by Rex Wockner
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A man in Cameroon, Jean-Claude Roger Mbede, has been sent to prison for three years for violation of the nation's ban on gay sex, Amnesty International reported June 3.
Mbede is serving his sentence at the Kondengui prison in Yaounde, where Amnesty International said he is "at risk of physical attack and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment on account of his real or perceived sexual orientation."
"Amnesty International considers Jean-Claude Roger Mbede to be a prisoner of conscience, imprisoned solely because of his sexual orientation," the group said.
Amnesty said Mbede was arrested in March by Defense Ministry police during a meeting with an acquaintance whom he had been text messaging.
He was later charged under Section 347a of the Penal Code, which stipulates, "Whoever has sexual relations with a person of the same sex shall be punished with imprisonment from six months to five years and with a fine from 20,000 ($43) to 200,000 CFA francs."
Amnesty added that the prison in which Mbede is incarcerated suffers from overcrowding, poor sanitation and inadequate food.
The group asks activists worldwide to write letters calling for Mbede's "immediate and unconditional release." It requests that they be sent to Cameroon President Paul Biya and numerous other officials. See http://www.amnesty.org for details.
