World
Out in the World: LGBTQ+ news from Europe & Asia
LGBTQ+ stories from around the globe including Romania, The Vatican, Ireland, United Kingdom, Russia, India & Thailand
ROMANIA
BUCHAREST, Romania – In an interview on Nov. 23 with Europa FM, Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, responding to a question regarding the recent European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling that his nation was in violation of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, over the issue of same-sex marriages said that it was his belief that his fellow citizens generally are not ready to uphold the rights of same-sex couples.
The ECHR ruled this past May Romania had failed to enforce the rights of same-sex couples by refusing to recognise their relationships, in a ruling which could eventually force policymakers to expand protections for the LGBT community, Reuters reported.
Ciolacu, who is the leader of the Social Democratic Party, told Europa FM that “[…] the Romanian society is not ready for a decision at the moment. It is not one of my priorities and … I don’t think Romania is ready.”
“I am not a closed-minded person, I … have friends in relationships with a man, I don’t have a problem with that, I am talking now from the point of view of a prime minister.”
ACCEPT, the non-governmental human rights organization (NGO) in Romania that defends and promotes LGBTQ+ rights disagreed with the prime minister’s assessment of the mood of the country regarding LGBTQ+ rights. In a statement the NGO said:
“Romanian society has embraced European values regarding human rights and demonstrates that it is ready for the adoption and implementation of a set of laws to ensure the protection and legal recognition of LGBTI families. After the sociological research carried out by Accept in 2021, a new study comes to confirm this fact.
The results of the research carried out by the Ipsos initiative in 2023 show that 51% of Romanians would support some form of legal recognition of LGBTI families. Moreover, the Bucharest Pride March brought over 25,000 participants to the streets this year – a record number for Romania. The figures that place the march at the top of the street protests with the highest participation in our country are telling when it comes to the solidarity and empathy with which Romanians position themselves in favor of the protection and recognition of all families.”
The government of Romania has filed an appeal of the ECHR ruling, which ACCEPT denounced saying it was “completely reprehensible the Romanian Government’s action to contest this ECHR decision.”
THE VATICAN
VATICAN CITY – Awaiting Pope Francis after he finished his Sunday Angelus last week, guests gathered in the Paul VI Hall for a luncheon made up of the poor and their companions including a group of trans women, who all had a history of personally interacting the pontiff.
Over 1,200 people in all came for the lunch that transformed the Hall into a large and unique restaurant for the customary annual lunch with Pope Francis on the World Day of the Poor.
PinkNewsUK reported that the pontiff had invited the trans women in order to offer them comfort and support, and ensured they received VIP treatment. In fact one of them, Claudia Vittoria Salas – a former sex worker – was seated at the table with the Pope himself. Salas, who is a godparent to three of her nieces and nephews in her home country, Argentina, said she did sex work in order to put her children through school.
She told the Associated Press: “Being a godparent is a big responsibility; it’s taking the place of the mother or father. It’s not a game.”
The Pope began the lunch with a blessing when he thanked the Lord for this “moment of friendship, all together,” for the meal, and for those who prepared it. The tables adorned with white and yellow flowers offered a colourful backdrop for images capturing an unforgettable moment of welcome, concern, care and love for all those who for the rest of the year live on the streets.
The Dicastery for the Service of Charity organized the event, while Hilton Hotels offered the lunch, dedicating special attention to the menu so that the meal could be enjoyed by people of various faith backgrounds present.
On the menu were cannelloni with Roman ricotta and spinach with a Parmigiano Reggiano sauce, sautéed white meatballs with a velouté of San Marzano tomatoes and basil with a cauliflower purée, followed by Tiramisù and small pastry desserts.
IRELAND
DUBLIN, Ireland – A 13-year-old trans teen from the east of Ireland, from the city of Wicklow located south of Dublin on the Irish Sea, was a keynote speaker at the 2023 Child Talks conference.
Bee Fennell, was one of six youth speakers at the Child Talks conference held at Dublin’s Helix Centre for the Performing Arts, addressing the need for further education programs regarding to transgender issues facing Irish youth.
GCN, Ireland’s largest LGBTQ+ Media outlet reported:
Amongst other issues discussed at the event, including STEM programs for girls and vaping, LGBTQ+ issues emerged as a serious concern for school-aged children through the country. Bee Fennell used their time on stage at the Child Talks conference to discuss their experience coming out as a transgender teen and the lack of resources available for trans youth in Wicklow.
“I wanted to take part in Child Talks 2023 because I wanted to share my story and hopefully encourage others to get the education to be a true ally to the community and to understand what it is like to be transgender,” said Fennell.
During their time on stage, Fennell described how they came out to their family and their school: “I was 12 when I officially came out to my parents and only a few months later, to the primary school that I was attending.
“Coming out to my school was the biggest step, because it meant everyone knew, it wasn’t just in the house anymore. I remember that night so clearly, mam and I, sitting on the couch, typing an email that was going to change my life.
“I talked about my name and gender change and explained what it meant. That email was sent around 7PM, outside school hours. We received a response 3.5 hours later, at 10:30 that night.”
Fennell, who uses they/them pronouns, went on to explain how their school set up a meeting to help the then 12-year-old come out to their classmates: “After a terrifying but amazing meeting with my school to discuss next steps, the day came when the teacher would tell the class about who I really was.
“Me and two friends I had already come out to went to a separate room to avoid any negative reactions. After the most anxiety-filled half-hour of my life, I was walking up the steps to where my class awaited my arrival. A few friends immediately hugged and congratulated me.”
Unfortunately, as Fennell noted, not everyone’s reaction was so kind.
“Some others just stared. Shocked, confused, some even with disgusted impressions,” they said.
Thankfully, however, the vast majority of Fennell’s classmates were accepting and welcoming, leading the trans teen to report that “At that moment…I was more comfortable in my identity than I have ever been before. I was officially Bee, officially me.”
Bee went on to explain how the LGBTQ+ organization, BelongTo youth services, helped them discover the community that they’ve always been looking for.
“I had been alone in that fight until I walked into that [BelongTo] youth group. I always knew there was community, sure, it’s in the name. But I didn’t have anyone in my position, having gone through it. I didn’t have anyone who didn’t get confused when I simply introduced myself until I walked into that group,” Fennell concluded.
UNITED KINGDOM
LONDON, UK – An independent Regulatory Commission has imposed an action plan and significant fine on the Luton Town Football Club for misconduct in relation to crowd control at their game against Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League match that was held on August 12, 2023.
The Football Association (TheFA) based at Wembley Stadium, London, announced that the Club has been fined £120,000 ($151,212 USD) after homophobic chanting from fans took place during an away match against Brighton & Hove Albion.
According to the governing body, Luton Town admitted that they “failed to ensure their spectators and/or supporters (and anyone purporting to be supporters or followers) conduct themselves in an orderly fashion; and do not use words or otherwise behave in a way which is improper, offensive, abusive, indecent, or insulting with either express or implied reference to sexual orientation.”
In an interview with the local newspaper, Luton Today, a spokesperson for the team said:
“As an inclusive, family-oriented club, Luton Town abhors abusive chanting such as this and has a zero-tolerance policy towards discrimination of all kinds. It is not acceptable towards anyone in football or wider society, either in person or online. Those involved were committing a criminal offence and anyone subsequently identified will be issued with a Club ban and face potential police investigation.”
