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Zimbabwe lesbian
ends hunger strike in United Kingdom

Zimbabwe lesbian
ends hunger strike in United Kingdom

A lesbian who is seeking refuge in England from antigay conditions in her native Zimbabwe has been given a hearing.

A Zimbabwe lesbian protesting her detention in an English asylum house has ended her 33-day hunger strike after winning a bail hearing, said members of OutRage! a British LGBT rights group.

The 29-year old Thando--who has no listed surname--fled Zimbabwe, and later South Africa, for the United Kingdom, seeking asylum from antigay conditions in Africa. She was first denied entry into Britain and sent back to South Africa. On her second attempt, she directly requested asylum upon arrival and has been held in the Yarls Wood asylum detention center in Bedfordshire ever since, according to OutRage!

Thando is now being given food and nutritional supplements at a nearby hospital. "We are backing Thando's bail application and her bid for asylum in the U.K. It would be criminal to return her to the hellhole that is Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe," said Kizza Musinguzi, African affairs spokesperson for OutRage!

Thando said she was subjected to beatings by her parents and the threat of arrest while in Zimbabwe. After seeking asylum in South Africa she was sent to a detention center there where conditions were "appalling" and was later subjected to further physical abuse for her sexuality. (Advocate.com)

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