After the Tanzania government assured the International community that no one would be persecuted because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, ten men were arrested in Zanzibar for attending a party and sitting next to each other.
Although there are no grounds for arresting the men, all ten have been in police custody for the last three days and, horrifically, are being threatened with anal examinations that will be performed this Friday.
Although homosexual acts are illegal in Tanzania, this is a blatant breach of human rights — simply attending a party and being in the company of a person of the same sex cannot be considered a crime or be the excuse for what can be called nothing other than torture.
The Tanzanian police must not be allowed to go ahead with this mind-boggling decision that will become a dangerous precedent for anyone — gay or not — that lives in or visits Tanzania.