The Club went on to note that it was working with supporters to help form the Rainbow Hatters supporters’ group for members of the LGBTQ+ community, who meet regularly to share their experiences of watching the Hatters.
“We will continue to promote the ‘Love Football. Protect The Game’ campaign, which this season has focused especially on fan behaviour, and will work further with supporter groups to educate and inform on all forms of discriminatory acts to ensure that watching Luton Town is a safe and welcoming experience for everyone,” the Club told Luton Today.
RUSSIA
MOSCOW, Russia – The Russian Ministry of Justice has lodged an administrative legal claim with the Russian Supreme Court to recognize the International LGBTQ public movement as extremist and ban its activity in Russia.
In a Justice Department press release, LGBTQ+ Russians were referred to as an “international social movement” by the Russian Justice Minister Konstantin Chuychenko.
The ministry did not specify whether it was seeking the closure of any specific groups or organizations, or if the designation would apply more broadly to the LGBTQ community, causes and individuals, Agence France-Presse reported.
This latest action by the government of the Russian Federation follows nearly ten years of the parliament, comprised of the State Duma, which is the lower house, and the Federation Council, which is the upper house, passing legislation attacking its LGBTQ+ citizens. In July of this year legislation that will effectively ban the existence of transgender Russians was signed into law by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The law now bans Russians from changing their gender on official government identity documents including internal and external passports, driver’s licenses, and birth certificates, although gender marker changes had been legal for 26 years since 1997.
Medical healthcare providers are now banned from “performing medical interventions designed to change the sex of a person,” including surgery and prescribing hormone therapy.
In December 2022, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin issued a decree Christmas Eve expanding and amending Russia’s “gay propaganda” law signed by president Putin. That law set fines for books or media that represented non-straight relationships.
The Ministry of Justice in its statement accused the “LGBTQ movement operating on the territory of the Russian Federation” of “various signs and manifestations of extremism, including incitement to social and religious hatred.” If the court upholds the ban as passed, prosecutors will have the power to pursue “terrorism” cases against LGBTQ Russians, especially activists.
Speaking with Agence France-Presse, the head of the Sphere human rights group, which advocates for the Russian LGBTQ community, criticized the announcement.
“Russian authorities are once again forgetting that the LGBTQ+ community are human beings,” said Sphere head Dilya Gafurova, who has left Russia.
Authorities “don’t just want to erase us from the public field: They want to ban us as a social group,” Gafurova told AFP. “It’s a pretty typical move for repressive non-democratic regimes — the persecution of the most vulnerable. We will continue our fight,” he added.
The Supreme Court’s ruling is scheduled for November 30.
SAINT PETERSBURG, Russia – A 33-year-old openly lesbian artist was sentenced by a Russian court to a term of seven years in a penal camp, after she was convicted of spreading disinformation about the Russian army.
Alexandra Skochilenko, who goes by Sasha, swapped supermarket price tags with slogans criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine. An elderly shopper reported the swapped tags to the police.
Skochilenko is just the latest among thousands of Russians who have been detained, jailed or fined for speaking out against Putin’s large-scale military operation in Ukraine that has cost the lives of tens of thousands Russian, Ukrainian troops and civilians.
Her supporters in the courtroom shouted “shame” and “we’re with you Sasha” after the judge Oksana Demiasheva read out the verdict, an AFP journalist at the sentencing reported. Skochilenko wore a colorful T-shirt with a large red heart printed on it, and she made a heart shape with her hands and smiled to supporters during the hearing.
Addressing Judge Demiasheva, Skochilenko said:
“Your Honor! Every court sentence is a certain message to the public. You may think of this information differently than my lawyers or I do, but you will agree that I have my moral principles and that I haven’t departed from them, not by an inch. You will probably agree that I have shown courage, resilience, and fearlessness. In the slang of investigators, to put someone in jail is “to take them prisoner.”
And I have not given up under threats of being taken prisoner, of bullying, illness, and the eight-year sentence that prosecution has asked for; I have not been hypocritical; I have been honest before myself and before the court.
If you choose to convict me, what message will you send to our fellow citizens? That you have to break if you’re taken prisoner? That you have to lie, be a hypocrite, change your convictions if you face some pressure? That you can’t have pity for our soldiers? That you can’t wish for peaceful skies above our heads? Is it really what you want to say to people in times of depression, instability, crisis, and stress?
My process is widely covered in Russia and in the world; news videos and documentary films are being made, and even books are being written about it. So regardless of the verdict you deliver, you will become part of history. Perhaps you will become part of history as the person who convicted me; perhaps as the person who acquitted me; perhaps as the person who made a neutral decision and gave me a fine, a conditional sentence, or a time that I have already served. It is all in your hands—but remember: everybody knows, everybody sees that you’re not trying a terrorist in this court. You’re not trying an extremist. You’re not even trying a political activist. You’re trying a musician, an artist, and a pacifist.”
“Every person in this room wants only one thing: Peace. Why fight?” she added in her closing statement.
According to the Russian language media outlet Mediazona, Russian federal prosecutor Alexander Gladyshev told the court: “Skochilenko compares the Russian Federation with a fascist state, they [prosecution expert witnesses] explained that in the Russian Federation now there are no elements of a fascist state. The words that Russia attacked Ukraine are false; the purpose of the SVO [special military operation] was to protect the citizens of Donbas from aggression,” Gladyshev said.
Skochilenko’s mother says her daughter suffers from health issues — including coeliac disease and a congenital heart defect, adding that a long prison term would be a “catastrophe.”
INDIA
UJJAIN, India – The suicide death of a queer teenager in this ancient city beside the Kshipra River in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh has LGBTQ+ advocacy groups calling on social media giant Meta to address what one group, Yes, We Exist, to label as “mass bullying on Instagram.
According to the local media outlet Ujjain News, Pranshu Yadav, 16, whose Instagram account has 14,000 followers and more than 300 posts was found hanging in their bedroom on Nov. 21 by their mother who rushed the adolescent to hospital where they later died. Local police are now investigating.
Yes, We Exist highlighted how Yadav, who was attempting to build a career as a professional makeup artist, received more than 4,000 comments on a current Insta reel, many of which were homophobic.
In the reel they were attacked for wearing a saree in a reel they posted celebrating Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights earlier this month. A saree (also spelled Sari) is an outer garment, mainly worn by women from the Indian subcontinent, that is made of about six (6) yards long fabric. A saree, worn with a blouse or choli, is wrapped around the waist over a petticoat with the left end made to hang over the head or shoulder. A saree comes in various types of fabric, color, design and styles.
In India’s culture of toxic masculinity where LGBTQ+ people are still ill regarded and full equality is years away, the reaction to the queer teen’s Insta post was almost predictable an India activist told the Blade via a Telegram exchange.
Yes, We Exist now calling on Instagram, which is owned by Meta, to invest in its non-English languages and ensure cyber bullying is tackled.
“We have ourselves reported queerphobic content several times and most often no action is taken. On the contrary, when people call out bullies, they get penalised by Meta,” Jeet, the founder of Yes, We Exist, told PinkNewsUK.
Jeet added that the “tragic loss” Pranshu it is a “devastating reminder of the real-world consequences of online bullying.”
“The LGBTQIA+ community in India mourns not only the individual but also the systemic challenges we routinely face.
