Global Protests after Malawian Gays get 14 Year Prison Sentence

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Gay Malawian Couple Found Guilty

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Foreign governments are condemning  the 14-year sentence given to a  Malawian gay couple, saying they are deeply disappointed by the conviction and urged Malawi’s government to review its laws.

The British government said in a formal press release statement that  it believed that human rights applied to everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The UK is urging  the government of Malawi to conduct a review of  its laws to ensure the defence of human rights without discrimination.  

The  United States in its own issued statement said it was deeply disappointed by the conviction. “The government of Malawi must respect the human rights of all of its citizens,” ran the  brief statement signed by John Warner, public affairs officer of the US embassy in Lilongwe.

The statement further asserted that the  United States views the decriminalisation of sexual orientation and gender identity as "integral to the protection of human rights in Malawi and elsewhere in the world."

 The Norwegian government said it would continue to speak against issues of minority rights in Malawi.

Religious organisations in the country welcomed the sentence, stating that both culturally and in the spiritual domain,  homosexuality was unacceptable.   Muslim Association of Malawi chairperson Sheik Yusuf Kanyamula said the court had been very lenient  in the sentencing.  The Quran said people who indulged in same sex unions deserved death.