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Malawi President Pardons Gay Couple after Talks with UN Chief

   VOA News 29 May 2010

Photo: AP

   Tiwonge  Chimbalanga,  right,  and  Steven Monjeza, left back, are led
   from  court  in  Blantyre,  Malawi,  20  May  20,  2010  after a judge
   sentenced the couple to the maximum 14 years in prison

   The  president  of  Malawi  has  pardoned a gay couple sentenced to 14
   years in prison.
   President  Bingu  wa  Mutharika said Saturday that he was ordering the
   release of the men on humanitarian grounds.  He made the announcement
   after meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
   Last   week,  a  court  sentenced  Steven  Monjeza,  26,  and  Tiwonge
   Chimbalanga, 20, to 14 years of hard labor for sodomy and indecency.
   The   couple  was  arrested  in  December  after  holding  a  symbolic
   engagement ceremony.
   U.S.  officials said the United States was "appalled" by the sentence.
   A  White  House  spokesman  said the case marred Malawi's human rights
   record.
   Homosexuality is illegal in Malawi and many other African countries.
   The  laws have triggered outrage and concern among Western nations and
   human rights groups.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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