“The call for greater accountability from platforms like Instagram and from Indian lawmakers who have not prioritized offline and online safety of our community, is urgent to ensure the well-being of young queer individuals like Pranshu.”
THAILAND
BANGKOK, Thailand – The Thailand Cabinet approved an amendment to the country’s civil code to allow same-sex marriage, with an expectation for the draft to be submitted to the National Assembly of Thailand (Parliament) in December, the Associated Press reported.
Deputy government spokesman Karom Polpornklang said the amendment bill proposed by the Justice Ministry seeks to allow same-sex marriage with full legal rights. It will also allow members of the LGBTQ+ community to build families and ensure both spouses have equal rights.
Karom said the bill’s main principle is to remove the terms “men,” “women,” “wives” and “husbands” from the civil code.
The terms will be changed to “persons,” “fiancées,” “engaged couples” and “married couples,” so men can marry men and women can marry women and have the same rights as male-female unions.
The deputy spokesman said the Cabinet has also called on the Council of State to amend other laws accordingly, so the surviving spouse in a same-sex marriage is entitled to receive the inheritance left behind by their partner.
The Council of State has also been tasked with scrutinising the same-sex marriage bill, and once that is done it will be submitted to the House, Karom said.
Thai Government spokesman Chai Wacharonke said the amendment bill would be different from the Life Partnership Act that was enacted by the last government.
He said this act simply endorses the rights for same-sex couples to spend their lives together but does not provide full legal marital rights.
Additional reporting from Europa FM, PinkNewsUK, The Associated Press, Vatican Press, Mediazona, Agence France-Presse, Luton Today, GCN Ireland and Ujjain News.
World
Out in the World: LGBTQ+ news from Europe and Asia
The British government will build a memorial for queer veterans
UNITED KINGDOM
A memorial for LGBTQ+ veterans will be built at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, the British government announced earlier this month.
Funded by a £350,000 (approximately $425,000) grant from the Office for Veterans’ Affairs, the memorial is part of the government’s response to an independent review of the experience of LGBTQ+ veterans who served before 2000, when the UK government removed restrictions of queer people service openly in the military. Thousands of LGBTQ+ soldiers and service personnel were dismissed from the military while the ban was in effect.
The 9’ tall bronze memorial takes the form of a crumpled letter made up of words taken from testimony of former personnel who were impacted by the LGBTQ+ ban.
“This is extremely personal for some of our members, some of whom have been affected by the armed forces exclusion of LGBTQ+ identities, and some simply affected by lived queer experience. All our members make a living in the arts by designing and delivering beautiful sculpture, making and inspired by the act of collaboration,” says Nina Bilbey, lead artist at the Abraxis Academy, which collectively designed the memorial.
The design was one of 38 submitted in a nationwide competition and selected by a judging panel that included representatives from Fighting with Pride, a national LGBTQ+ veterans advocacy group.
The UK government has taken other steps to restore dignity to LGBTQ+ veterans, including the launch of a financial recognition scheme, qualification of discharge, and restoration of rank, which were launched last December.
“When I joined the Royal Marines in 1999, this abhorrent ban on homosexuality in the armed forces was still in place. A quarter of a century later, we turn a page on that shameful chapter in our national story,” says Veterans Minister Alistair Carns in a statement.
RUSSIA
A Russian man was fined under the country’s LGBTQ+ propaganda laws for jokingly claiming to be the founder of the “international LGBT movement,” which the Russian Supreme Court declared to be an extremist terrorist organization last year.
Anton Yevdokimov, a pro-democracy activist, was found guilty of spreading “propaganda of non-traditional relations” by a Moscow court last November, but the decision was only made public last week. He was ordered to pay a fine of 100,000 rubles (approximately $975.)
Yevdokimov posted the offending statements on VKontakte, a Russian social media platform, in December 2023, shortly after the Russian Supreme Court declared the “international LGBT movement” to be an extremist terrorist organization.
“Now that they’ve banned LGBT, it’s time to confess: I am the founder and main organizer of the LGBTQ+ extremist organization!” Yevdokimov wrote, according to Novaya Gazeta.
“I went to Rainbow High School, was recruited there, and now irradiate all homophobes with rainbows! Every time a homophobe looks at a rainbow, they get a tingle in their ass and want to suck dicks,” he wrote, also saying that “KGB cocksuckers” should “be afraid.”
Yevdokimov was already in police detention over a separate social media that is alleged to have “justified terrorism” post when he received the fine.
Russian authorities have stepped up persecution of LGBTQ+ people and activities since the Supreme Court ruling. Earlier this month, police detained the staff at a restaurant in Yakutsk in the Russian Far East, after the mayor’s office accused the restaurant of hosting performances by visiting queer and transgender artists from Thailand.
TURKEY
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attacked the country’s LGBTQ+ community in a speech launching what he’s calling a “year of the family,” aimed at reversing declining birth rates.
Erdogan has long targeted the LGBTQ+ as a political tactic, even though Turkey’s queer community is relatively low profile. He often portrays LGBTQ+ rights activists as part of a foreign conspiracy designed to weaken Turkey.
“It is our common responsibility to protect our children and youth from harmful trends and perverse ideologies. Neoliberal cultural trends are crossing borders and penetrating all corners of the world,” he told an audience in the capital, Ankara. “They also lead to LGBT and other movements gaining ground.
“The target of gender neutralization policies, in which LGBT is used as a battering ram, is the family. Criticism of LGBT is immediately silenced, just like the legitimate criticisms of Zionism. Anyone who defends nature and the family is subject to heavy oppression.”
Critics of LGBTQ+ rights are not routinely silenced in Turkey, as should be evident by the fact that the current president is a vocal critic of LGBTQ+ rights. Parties opposed to LGBTQ+ rights make up a majority of the national parliament and run the majority of Turkey’s cities.
It is more accurate to say that the government routinely shuts down speech in favor of LGBTQ+ rights in Turkey.
Since 2016, Istanbul Pride has been banned every year. People who’ve defied the ban have been subjected to tear gas, plastic bullets, and mass arrests.
Last year, the city of Istanbul’s film censors banned a screening of the Luca Guadagnino film “Queer,” leading to the cancellation of the film festival it was set to open.
Erdogan’s announcement came with a suite of policies he says will reverse a trend of declining birth rates, including better income supports for newlyweds and new parents.
Turkish law does not recognize any same-sex relationships or same-sex parents.
MYANMAR
The military junta that governs Myanmar has banned seven books with LGBTQ+ themes and has said it will take action against the books’ publishers, according to Radio Free Asia.
The banned books are “A Butterfly Rests on My Heart” by Aung Khant, “1500 Miles to You” and “Love Planted by Hate” by Mahura, Myint Mo’s “Tie the Knot of Love,” “Match Made in Clouds” by DiDi Zaw, “DISO+Extra” by Red in Peace and “Concerned Person U Wai” by Vivian. All the books are published domestically by Myanmar writers.
“These books are not accepted by Myanmar society, they are shameless and the content that can mislead the thinking and feelings of young people,” the Information Ministry said in a statement published in state-run media.
The LGBTQ+ community typically maintains a low profile in the socially conservative country, where gay sex is still criminalized under a criminal code that was drafted by the British colonial administration in the 19th century.
LGBTQ+ people can also be charged or harassed by authorities under laws that criminalize the production and distribution of “obscene” materials.
