Brazilian Army
Sergeants Arrested for Being Gay

Two Brazilian army sergeants were arrested Tuesday inside a TV studio outside Sao Paulo after acknowledging on a TV show that they are gay and in a long-term relationship, according to BrazzilMag.com.

Sergeants Fernando Alcantara de Figueiredo and Laci Marinho de Arau;jo were also interviewed in an issue of Epoca, a Brazilian magazine, that hit stands last week. In the article, they discussed being gay in the Brazilian army.

"We did not want to talk about our private lives. However, if you are single and have been in the army for seven years, everybody starts questioning you, and you become a target of jokes and laughter. All we want is to be free," Arau;jo told BrazzilMag.com.

The pair was filming a segment for a national talk show called Super Pop when police arrived at the TV studio in Barueri, a city in the greater Sao Paulo area.

"They are going to kill me -- even the Army Promoter of Justice Claudia Rocha Lama is aware of that. They have tried to do this for a very long time," screamed Arau;jo, according to local newspaper Folha de S. Paulo.

According to the paper, TV host Luciana Gimenez replied, "What do you want me to do? You came here of your own free will."

A report Wednesday morning on the news program Bom Dia Mulher (Good Morning, Woman) claims the sergeants have also been accused of being army deserters. (The Advocate)