by Rex Wockner
International News Briefs
The Malawian couple recently sentenced to 14 years in prison with hard labor after they held an engagement ceremony at a hotel were pardoned by President Bingu wa Mutharika on May 29.
Whether Steven Monjeza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 33, are a gay couple or whether Chimbalanga would more accurately be considered transgender is not clear. They were convicted of unnatural acts and gross indecency.
Mutharika ordered the couple's immediate release.
"These two gay boys were … totally wrong," Mutharika said after a meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, according to the BBC. "However … I have decided that with effect from today, they are pardoned and they will be released."
Malawi had come under harsh international criticism for arresting, convicting and jailing the couple, and there were hints that foreign aid, on which the nation is heavily dependent, could be affected.
U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley had said Malawi should legalize gay sex.
"The United States is deeply disappointed in today's conviction of same-sex couple Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza in Malawi," Crowley had said. "The United States views the decriminalization of sexual orientation and gender identity as integral to the protection of human rights in Malawi and elsewhere in the world."
The White House press office had called the couple's imprisonment "unconscionable" and called for the decriminalization of sexual orientation and gender identity worldwide.
In response to the pardon, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said: "The White House is pleased to learn of President Bingu wa Mutharika's pardon … . These individuals were not criminals and their struggle is not unique. We must all recommit ourselves to ending the persecution and criminalization of sexual orientation and gender identity. We hope that President Mutharika's pardon marks the beginning of a new dialogue which reflects the country's history of tolerance and a new day for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights in Malawi and around the globe."
The Human Rights Campaign, the U.S.' largest gay rights group, also welcomed the pardon.
"We salute the leaders who have spoken up for Steven and Tiwonge, particularly members of Congress and State Department officials," said HRC President Joe Solmonese. "This is welcomed news that we hope will reverberate around the world in places – including our own country – where LGBT people are targeted for harassment and discrimination."
The couple had been jailed since being arrested in December.