Myanmar’s military has had effective control of the government since 1962. A brief democratization in the 2010s ended when the military seized power following the victory of pro-democracy forces in the 2020 election.
Cuba
Transgender woman who protested against Cuban government released from prison
Brenda Díaz among hundreds arrested after July 11, 2021, demonstrations
A transgender woman with HIV who participated in an anti-government protest in Cuba in 2021 has been released from prison.
Luz Escobar, an independent Cuban journalist who lives in Madrid, on Saturday posted a picture of Brenda Díaz and her mother on her Facebook page.
“Brenda Díaz, a Cuban political prisoner from July 11, was released a few hours ago,” wrote Escobar.
Authorities arrested Díaz in Güira de Melena in Artemisa province after she participated in an anti-government protest on July 11, 2021. She is one of the hundreds of people who authorities took into custody during and after the demonstrations.
A Havana court in 2022 sentenced Díaz to 14 years in prison. She appealed her sentence, but Cuba’s People’s Supreme Court upheld it.
Escobar in her Facebook post said authorities “forced” Díaz to “be in a men’s prison, one of the tortures she suffered.” Mariela Castro, the daughter of former Cuban President Raúl Castro who directs the country’s National Center for Sexual Education, dismissed reports that Díaz suffered mistreatment in prison. A source in Cuba who spoke with the Washington Blade on Saturday said Díaz was held in a prison for people with HIV.
The Cuban government earlier this week began to release prisoners after President Joe Biden said the U.S. would move to lift its designation that the country is a state sponsor of terrorism. The Vatican helped facilitate the deal.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who is Cuban American, on Wednesday criticized the deal during his confirmation hearing to become the next secretary of state. President-elect Donald Trump, whose first administration made the terrorism designation in January 2021, will take office on Monday.
Argentina
Javier Milei rolls back LGBTQ+ rights in Argentina during first year in office
Gay congressman, activists lead resistance against president
Javier Milei’s rise to power marked a sea change in Argentine politics that profoundly impacted the country’s LGBTQ+ community.
His first year in office has seen a combination of hostile rhetoric and concrete measures that have dismantled historic advances in human rights.
“Javier Milei’s administration is fighting a two-way battle,” Congressman Esteban Paulón, a long-time LGBTQ+ activist, pointed out to the Washington Blade. “On the one hand, symbolically, with an openly homo, lesbo and transodiant discourse, and on the other, in concrete facts, such as the closure of the Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity, and INADI (the National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism).”
The decision to eliminate these key institutions sent a clear message: Diversity policies are no longer a state priority. This dismantling left LGBTQ+ Argentines without national advocacy tools.
Some provinces have tried to fill this void, but many others have followed the national government’s lead. This trend, according to Paulón and other activists, has left LGBTQ+ Argentines even more vulnerable.
“What we are seeing is not only a setback in public policies, but also a direct attack on the dignity of thousands of people who, until recently, felt the support of the state,” said Paulón.
One of Milei administration’s first acts was to close the Women, Gender and Diversity Ministry and INADI. These decisions, which Milei said was necessary to reduce “unnecessary public spending,” eliminated agencies that played an essential role in the promotion of human rights and the fight against discrimination.
“Without these institutions, the LGBTQ community has been left unprotected against violence and prejudice. Now, discrimination cases that used to be handled by INADI end up shelved or without follow-up,” Paulón warned. “The message this sends is that our lives don’t matter to this government.”
Paulón and other activists say one of the Milei government’s most alarming decisions is to allow employers to fire employees without legal consequences.
“Today, a person can be fired because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, without the possibility of recovering their job,” warned Paulón.
The new policy has left many employees — especially transgender people — without legal recourse. Advocacy groups say companies have taken advantage of this regulation to carry out selective firings. The freezing of a trans-specific labor quota has deepened employment discrepancies for one of the country’s most vulnerable communities.
Paulón told the Blade that anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric from Milei and several of his ministers has also had an effect on Argentine society.
“Today, anyone feels they can say anything without consequences,” said Paulón, who noted that ultraconservative and religious sectors view Milei’s government as an ally.
This rhetoric, according to Paulón, has yet to translate into widespread violence.
“We are not yet in a situation of systematic violence as in other countries, but the risk is there,” he said. “Every word of hate from power legitimizes violent actions.”
Congress, civil society leads resistance
In the face of this adverse scenario, resistance has taken various forms.
Paulón and other opposition lawmakers have worked on bills to protect LGBTQ+ rights and reverse regressive measures.
“We will not stand idly by. We put forward concrete proposals to guarantee access to health care, inclusive education and labor protections,” said Paulón.
Activists have strengthened alliances with their counterparts in neighboring countries, such as Brazil and Chile, and Mexico. They are also working with international organizations that have expressed concern about the situation in Argentina.
Although the outlook is bleak, Paulón said he remains hopeful.
“Milei is going to pass, like all processes in democracy,” he said.
Paulón stressed that marriage equality and the transgender rights law are deeply rooted in Argentine society, and act as barriers to stop further setbacks. The challenge now, he says, is to maintain resistance, organize the community, and strengthen international ties.
“We have an organized movement, tools to defend ourselves and a mostly plural and diverse society. This process will also come to an end,” said Paulón. “In this context, the struggle for LGBTQ rights in Argentina is a reminder that social conquests are never definitive and that resistance is vital to preserve the achievements made.”
Uganda
Ugandan minister: Western human rights sanctions forced country to join BRICS
President Yoweri Museveni signed Anti-Homosexuality Act in 2023
Ugandan Foreign Affairs Minister Henry Oryem has revealed U.S. and EU sanctions over the country’s Anti-Homosexuality Act and other human rights violations have pushed Kampala to join the BRICS bloc.
Oryem noted Western powers’ decision to sanction other countries without U.N. input is against international norms, and Uganda needed to shield itself from such actions by aligning with the bloc that includes China, Russia, India, South Africa, Brazil, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Iran, and Indonesia. (Consensual same-sex sexual relations remain criminalized in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Ethiopia. Iran is among the countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death.)
Kampala officially became a BRICS member on Jan. 1, joining eight other countries whose applications for admission were approved last October during the bloc’s 16th annual summit in Kazan, Russia.
“The United States and European Union, whenever they impose sanctions, expect all those other countries to make sure they abide by those sanctions and if you don’t, you face penalties or even they sanction you,” Oryem said.
Oryem spoke before parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday.
MPs asked him to explain the circumstances that led Uganda to join BRICS and the country’s financial obligation from the membership.
“Now because of that and the recent events, you have realized that the United States and European Union have started freezing assets of countries in their nations without UN resolutions which is a breach of international world order,” Oryem said. “Uganda can’t just standby and look at these changes and not be part of these changes. It will not be right.”
Oryem also said President Yoweri Museveni’s Cabinet discussed and approved the matter before he directed the Foreign Affairs Ministry to write to the BRICS Secretariat about admitting Uganda into the bloc.
The U.S. and other Western governments condemned Museveni’s decision to sign the Anti-Homosexuality Act, and announced a series of sanctions against Kampala.
Washington, for example, imposed visa restrictions on government officials who championed the Anti-Homosexuality Act, re-evaluated its foreign aid and investment engagement with Uganda, including the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and reviewed Kampala’s duty-free trade with the U.S. under the African Growth and Opportunity Act for sub-Saharan African countries.
