Gay Activist Discusses Detention, Abuse by Police in Cameroon

Earlier this week I posted a link to a story about a gay activist in Cameroon who was turned in to police by a taxi driver last week after discussing homosexuality in a cab. Sebastien Mandeng, the activist and Deputy President of the Association pour la Defense de le Homosexualite (ADEFHO), wrote a blog post in which he discussed the detention:

When returning from a trip with some friends, we hired a taxi, and during the ride we spoke about subjects relating to LGBTI rights and the need for decriminalization.  From time to time the taxi-driver intervened in our conversation, and I asked for his opinions on the subject.

It was precisely at this moment that the situation took a turn for the worse.

He began driving much faster, shouting that instead of taking me to the final destination I had requested, he would take me to the nearest police station.  When we arrived there, I paid the fare, and he became hysterical, crying out that he works hard with his hands and cannot tolerate homosexual practices.
When I arrived at the police station, it was four o’clock in the morning and the police locked me, barefoot, in a cell with no electricity, and insisted that the locked cell would provide protection. Throughout the hours I remained in custody I was subjected to insults, mocking and sarcasm from the policemen, who demanded to know why I don’t like women, why I prefer men, and “unnatural relations.”

Article 347 of the Cameroun penal code (ordinance n°72/16 of September 28, 1972) punishes by imprisonment from 6 months to 5 years and a fine of 20,000 to 200,000 FCFA any person who has sexual relations with someone of the same sex.

At one point the police threatened to insert their fingers into my anus in order to verify whether I am often sodomized, in order to charge me with homosexual activity later.  I forcibly resisted, insisting that anyone who touched me would have to do so over my dead body.

Mandeng spent the night in the cell and was released after requesting legal representation.

My Illegal Detainment for “Promoting Homosexuality” Sheds Light on the Urgent Need for Protection of Sexual Rights in Cameroun [akimbo]

Gay Chelsea Storefront Featuring 'Live Massage' Shut Down by NYPD

(image kenneth in the 212)

Last Friday night, a live erotic massage window display at the Blue Store on Eighth Avenue in Chelsea was shut down by the NYPD:

"According to Daniel Lee, director of manworks.com, the massages, which took place in the window of the Blue Store, on Eighth Avenue between 20th and 21st streets, did not involve nudity or lewd acts. 'It think it was prejudice,' Lee said yesterday. 'It was perfectly legal massage, what was happening in the window.'"

The live event was promotion for a website, AMNY reports:

"About an hour after the massages began at 6 p.m., Lee said cops showed up and told him to shut it down. He complied, though he was issued no summons and the officer would not tell him what laws were broken, he said. The cop said onlookers - who numbered about 15 - were blocking the sidewalk, according to Lee. Police said  cops responded to the scene after a man who had been walking with his son saw the display and  called the local precinct to complain. Cops confirmed no summons was issued. 'It seems there was some kind of moral objection to what we were doing,' Lee said."

Now the owner of the store is upset because, he says, the police will be watching him now.

Related...
NYC Activists and Leaders Protest False Arrests of Gay Men by NYPD [tr]

Fort Worth Officers Receive Inadequate Suspensions for Gay Bar Raid

 

At a press conference yesterday, Fort Worth police chief Jeff Halstead announced that a chapter was being closed in discussing investigations related to the June raid on the Rainbow Lounge:

"Speaking at a news conference across from the bar, chief Jeffrey Halstead acknowledged officers were overaggressive, creating an atmosphere of 'fear and confusion' in the bar. But he said none crossed the line in how they handled people or went into the bar because of its clientele. 'It was very clear from this inquiry that there was no malice or ill will on the part of any officers who entered the Rainbow Lounge,' he said."

In August, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission fired three agents for their participation in the raid. Halstead's discipline to the Fort Worth force can only be described as insulting to those targeted in the raid:

The Dallas Morning News:

Suspended for a variety of policy violations were Fort Worth police Sgt. R.M. Morris, and Officers K.Q. Gober and J.M. Back.

• Morris, who joined the force in 1995, received a one-day suspension for "poor judgment" in the way he conducted the bar check on the Rainbow Lounge. "The decision to utilize a total of nine law enforcement officers to check a newly established club was excessive," his suspension letter states. The investigation also found that he failed to follow procedures, such as checking liquor licenses or other permits.

• Gober, a nearly three-year veteran, received a one-day suspension after he arrested two bar patrons for public intoxication but failed to complete his police reports by the end of his shift. "This negative media attention could have been averted had Officer Gober completed the required offense report," his suspension letter states.

• Back, a nine-year veteran, received a three-day suspension after he arrested a bar patron for having a "drunk look," which does not meet requirements for a public intoxication arrest. Back released the patron to a friend after learning the friend was Fort Worth police employee. Back violated department policy by not issuing a citation to the patron before releasing him. "Officer Back’s conduct in releasing the patron gave the appearance of favoritism and that he did not have sufficient cause to arrest the person," his suspension letter states.

Watch Halstead's press conference, AFTER THE JUMP...

Still Angry Over Eagle Bar Raid, Atlantans Hold Underwear Protest

(image  jim burress pba online)

Between six and ten people attended a protest at the corner of 10th street and Piedmont in Atlanta yesterday to demonstrate lingering anger over the September 10th raid on the Atlanta Eagle gay bar. Most wore visible underwear, some only underwear.

PBA Online reports: "Dressed in a T-shirt and boxer shorts on the corner of 10th & Piedmont, Laura Gentle says she's in her underwear to remind passers-by of what happened on September 10th at the Atlanta Eagle: 'The number one thing is they didn't find any sexual activity and they didn't find any drugs. People still seem to not know that they only arrested people on license and permit charges that had to do with underwear, essentially.'"

