₦airaland Forum

A new law decriminalizing same-sex sexual relations has gone into effect today in Angola. The new law overturned a colonial-era “vice against nature” provision that was seen as a ban on homosexual relations. The changes were passed in January of 2019 by Angola’s parliament, but was not signed into law by the country’s president until November 2020. The new law also prohibits discrimination based upon a person’s sexual orientation.

Activist Jean-Luc Romero-Michel tweeted the move was “a great step forward” in the fight against state-sponsored discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community.

The changes came from the first rewriting of the country’s penal code since gaining independence in 1975. Angola had previously been a colony of Portugal, and the amended laws had been a remnant of the colonial-era rule the encouraged discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community.

According to Human Rights Watch, the previous laws on same-sex sexual relations had been rarely prosecuted, but served as a basis for undue scrutiny and discrimination. The new law includes imprisonment of up to two years for discrimination based on sexual orientation.

At the time, passage of the new law was seen as part of a broader effort strengthening the rights of LGBTQ+ people in the country. The government had given legal status in 2018 to the advocacy group Iris Angola. The group called the move an “historic moment” in defending the rights of the community in the country.

“This is an act of sovereignty by the Angolan State which, after 134 years of being governed in the criminal and criminal fields, with a code that has been in force since 1886, from the colonial administration, now has the penal code totally inspired by political reality, legal, cultural and social Angolan,” Francisco Queiroz, minister of justice and human rights, said. at the time. “Therefore it is an aspect that must be underlined, this one of the consolidation of the national sovereignty.”

The move comes against a backdrop of continued violence against the LGBTQ+ community on the continent. In 2019, the leader of Uganda likened queer people to “terrorists” and last year police violently assaulted queer Nigerians peacefully protesting police violence against the community. Also last year, the government of Tunisia forcefully pushed back against efforts to recognize marriage equality after local officials had apparently recognized a marriage between two men conducted in France.

https://www.out.com/news/2021/2/10/angola-just-decriminalized-same-sex-sexual-relationships

Lalasticlala
Mynd44

Everton will be hoping to return to winning ways in the Premier League on Wednesday night as they travel to face Leeds United at Elland Road.

The Blues played out a solid draw with Leicester before succumbing to a disappointing defeat at home to Newcastle.

However, Carlo Ancelotti's side still sit eighth in the table and have two games in hand on most of those above them while knowing that winning both matches could take them to the top five.

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No be only Demon

Who the hell wears sunshades at night??
Yeyebrities

.Gooaaalll..... Fernandes

Iyiataata92:
that the bill is even on the desk of the national assembly is enough to get us all worried.

And do I need to remind you that Buhari has NASS on his fingertips?

True

But what I mean is that we are lucky to be born in a country where you can oppose the government unlike people in places like Thailand, North Korea etc.

Iyiataata92:
Wait till the Buhari National Assembly pass the hate speech bill and sentence its citizens to death then you can tell us what to be grateful about being a Nigerian

I doubt that bill will be passed cause there will be a lot of pressure on the government and they will be forced to repeal it unlike in places like Thai where they have no say

Honestly with situations like this one can only be grateful for being a Nigerian

A former civil servant has been jailed for 43 years and six months for insulting the Thai monarchy, lawyers said, in what is thought to be the toughest sentence ever passed under the kingdom’s strict lese-majesty law.

The woman, said to be in her 60s, was accused of posting audio clips to Facebook and YouTube with comments deemed critical of the monarchy, according to the group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.

A sentence of 87 years was announced initially, but this was halved because she pleaded guilty.

Under the lese-majesty law, anyone who “defames, insults or threatens the king, queen, heir apparent or regent” can face between three and 15 years on each charge. The woman, whose lawyers have identified her only by her first name, Anchan, was found guilty on 29 counts of breaching the law.

Her case dates back six years, but the sentencing comes at a time when the authorities are attempting to clamp down on an unprecedented youth-led pro-democracy movement that has challenged both the monarchy and the government.

Protesters, who gathered in the tens of thousands last year, have criticised King Maha Vajiralongkorn and questioned the royal family’s vast wealth and power. They have demanded reform, arguing that the institution should be accountable and under the constitution.

Such public discussion of the royal family was, until recently, highly unusual. Initially, authorities did not charge protesters with lese-majesty, which, the prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, said in June was no longer being used because of “His Majesty’s mercy”.

Since November, however, lese-majesty cases have been brought against dozens of protesters, including students as young as 16. Demonstrators have also been accused of sedition and holding gatherings in violation of Covid-19 restrictions.

Sunai Phasuk, a senior researcher for the group Human Rights Watch, said Tuesday’s sentence “sends a spine-chilling signal that not only criticisms of the monarchy won’t be tolerated, but they will also be severely punished”.

UN experts and human rights groups have criticised the lese-majesty law, pointing to its sweeping defamation criteria and severe sentences. Anyone can file a complaint against another person under the law.

Anchan was initially held in jail from 2015-2018, and denied the charges when her case was first heard in military court, where lese-majesty offences were prosecuted for a period after the 2014 coup.

Anchan told local media that she had pleaded guilty when her case was transferred to criminal court, hoping the court would show leniency because she had only shared the audio, and had not posted or commented on it.

“I thought it was nothing. There were so many people who shared this content and listened to it,” Anchan said. “So I didn’t really think this through and was too confident and not being careful enough to realise at the time that it wasn’t appropriate.”

She said she had worked as a civil servant for 40 years and was arrested one year before retirement, and with a conviction would lose her pension.

Sunai said the authorities appeared to be using lese-majesty to curb the pro-democracy protests, but that such action was likely to worsen political tensions. “Those demanding democracy are not afraid. Instead they are reacting by making more direct and more blunt criticism about the monarchy,” he said.

Over recent months, lese-majesty cases have been brought against protesters for alleged offences ranging from wearing traditional dress deemed to be a parody of the royals to giving speeches arguing that the power and wealth of the king should be curbed.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/19/woman-jailed-for-record-43-years-for-insulting-thai-monarchy

Lalasticlala

That's Portuguese meaning:
Do you have a note from Nigeria? Because I have

If only she knows how useless it is

Lol this reminds me of a song we sang when we were kids

Bambi Allah nyetum Kobo.......

Look at the way this fuul is speaking of someone else's deceased mother
I bet you can never in your miserable life reach her age
Disgusting leech

lol Trump the tryant
The man is a such a character

It's about time

But honestly I'll miss his usual yabs and trolls
The man is such a character

Definitely 2

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Nice one

Am sure those almajiris won't emulate this they prefer wedding babies because proph Moha told them to shalaye all they want

At times I wonder if it's the same Islam the Arabs and those northerners practice

Merry Xmas

When jamb 2020 hasn't even written post utme
keep joking

That's boarding life for you

Happy married life to them

So this people can't afford a proper hand model
That thumb is just.......

Nice one
my people are so industrious