempted homosexual conduct, public indecency, and non-possession of their national identity cards.Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah on May 27, 2024. Fire rages following an Israeli strike on an area designated for displaced Palestinians, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, in this still picture taken from a video, May 26, 2024. Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah on May 27, 2024. A member of the bomb squad of the Israeli police collects debris after a rocket fired by Palestinian militants struck in the Israeli city of Herzliya on May 26, 2024.