In the worst case the suspects now face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, under the new law signed in October, Reuters reports with reference to the local TV station.
After the arrest all the men were said to have confessed to being gay.
Speaking on the issue for the camera, the masked security said:
“We go around in search of suspected individuals and in the course of the investigations we arrested the men and they have confessed that they have engaged in these inhuman acts.”
It would be recalled that before homosexuality became legally punishable in Gambia, the country’s President Yahya Jammeh described homosexual persons as “vermin” and suggested to deal with them like with mosquitoes.
Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh
Another African leader, Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan, signed the anti-gay bill in Janury, 2014. However the law stipulated for a milder punishment, in comparison with Gambia, which is maximum 14 years.
Jonathan’s move was also seriously criticized from abroad, the top politicians characterized it as human’s rights violation.
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