Senegalese Journalist Given Six-Month Prison Sentence for Homosexuality

A Senegalese journalist has been sentenced to imprisonment for "acts of homosexuality," reports The Associated Press.

Tamsir Jupiter Ndiaye will serve six months in prison, after a man accused him of attempted rape in June.

At the time, Ndiaye had sought protection from an angry mob at a police station in Dakar.

The West African nation legally prohibits sex between persons of the same gender. Article 19 of the Senegalese Penal Code mandates that those who commit such an "improper or unnatural act" be sentenced to 1 to 5 years of imprisonment, and fined up to $2,500.

"The maximum penalty will always be applied" to those under the age of 21.

This is not the first time the prominent columnist has been sentenced to prison time because of this law. In 2012 he was sentenced to four years on charges of homosexuality, battery, and illegal possession of arms. He was paroled in 2013.