Yemen, Middle East

Yemen is the only republic on the Arabian Peninsula. The legal system includes separate commercial courts and a Supreme Court based in Sana'a, the capital. Since the country is an Islamic state, the Islamic Law (Sharia) is the main source for laws. Indeed, many court cases are debated by the religious basis of the laws. For this reason, many judges are religious scholars as well as legal authorities. Homosexuality is illegal in Yemen in according to the country's Shari'ah legal system. Punishment ranges from flogging to death. Yemen is one of only seven countries to apply a death penalty for consensual sexual acts between adults of the same sex. Abuses run rampant, especially in the areas of women's rights, freedom of the press, torture and police brutality. Freedom of the speech, the press and religion are all restricted. Gay and lesbian websites are blocked by the government.

 

 

The Secret Life Of A Lonely Gay Christian In Yemen

This story originally appeared on Narratively, a digital publication and creative studio focused on ordinary people with extraordinary stories?—?get thee to more amazing tales on the new face of adoptive parents, a series on paperless people, and clandestine love. As Al-Qaeda and ISIS encroach on his once-progressive city, one terrified young man has become the… Read more »

Yemen: 25-year-old man shot dead for being gay

Reports out of Yemen say a gunman in the southern province of Lahj has killed a man for being gay. Eyewitness Ahmed Hadi told the Associated Press that Waleed Saleh Awedan, 25, was shot by a man riding a motorbike near his home on Monday evening. The official spoke anonymously because he was not authorised… Read more »

No Place for Gays in Yemen

Sana’a (IPS) – As he gets ready to go to a café in Yemen’s capital Sana’a, Husam tucks his long tresses inside a hood before getting into the back of his friend’s car. “Still problematic,” his friend tells him, assessing him in the rear view mirror. Husam pushes his hair further inside. A short drive… Read more »

HIV Prevalence and Related Risk Behaviors in Men Who Have Sex with Men, Yemen 2011.

Source Regional Knowledge Hub, and WHO Collaborating Centre for HIV Surveillance, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran, ali.mirzazadeh@hivhub.ir. Abstract Men who have sex with men (MSM) are at growing risk of HIV infection in many parts of the world; however, the epidemic has not been well explored among… Read more »

Al-Qaida linked militants kill another gay man in Yemen

emeni security officials say a 20-year-old man has been executed on suspicion of being homosexual by militants from an Al-Qaida linked group in what may be the 34th such extrajudicial killing of LGBTs in the country Militants from the Al-Qaida linked Ansar Al Sharia islamist group have shot dead a 20-year-old they suspected of being… Read more »

Gay Yemeni activist facing death threats seeks to stay in Canada

Ala’a Jarban begins refugee claim process An internationally known youth activist involved in the 2011 Yemeni revolution is seeking refugee status in Canada after he was inundated with death threats in reaction to a blog posting declaring he was gay. Ala’a Jarban, who is currently in Montreal, has been weighing the difficult decision of whether… Read more »

Video: Montreal a human rights ‘hot spot’

  Montreal – There are no gays in Yemen. That’s the Middle Eastern republic’s official position on homosexuality. But in the event that a person is caught committing a homosexual act in one of Yemen’s southeastern provinces, two kinds of punishment are meted out: flogging and death. In the face of the country’s profoundly homophobic… Read more »

The Atrocities of Yemen’s Forces

President Saleh Is Entitled to Medical Treatment, But Not Immunity Since anti-government protests began in Yemen a year ago, President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s forces have killed and wounded hundreds of civilians. Some of the worst attacks were in the flashpoint city of Taizz.  Security forces there attacked peaceful demonstrations, stormed and shelled hospitals, evicted patients… Read more »

Gay Yemen News & Reports

Yemen’s first LGBT web site: Yemen Queer–its there but it doesn’t work. Also see: Gay Middle East Web Site More information about Islam & Homosexuality Other articles of interest Queer Muslim magazine: Huriyah, Barra Gay Islam discussion groups: Muslim Gay Men     LGBT muslim Queer Jihad           Bi-muslims Trans-muslims       Lesbian muslims 0 Journalists convicted for gay report… Read more »