The U.S. in May 2024 imposed sanctions on House Speaker Anita Among and four other senior Ugandan government officials accused of corruption and significant human rights violations.
Although the EU criticized the enactment of the Anti-Homosexuality Act, the 27-member bloc did not sanction Kampala, despite pressure from queer rights activists. The state-funded Uganda Human Rights Commission and several other human rights groups and queer activists, meanwhile, continue to pressure the government to withdraw implementation of the law.
UHRC Chair Mariam Wangadya, who called on the government to decriminalize homosexuality last month, has said her commission has received reports that indicate security officers who enforce the Anti-Homosexuality Act have subjected marginalized communities to discrimination and inhuman and degrading treatment
“As a signatory to several international and regional human rights conventions, Uganda is committed to ensuring non-discrimination and equality before the law,” Wangadya said. “At the domestic level, Uganda’s constitution, under Article 21, prohibits discrimination based on gender, ensuring equality before the law, regardless of sex, race, ethnicity, or social status.”
Museveni’s son comes out against Anti-Homosexuality Act
Museveni’s son, Army Chief General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has also emerged as a critic of the Anti-Homosexuality Act.
“I was totally shocked and very hurt. Japanese are warriors like us. I respect them very much. I asked them how we were oppressing them. Then they told me about the AHA,” he said on X on Jan. 3 while talking about how the Japanese questioned him over Uganda’s persecution of queer people during his recent visit to Tokyo. “Compatriots, let’s get rid of that small law. Our friends around the world are misunderstanding us.”
Kainerugaba, who is positioning himself as Museveni’s successor, had already declared an interest in running for president in 2026 before he withdrew last September in favor of his 80-year-old father who has been in power for more than three decades.
In his X post, Kainerugaba also indicated that “we shall remove this Anti-Homosexuality Act in 2026.” He left the platform six days later after his posts threatened Uganda’s diplomatic relations.
“They (gays) are sick people, but since the Creator made them … what do we do? Even ‘kiboko’ (whips) might not work. We shall pray for them,” Kainerugaba said.
The Supreme Court is currently considering a case that challenges the Anti-Homosexuality Act. The Constitutional Court last April upheld the law.
India
Indian Supreme Court rejects marriage equality ruling appeals
Judges ruled against full same-sex relationship recognition in 2023
The Indian Supreme Court on Jan. 9 rejected a series of petitions that challenged its 2023 ruling against marriage equality
A 5-judge bench — Justices Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai, Surya Kant, Bengaluru Venkataramiah Nagarathna, Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha, and Dipankar Datta — said there were no errors in the ruling that justified a review.
A five-judge Supreme Court bench, led by Chief Justice Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud, on Oct. 17, 2023, in a 3-2 decision ruled against recognizing the constitutional validity of same-sex marriages in India.
The court emphasized it is parliament’s rule to decide whether to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. It also acknowledged its function is limited to interpreting laws, not creating them.
The judges on Jan. 9 stated they had reviewed the original rulings.
“We do not find any error apparent on the face of the record,” they said. “We further find that the view expressed in both the judgments is in accordance with law and as such, no interference is warranted. Accordingly, the review petitions are dismissed.”
A new bench of judges formed on July 10, 2024, after Justice Sanjiv Khanna unexpectedly recused himself from hearing the appeals, citing personal reasons. The reconstituted bench included Narasimha, who was part of the original group of judges who delivered the ruling.
“The fact that we have lost is a comma and not a full stop for equality,” said Harish Iyer, a prominent LGBTQ+ rights activist in India and one of the plaintiffs of marriage equality case. “The admission of review petitions is a rarity, and while we will proceed with all legal recourses available this is not the only fight.”
Some of the plaintiffs in November 2023 appealed the Supreme Court’s original decision. Udit Sood and other lawyers who had represented them in the original marriage equality case filed the appeal.
The appeal argued the ruling contained “errors apparent on the face of the record,” and described the earlier ruling as “self-contradictory and manifestly unjust.” It criticized the court for acknowledging the plaintiffs face discrimination, but then dismissing their claims with “best wishes for the future,” contending this approach fails to fulfill the court’s constitutional obligations toward queer Indians and undermines the separation of powers envisioned in the constitution. The appeal also asserted the majority ruling warrants review because it summarily dismissed established legal precedents and made the “chilling declaration” that the constitution does not guarantee a fundamental right to marry, create a family, or form a civil union.
While speaking to the Washington Blade, Iyer said this setback is a reminder that our futures can be shaped by collaboration and numerous small victories along the way.
“We will have a multi-pronged approach,” he said. “We need to speak to parents groups, teachers, police personnel, doctors, and medical staff, news reporters, podcasters, grassroots activists, activists from allied movements, our local/state and national level elected representatives. We all need to do our bit in our circle of influence. These small waves will create a force that will help us propel toward marriage equality.”
Iyer told the Blade he is confident the community will achieve marriage equality within his lifetime, offering assurance to every queer individual.
“I just hope that I am not too old to find someone to marry with by then.”
As per the Supreme Court’s rules, a ruling is reviewed only if there is a mistake or error apparent on the face of the record, the discovery of new evidence, or any reason equivalent to these two. Justices typically consider appeals without oral arguments, circulating them among themselves in chambers. The same set of justices who issued the original ruling typically rules on the appeal. In this case, however, Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and S. Ravindra Bhat, and Chandrachud, who were part of the original bench, had retired.
Souvik Saha, founder of Jamshedpur Queer Circle, an LGBTQ+ organization that conducts sensitization workshops with law enforcement and local communities, described the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the appeal as not just a legal setback, but a significant blow to the hopes of millions of LGBTQ+ people across India. He said the decision perpetuates a sense of exclusion, denying the community the constitutional promise of equality under Article 14 and the right to live with dignity under Article 21.
“This decision comes at a time when global momentum on marriage equality is growing,” said Saha, noting Taiwan and more than 30 other countries around the world have extended marriage rights to same-sex couples. “The lack of recognition in India, despite the 2018 Navtej Johar judgment — decriminalizing homosexuality, leaves the LGBTQ community in a vulnerable position.”
Saha further noted in Jharkhand, a state in eastern India where socio-cultural stigmas run deep, the Supreme Court’s refusal highlights the fight for equality is far from over.
He shared the Jamshedpur Queer Circle recently supported a young lesbian couple who were disowned by their families and faced threats when attempting to formalize their relationship. Saha stressed that without legal safeguards, such couples are left without recourse, underscoring the urgent need for marriage equality to ensure protection and recognition for LGBTQ+ people.
“While the decision delays progress, it cannot halt the movement for equality,” said Saha. “Marriage equality is inevitable in a country where nearly 60 percent of Indians aged 18-34 believe that same-sex couples should have the right to marry (Ipsos LGBT+ Pride Survey, 2021.) This ruling highlights the need to shift our advocacy strategy towards building a stronger case for social and political change.”
Saha proposed several calls to action and strategies for moving forward.
He emphasized to the Blade the need for mobilizing the community through state-level consultations and storytelling campaigns to humanize the issue of marriage equality. Saha also highlighted the importance of developing stronger petitions, supported by case studies, international precedents, and data to effectively address judicial concerns.
Saha suggested working with allies in civil society and corporate India to push for incremental changes. He advocated for engaging policymakers in dialogue to promote legislative reforms, emphasizing the economic benefits of inclusion. Saha also called for campaigns to counter misinformation and prejudice, while establishing counseling and support groups for LGBTQ+ people and their families that provide guidance and support.
