Malawi Launches Gay Witchhunt

Police in Malawi said Sunday they had discovered "pornographic films" at the office of a human rights group and that police officers were, as a result, hunting down a number of prominent citizens to charge them with "having carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature" and "indecent practices between males," Agence France-Presse reports.

"We are targeting some prominent personalities and our suspects include legislators, priests, academics, and other professionals," said police spokesman David Chingwalu, who would not identify the rights group that had been raided.

Homosexuality is illegal in Malawi, where the country's one known gay group, the Centre for the Development of People, operates underground. The organization has been providing financial support to gay couple Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza, who have been charged with "indecent practices" after getting married in the country's first same-sex wedding in December. The couple could face up to 14 years in prison if convicted.