Prosecutors in Burundi have charged 24 people with engaging in same-sex acts and inciting homosexuality in others, part of a crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights.
Police arrested 17 men and seven women as they attended a seminar organized by an HIV/Aids charity in the capital, Gitega, in late February, a Burundian activist told the Press.
After ten days of interrogation, all 24 were charged with “homosexual practices and incitement to homosexual practices”, Armel Niyongere, who heads the human rights group ACAT Burundi, said on Wednesday.
An unnamed judicial source confirmed the charges, which are punishable by imprisonment under Burundi’s 2009 law that makes consensual same-sex acts a criminal offense.
According to AFP’s source, neighbours called the police when they noticed teenagers entering the office of the non-profit organization hosting the seminar, MUCO Burundi.
Searches revealed “condoms and documents on the rights of homosexuals at the scene”, the source said.
Source: Radio France Internationale
