The fate of two
gay men in Nigeria who are facing the death penalty for
allegedly having sex with each other is in the hands of an
Islamic court after the prosecution presented its
final witness in the case.
Police arrested 40-year-old Kabir Yusuf and
18-year-old Usman Sani at a public restroom in the
city of Katsina. Officers claimed the two confessed to
having sex with each other.
But the men have since denied the charge, and
prosecutors have been unable to produce any eyewitness
to the crime as required by Islamic Sharia law. In
fact, the trial has been repeatedly postponed as
prosecution witnesses admitted they did not actually see the
act. Police corporal Nuhu Mohammed testified only that
"the two men had their trousers unbuckled at the time
of arrest.''
The Guardian of Nigeria reported that the
Sharia court plans to announce its verdict on December 6.
If convicted, Yusuf and Sani face death by stoning, although
the newspaper says no such sentence has actually been
carried out since Sharia law was reinstated in 2001.
(Sirius OutQ News)
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