En fremtrædende aktivist for homoseksuelles rettigheder i Zambia, Paul Kasonkomona, blev anholdt efter at have medvirket i et lokalt TV-show, hvor han opfordrede til at afkriminalisere seksuelle forbindelser mellem personer af samme køn.
Kasonkomona has been charged with “inciting (opmuntre) the public to take part in indecent activities”, police chief Solomon Jere said, according to BBC online Monday.
He was detained as he stepped out of the studios of privately owned Muvi TV in Lusaka, the capital.
Homosexual acts are illegal in deeply conservative Zambia. Many Zambians believe that it is contrary to their religious beliefs.
Sources at the television station in Lusaka told AFP that police tried to stop the interview and take Mr Kasonkomona off air but the management refused.
Offences such as sodomy, or sex between women, carry a minimum sentence of 15 years or a maximum of life.
“Indecent same-sex practices” – probably a reference to holding hands, kissing and masturbation between adults or alone – carries a minimum sentence of seven years or a maximum of 14 years.
Last week, a group of gay couples attempted to register their marriages but were stopped and the government ordered the arrest of anyone practising homosexuality.
The European Union last month offered financial support for organisations that wanted to promote the rights of gay people in Zambia, BBC notes.