“Legal recognition of marriage is not just about ceremony; it is about the basic rights, dignity, and respect that every individual deserves,” said Saha. “Together, through collective action, we will ensure that the arc of justice bends in our favor.”
Indrani Chakraborty, an LGBTQ+ activist and mother of Amulya Gautam, a transgender student from Guwahati in Assam state, described the Supreme Court’s appeal denial as an “insensitive approach.”
“Love and commitment are emotions that can never be under boundaries. Rejection of same-sex marriage is an oppressive approach towards the LGBTQI+ community,” said Chakraborty. “This is discrimination. Marriage provides social and legal security to the couple and that should be irrespective of gender. Same-sex relationships will be there as always even with or without any constitutional recognition. The fight should go on, as I believe, this validates the intention. The community needs to stand bold, and equality be achieved.”
The Vatican
Vatican approves Italian guidelines for gay priests
Seminary candidates cannot be denied because of sexual orientation, must remain celibate
The Vatican has approved new guidelines that opens the door for gay men in Italy to become priests.
The New York Times on Jan. 10 reported the Vatican approved the guidelines the Italian Bishop’s Conference adopted last November.
The guidelines specifically stipulate seminaries cannot reject applicants simply because of their sexual orientation, as long as they remain celibate. They will remain in place for what the Times described as a “3-year trial period.”
“This development is a big step forward,” said Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, a Maryland-based LGBTQ+ Catholic organization, in a press release. “It clarifies previous ambiguous statements about gay seminary candidates, which viewed them with suspicion. This ambiguity caused lots of fear and discrimination in the church, way beyond the arena of seminary admissions.”
“This new clarification treats gay candidates in the same way that heterosexual candidates are treated,” added DeBernardo. “That type of equal treatment is what the church should be aiming for in regards to all LGBTQ+ issues.”
The Vatican in 2016 reaffirmed gay men becoming priests.
“The church, while profoundly respecting the persons in question, cannot admit to the seminary or to holy orders those who practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called ‘gay culture,’” reads a document the Vatican’s Congregation for the Clergy released that Pope Francis approved.
The document essentially reaffirmed the Vatican’s 2005 position on the issue. (Benedict XVI was pope at the time.)
The Vatican’s tone towards LGBTQ+ and intersex issues has softened since Francis became pope in 2013.
Francis publicly backs civil unions for same-sex couples, and has described laws that criminalize homosexuality as “unjust.” Francis in 2023 said priests can bless same-sex couples.
The pontiff earlier this month named Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego, who DeBernardo notes has made “strong positive statements regarding LGBTQ+ issues,” as the new archbishop of Washington. President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Brian Burch, the president and co-founder of CatholicVote, an anti-LGBTQ+ Catholic group, to become the next U.S. ambassador to the Vatican.
Francis during a 2023 interview with an Argentine newspaper described gender ideology as “one of the most dangerous ideological colonizations” in the world because “it blurs differences and the value of men and women.” A declaration the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith released last March with Francis’s approval condemned gender-affirming surgeries and “gender theory.”
World
Out in the World: LGBTQ+ news from Europe and Australia
Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of France’s National Rally party, died on Jan. 7
FRANCE
Clips and memes of the song “Nobody Mourns the Wicked,” from the hit movie musical “Wicked” went viral in France this week after the death of Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of France’s far-right National Rally party. Le Pen was 96 when he passed away on Jan. 7 and was the father of current National Rally leader Marine Le Pen.
Le Pen rose to prominence in the 1970s and 80s as a politician with his frequent tirades against immigrants, Muslims, and queer people. He ran for president of France five times, making it to the second round in the 2002 election, where he was defeated in an historic landslide.
In 2018, a court found Le Pen guilty of spreading hate toward homosexuals on three separate incidents and ordered him to pay fines. He had claimed that pedophilia was linked to homosexuality in a 2016 blog video, had told a reporter that having gays in his party was like having too much salt in soup, and then said the husband of a gay police officer who had been killed in a terrorist attack should not have been allowed to speak at the officer’s state funeral.
In the 1980s, he also advocated for the forced isolation of anyone living with HIV.
But his controversial statements don’t end there. He frequently voiced support for those who collaborated with the Nazi regime in World War II and downplayed the Holocaust, suggesting it was a mere “detail” of history and that mass murders never took place. Those remarks saw him fined by multiple courts over the years.
His daughter Marine took over the National Rally in 2011, and in 2015, the party expelled him over his refusal to attend a disciplinary hearing over his repeated Holocaust denial.
Shortly after news of LePen’s death broke, hundreds of people gathered at Paris’s Place de la République to celebrate, with many waving Pride flags and tossing confetti in celebration. The hashtag “NoOneMournsTheWicked” started trending on French X.
In a fun bit of transatlantic synchronicity, the same hashtag trended in the U.S. three days later, when news broke of the death of notorious 80s homophobe Anita Bryant.
AUSTRALIA
Melbourne’s major Pride festival Midsumma has become the focus of controversy this week, with the lobby group Transgender Victoria announcing it won’t participate in this year’s parade and a group of masked vandals defacing businesses that were showing support for the festival.
Overnight on Jan. 8, businesses along the parade route that supported the festival were vandalized with posters and spray paint calling for a boycott of Midsumma. The vandals were caught on video surveillance but have not been identified.
The posters variously decry the commercialization of Pride and the participation of police in the festival.
“We will not be satisfied with a commercialized gay identity, that denies the intrinsic links between queer struggle and challenging power,” says one poster. “We are dedicated to fighting the assimilationist monster with a devastating mobilization of queer brilliance.”
“Queer liberation not rainbow capitalism,” says another, which lists Midsumma’s sponsors as Amazon, Woolworth’s, AGL, and L’Oreal.
“No Pride on stolen land,” says another poster.
Businesses were able to clean up most of the damage before the start of business Thursday.
On Sunday, Transgender Victoria,, the state’s leading trans advocacy group, posted on its Instagram account that it was suspending its participation in the festival, citing concerns over police involvement.
“A recent community forum and survey conducted by TGV have confirmed a deep and pervasive discontent among TGD [trans and gender diverse] people regarding their interactions with and treatment by Victoria Police,” the statement says. “In light of these concerns, TGV’s Committee has approved a one-year suspension of participation in the Midsumma Pride March. Our future participation is contingent on Victoria Police accepting accountability for measurable change.”
TGV’s statement says it will participate in other Midsumma events and will schedule a Trans Pride Picnic as an alternative to the Pride march.
Last year’s Pride march was a site of conflict, when a group of about 50 protesters doused a contingent of police officers marching in the parade with pink paint. Officers were seen on video pushing protesters out of the way. The police officers had agreed to join the parade out of uniform and without weapons.
This year’s Midsumma Festival runs from Jan. 19 to Feb. 9 in Melbourne, with the Midsumma Pride March on Feb. 2 and Victoria’s Pride Street Party on Feb 9.
Cameroon
Prominent Cameroonian activist faces terrorism charges
Alice Nkom ordered to appear before National Gendarmerie
A prominent LGBTQ+ activist in Cameroon is facing terrorism charges.