The Southern Voice reports: "Eagle co-owner Robby Kelley, holding a sign that read, “Where was the warrant?” said awareness of the raid need to continue. Kelley was one of the eight arrested and faces a Nov. 3 arraignment date in Municipal Court. The case is being prosecuted by the Solicitor’s office and a plea agreement is attempting to be reached before Nov. 3. If one is not reached, the employees will go to trial in January. 'We need to keep the focus on this so it doesn’t happen again,' Kelley said, wearing an Atlanta Eagle t-shirt and blue swim trunks. Business has been hampered as well by the raid, he acknowledged, because people are afraid to come into the bar thinking it might be raided again by the APD. 'It’s kind of understandable, but they have to understand they didn’t have the right to come in the first time and they are not going to come in again,' he said. Kelley also said his charge of not having a license for go-go dancers who were wearing attire to what he was wearing on the street was 'absurd.' ... 'I think it’s stupid that you need an adult entertainment license to have people dance on your bar in their underwear … it would be different if I was having people naked on the bar,' he said."

Image below: Atlanta Journal Constitution.

TABC Agent in Rainbow Lounge Raid Says Gays Weren't Targeted

Chris Aller, a TABC agent who was fired following the June raid on Fort Worth's Rainbow Lounge, says gays weren't specifically targeted for the raid, and maintains his claim that he was groped by Chad Gibson, a patron who sustained head injuries during the incident.

The AP reports:

"'We went through looking for intoxicated people,' said Chris Aller, a former agent with the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission. 'That's what we were looking for.' Aller, another TABC agent and seven Fort Worth police officers inspected two other bars the night of June 28 and decided to stop by the Rainbow Lounge because it was new and close, he said in an interview Tuesday. When asked directly if officers targeted the bar because it catered to gays, he said, 'No, not even close.' 'Actually I have quite a few friends who are homosexual,' he said. 'I lived with a couple gay guys in college. They were roommates.' The raid sparked protests and quickly erupted into a national controversy after patrons complained that police seemed hyped up and looked for a fight. 'I was not Rambo. I like that quote,' Aller said. 'I was doing what I was trained to do.' But he admitted the timing was unfortunate."

As for Gibson: "Aller said Gibson groped him with the back of his hand while he was walking in a back hallway. 'I mean not hard, but he hit me. I mean, my badge was right here, so it was obvious he knew who I was,' he said, pointing to the front part of his belt."

I don't know about you, but I've never groped anybody with the back of my hand.

News: Spain, Ryan Reynolds, Google Wave, Fort Worth, Bangladesh

Richard Hatch freed from prison.

Why is the investigation of the police raid on Fort Worth's Rainbow Lounge taking so long?

Marc Jacobs glams it up for Nars.

Get ready to see Ryan Reynolds in drag.

Pew poll on civil unions and same-sex marriage shows uptick in support for the former, but numbers virtually unchanged for the latter.

NYT hetero-normalizes David Hockney.

Senator Udall wants Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal plan from Pentagon within 30 days. Lieberman "committed".

Spanish court orders new trial in brutal murder of gay couple following protests and outrage over acquittal: "Yesterday, mincing no words, the Tribunal called the lower court ruling "defective, absurd, illogical and arbitrary"and ordered a new trial, according to El Pais. The Tribunal also dismissed petitions to reduce the sentence for setting the apartment on fire. The verdict is a win for efforts by Triviño's mother, Marta Pérez Triviño, to bring her son to justice. She will still have to withstand what must be the unbearable pain of seeing her son's murder go to trial a second time."

John Mayer on online outreach: "I would rather tell the world to eat my a**hole before I would delete my Twitter account."

Police: Attack on Jake Raynard not a hate crime.

Queer as Folk's Randy Harrison set to play Andy Warhol in Pop at Yale Repertory Theater.

Two gay Bangladesh refugees say they'll have sex to prove they are gay on their fourth attempt to get protection Visas in Australia: "A Federal Court judge recently criticised the Refugee Review Tribunal for its treatment of the pair, who first applied for asylum in 1999, finding it was deliberately biased against them. In a scathing summation, Justice Spender found three previous tribunals had unreasonably twisted facts to deny the men were homosexual, using unsubstantiated claims they were brothers who had been married to women."

Gallup: Hillary Clinton now more popular than Obama.

Kris Allen wants to hit you baby, one more time.

Ryan Gosling had a yummy show in NY last night.

Butt Magazine to publish 54-week 2010 pin-up calendar.

George Michael and Kenny Goss step out in London.

Arjan presents a guilt-free download of the Magistrates remix of Mika's new single "Rain".

Coalition of 17 international human rights groups strike out at Uganda: "Over the course of the last year, there’s been an increasing pattern of homophobic discourse at play in Uganda, including a conference that occurred several months ago, in which a number of US evangelical leaders came to Uganda to promote reparative therapy and other types of human rights violations against Ugandan LGBT people…and our feeling is that the bill is targeting not just LGBT people, but freedom of expression and a broad level of political discourse in general."

Google Wave acts out Pulp Fiction and Good Will Hunting.

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg again changes promises on what votes he can provide from  Senate Republicans on marriage equality: "Less than a month after defending his support for Republican state senators, saying he could get their votes for gay marriage, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said conservatives in that body will not support what the mayor termed 'our number one priority' at a recent campaign event with gay supporters. 'Those will not be the Republican votes that I will get, but they will be there for other things that are important to the city,' Bloomberg said in an hour-long interview with Gay City News and its sister papers, The Villager, Downtown Express, and Chelsea Now.