May 29, 2010
Malawi Gay Couple Pardoned & Released
Steve Weinstein READ TIME: 1 MIN.
Malawi's president says he has pardoned and ordered the release of a jailed gay couple sentenced to 14 years in prison.
President Bingu wa Mutharika made the announcement Saturday during a press conference with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Lilongwe, the capital.
A judge earlier this month convicted and sentenced Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza on charges of unnatural acts and gross indecency, both colonial-era laws.
The two were arrested in December, a day after they celebrated their engagement.
The case has drawn international condemnation and sparked a debate on human rights in this conservative southern African country.
Homosexuality is illegal in at least 37 countries in Africa, including Malawi.
Steve Weinstein has been a regular correspondent for the International Herald Tribune, the Advocate, the Village Voice and Out. He has been covering the AIDS crisis since the early '80s, when he began his career. He is the author of "The Q Guide to Fire Island" (Alyson, 2007).