Alice Nkom, a human rights lawyer and board president of Réseau des Défenseurs des Droits Humains en Afrique Centrale, a group known by the acronym Redhac that translates to Human Rights Defenders Network in Central Africa, on Jan. 2 received a summons from Cameroon’s National Gendarmerie, or national military intelligence.
The summons follows a complaint that Lilian Engoulou, general coordinator of the Observatory for Societal Development, filed.
Engoulou has accused Nkom of attempting to endanger state security, financing terrorism, and funding separatist groups in the northwest and southwest regions of the country that are fighting for independence from Cameroon.
Nkom in recent months has been vocal over the human rights situation in the country, including LGBTQ+ rights.
Territorial Administration Minister Paul Atanga Nji last month suspended Redhac and sealed the organization’s offices for alleged illegal and exorbitant funding and lack of compliance with government regulations on how NGOs should be run.
Nkom, however, removed the seals. This action prompted authorities in Littoral province where Redhoc’s offices are located to issue the summons on Dec. 19 after she did not appear.
Nkom has described the summons as a political witch hunt, stating she doesn’t acknowledge the Observatory for Societal Development. Nkom added she broke the seals because authorities placed them illegally.
“At the beginning of the year, a new summons, this time issued by the police, at the request of the military court, with accusations of financing terrorism, following the complaint of an association that I ignore from its existence, its leaders, or even the date of its creation,” she said.
“Human rights defenders are small, fragile but courageous, against the authoritarian and totalitarian drift of a state,” added Nkom. “Like the dikes facing the rising tide of injustice, they stand there firm, despite their vulnerability. I am an advocate, a human rights defender, a humanist. Humanity cannot be divided into categories. We are one, all connected by the same dignity.”
Maurice Kamto, a fierce critic of President Paul Biya who is a lawyer and leads the opposition Cameroon Renaissance Movement political party, said Nkom should not face judicial and political harassment. Kamto offered to represent her pro bono.
“She is an eminent figure in the public life of our country,” said Kamto. “She is fighting many battles. We do not share all these battles, and it is not all her battles that are at issue today.”
Kamto further described Nkom as “an important voice in the public arena of our country.”
“It is therefore, unacceptable that she should be the object of the judicial and political harassment that the authorities are currently inflicting on her,” said Kamto. “We cannot stand by and watch this happen.”
Consensual same-sex sexual relations are criminalized under Section 347 of Cameroon’s penal code with up to five years in prison. A 2010 law states whoever uses electronic communication devices to make “a sexual proposal to a person of the same sex” faces up to two years in prison.
A number of Cameroonians in recent years have been arrested — and tortured — for engaging in same-sex sexual relations.
A Human Rights Watch report notes Cameroonian security forces between February and April 2021 arrested at least 27 people, including a child, for alleged consensual same-sex conduct or gender nonconformity. Some of those arrested were beaten.
Biya’s daughter, Brenda Biya, last year posted an image to her Instagram page of her kissing her ex-girlfriend, Layyons Valença, and saying her wish was for them to live in peace as a couple. Brenda Biya deleted the post after it sparked controversy in Cameroon.
Nkom is expected to appear before the National Gendarmerie on Jan. 14, which is also her 80th Birthday.
Honduras
Detienen a Romeo Vásquez por asesinato de Isy Obed: ¿cuándo pagará por Vicky Hernández?
Líder trans fue asesinada durante el golpe de estado de 2019
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Casi 16 años después del asesinato de la líder trans Vicky Hernández, el general retirado Romeo Vásquez Velásquez fue capturado hoy como supuesto responsable de la muerte violenta de Isy Obed Murillo durante el golpe de Estado de 2009.
Tras el arresto, la opinión pública ha exigido justicia para Isy Murillo y la activista trans. Ambos fueron las primeras víctimas mortales del toque de queda encabezado por Vásquez Velásquez tras el golpe de Estado contra Manuel Zelaya Rosales en 2009.
La opinión pública se pregunta si de este modo se está allanando el camino para que los responsables paguen por el asesinato de Vicky Hernández e Isy Obed.
Junto con el general en retiro, las autoridades capturaron a otros jerarcas de las Fuerzas Armadas.
Estos arrestos, según el Ministerio Público, se deben a que estos militares comandaron y lideraron el operativo en que soldados abrieron fuego contra manifestantes opuestos al golpe de Estado, el 5 de julio de 2009.
Ese día, cientos de hondureños se aglomeraron cerca del aeropuerto Toncontín, en Tegucigalpa, para manifestarse y recibir al presidente Manuel Zelaya Rosales, quien iba a regresar en avión a Honduras.
Sin embargo, el ejército impidió la entrada de Zelaya en una acción en la cual mató de un balazo en la cabeza al joven Isy Obed Murillo.
«No solo incumplieron su deber de supervisar y controlar a sus subordinados, sino que, con pleno conocimiento de los hechos, permitieron y facilitaron estas atrocidades», dijo el MP en un comunicado.
A través de sus redes sociales, Romeo Vásquez respondió que la acusación en su contra es un intento del Gobierno de «callarlo a cualquier costo».
¿Pagará Romeo por el asesinato de Vicky?
Con la captura de Romeo Vásquez, el gobierno de Xiomara Castro parece haber dado un paso firme en busca de justicia para las víctimas del golpe de Estado de 2009.
Sin embargo, los arrestos de hoy han recibido también las críticas de grupos de la oposición y críticos de la administración de la presidenta Castro.
Por otro lado, la ciudadanía espera que no solo se haga justicia en el caso de Isy Obed Murillo, sino también en el de centenares de víctimas durante el mandato del general Romeo Vásquez bajo el gobierno de facto de Roberto Micheletti.
Por sobre todo, urge que las capturas de hoy abran la puerta para que las poblaciones LGBTQ+ victimizadas durante el golpe de Estado de hace 16 años reciban por fin una justicia largamente esperada.
Así, defensoras de los derechos de las diversidades esperan que las acciones de hoy sirvan para reivindicar a activistas como Vicky Hernández, asesinada entre el 28 y 29 de julio de 2009.
“¿Cuándo pagará Romeo Vásquez por el asesinato de Vicky Hernández?” es la pregunta que se hacen las organizaciones defensoras de derechos humanos de las poblaciones de la diversidad sexual en Honduras.
Según la sentencia de Vicky Hernández vs Honduras, la muerte de Vicky fue una ejecución extrajudicial cometida entre el 28 de junio y la madrugada del 29 de junio en San Pedro Sula, norte de Honduras.
El asesinato de la líder trans se dio en el marco del toque de queda y el golpe de Estado ejecutado por Roberto Micheletti contra Manuel “Mel” Zelaya a través del jefe de las Fuerzas Armadas, Romeo Vásquez Velásquez.
“Como representantes de las víctimas, exigimos justicia y no olvidar los asesinatos de personas LGBTI+ en el marco del golpe de Estado”, afirmó Indyra Mendoza de la Red Lésbica Cattrachas.
Asimismo, la Red Lésbica Cattrachas pidió al Ministerio Público que no olvide la sentencia de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (Corte IDH) del caso “Vicky Hernández vs Honduras”, donde se especifica que el asesinato de la líder trans fue una ejecución extrajudicial.
En su sentencia, la Corte constató indicios de participación de agentes estatales en la violación del derecho a la vida de Vicky Hernández en un contexto de violencia anti-LGBTQ+.
El Estado reconoció en parte su responsabilidad internacional, ya que las autoridades no investigaron con diligencia el homicidio de Vicky. De hecho, según la Corte, las autoridades no consideraron el contexto de discriminación y violencia policial contra las personas LGBTQ+ y las mujeres trans trabajadoras sexuales.
Asimismo, el Tribunal determinó que, al haber sido asesinada y por el marco jurídico general de discriminación, se vulneraron los derechos a no discriminación y a la identidad de género de Vicky. A su vez, el Tribunal encontró que las familiares de Vicky Hernández resultaron afectadas por el sufrimiento que les causó su muerte, la permanente discriminación contra ella y la impunidad del homicidio.
En razón de estas violaciones, la Corte ordenó diversas medidas de reparación al Estado. Entre estas demandas está promover y continuar las investigaciones sobre el homicidio de Vicky Hernández.
Así reaccionan al arresto de Romeo
Minutos después de la captura del general retirado Romeo Vásquez para deducirle responsabilidades por la muerte violenta de Isy Obed Murillo, personalidades del ambiente político y social de Honduras salieron a dar declaraciones al respecto en medios y redes sociales.
El padre Ismael Moreno se halla entre quienes manifestaron su satisfacción por las capturas que hacen vislumbrar un rayo de esperanza a las familiares de las víctimas del golpe de 2009. En sus redes sociales, el padre Melo señaló que no es posible dejar “en el olvido” crímenes como el cometido contra Murillo.
“Que la justicia actúe con firmeza y conforme a debido proceso ante un militar que simboliza unas FF. AA. comprometidas con la impunidad. Ningún hecho de violación a derechos humanos y crímenes que vinculan al Estado contra inocentes prescriben ni pueden quedar en el olvido”, escribió Melo.
De manera parecida se expresó David Murillo, padre del joven asesinado en 2009. «No es persecución política, ¡él mató a mi hijo, él es el culpable!», afirmó el padre de Isy.
🚨 #ÚLTIMAHORA | 🗣️David Murillo: "No es persecución política, ¡él mató a mi hijo, él es el culpable!".
En #EXCLUSIVA, el padre de Isy Obed Murillo se pronuncia ante la captura de Romeo Vasquez Velázquez pic.twitter.com/Y1gX1j1iMP
— TSiHonduras (@TSiHonduras) January 5, 2025
Del mismo modo, el abogado Joaquín Mejía recomendó, por su parte, consultar el informe de la Comisión de la Verdad y la Reconciliación “que establece la responsabilidad de [Vásquez] en las graves violaciones a derechos humanos cometidas en el contexto del golpe de Estado”.
“Según la Comisión, la ‘responsabilidad del general […] está estrechamente ligada a la de Micheletti’”, publicó Mejía en sus redes. Además, afirmó que no debe olvidarse la responsabilidad del resto del Estado Mayor Conjunto.
Mientras tanto, la activista Berta Oliva ofreció un testimonio personal al recordar la manera como acompañó el dolor “de la madre y el padre de Isy Obed Murillo en su exilio en Argentina y en su romería interminable en Honduras”.
Para Oliva, la familia de Murillo ha recibido una “ofensa brutal” con “los años de silencio” alrededor del asesinato.
Entretanto, Gabriela Castellanos, del Consejo Hondureño Anticorrupción (CNA), volvió a mostrar por qué la consideran una de las críticas más duras del gobierno de Xiomara Castro.
“La persecución, la tortura y el asesinato de manera sistematizada de personas por motivos políticos en el marco del golpe de Estado en 2009, son hechos indiscutibles que hoy se disfrazan en nombre de la ‘justicia’”, aseguró Castellanos en X.
🗣️ Jorge Cálix: "Si se ha aplicado amnistía a otros como Rasel Tomé, el general puede solicitar ampararse en la misma ley". pic.twitter.com/JqjrIl36pw
— TSiHonduras (@TSiHonduras) January 5, 2025
Otro crítico de la acción de hoy del Ministerio Público, el analista político Olban Valladares, afirmó que la captura de Romeo Vásquez significa que el Ministerio Público “está cumpliendo instrucciones políticas de los que el pueblo ha identificado como los mandamases”.
Según Valladares, no es posible requerir a Vásquez porque “no se le ha probado ser ni el hechor material ni el intelectual” de la muerte violenta de Isy Murillo. Además criticó que Romeo “forma parte de un Estado Mayor Conjunto, una junta de comandantes, y se enfilan los cañones contra una sola persona”.
Entretanto, para el precandidato del Partido Liberal, Salvador Nasralla, medidas como el arresto del exjerarca militar Romeo Vásquez “sirven para asustar a la oposición”.
“En el caso de Romeo, lo que tienen que presentar son las pruebas por los que ellos creen que cometió”, agregó el presentador de televisión.
Declaraciones del Candidato Presidencial del Partido Liberal Salvador Nasralla sobre la persecución política que ha iniciado hoy 5 de enero 2025 el gobierno dictatorial de honduras. pic.twitter.com/sPKp49eXx0
— Salvador Nasralla (@SalvaPresidente) January 5, 2025
A las voces de la oposición que se alzaron contra la decisión del MP se unió el Partido Liberal, el cual declaró que está preocupado por la detención de Vásquez, “curiosamente avalada por funcionarios del Gobierno”.
Además, demandó al Ministerio Público que respete los derechos de Vásquez y pidió “no permitir por ningún motivo que se instale en nuestro país una nueva Venezuela”.
El Partido Nacional, por su parte, exigió «justicia plena, imparcial» y no usar las instituciones para vengarse.
La esposa de Romeo Vásquez, Lisbeth Zelaya, declaró que hace días habían amenazado a su esposo con encarcelarlo y que lo capturaron “sin pruebas”.
Para finalizar, las Fuerzas Armadas de Honduras se manifestaron la noche de hoy por medio de un comunicado sobre “la captura de tres exmiembros de esta institución”.
A continuación, la institución armada afirmó en el boletín que condena “todo golpe de Estado” y que rechaza “cualquier acción que implique la violación de los derechos humanos y las garantías constitucionales”.
Asimismo, las FF. AA. garantizó “que no habrá más golpes de Estado” y que “por ningún motivo las armas confiadas a nuestra institución serán utilizadas para afectar a nuestro pueblo”.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday announced he will resign as the leader of his Liberal Party.
The announcement, which came against the backdrop of growing calls for the embattled prime minister to resign that increased after Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, who was the country’s deputy prime minister, stepped down from the government last month, will set the stage for national elections that must take place before Oct. 20.
CNN notes polls show the Liberal Party would lose to the Conservative Party of which anti-LGBTQ+ MP Pierre Poilievre is the leader.
Trudeau became prime minister in 2015 when he defeated then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Trudeau’s father, Pierre Trudeau, was Canada’s prime minister from 1968-1979 and from 1980-1984.
The younger Trudeau is the first Canadian prime minister to have marched in a Pride parade.
Canada in 2022 banned so-called conversion therapy, which Justin Trudeau described as a “hateful and harmful practice.” Justin Trudeau in 2017 also formally apologized to Canadians who suffered persecution and discrimination under the country’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws — including those convicted of “gross indecency” before Canada decriminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations — and policies
“We have failed to (protect) LGBTQ2 communities, individuals time and time again,” he said. “It is with shame and sorrow and deep regret that the things we have done that I stand here today and say we were wrong, we apologize. I am sorry. We are sorry.”
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