DAKAR, Jan 16, 2009 (AFP) - The young Senegalese homosexual said he lives "with fear in the pit of my stomach," after he was thrown into jail for three months on charges of performing "unnatural acts".
"We are permanently being persecuted, attacked, insulted and denounced," said the man, who declined to give his name.
Homosexuality is illegal in Senegal where 95 percent of the population is Muslim, and homosexual acts are punishable with a maximum sentence of five years.
But a surge in violence against gays and tougher court sentences against homosexuals point to what many say is growing homophobia in this west African country.
"There have always been homophobic currents running through Senegalese society, but it has become more and more acute," Cheikh Ibrahima Niang, a social anthropology professor at Dakar University, told AFP.
Earlier this month, a judge in Dakar sentenced nine gay men who were also involved in HIV-prevention work to eight years in jail -- three more than the statutory maximum and three more than what the prosecutor requested.
The "extra" time was apparently linked to their HIV/AIDS activity as the judge ruled that the association they worked for was a cover for recruiting gay men, according to reports in the Senegalese media.
The case sparked a fierce backlash from human rights groups, including the African Meeting of Defence of Human Rights (RADDHO) which deplored the "heavy" sentence.
Human Rights Watch, meanwhile, urged Senegal to drop the charges against the eight and repeal its law.
"Senegal's sodomy law invades privacy, criminalises health work, justifies brutality, and feeds fear," said Scott Long, director of HRW's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans-gender rights programme.
UNAIDS on Thursday criticised Senegal, saying: "There is no place for homophobia. Universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support must be accessible to all people in Senegal who are in need -- including men who have sex with men."
UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe said this "will only happen if the men convicted are released and steps taken to rebuild trust with affected communities."
French president Nicolas Sarkozy also entered the fray Wednesday telling a cabinet meeting that he was "emotional and preoccupied" about the Senegalese convictions. The French health ministry has also asked the foreign ministry to lobby for the men's release.
The clampdown on gays has been going strong for a year now. In February 2008 at least five people were arrested and a dozen investigated after photographs of a "gay marriage" appeared in a magazine.
That case triggered widespread condemnation from Senegal's Muslim imams and saw the introduction of plans to double the maximum jail term to up to 10 years for homosexual acts or "indecent behaviour".
-- They did not want a homosexual buried in the cemetery --
In August, a Belgian and a Senegalese man were sentenced to two-year prison sentences on charges of "unnatural acts". That same month villagers from the Kaolack region in the centre of the country desecrated the tomb of a well-known gay man stating they did not want him buried in their area.
"The same thing happened in Pikine (a Dakar suburb) in November," said the head of one of Senegal's seven AIDS prevention groups for homosexuals, who asked not to be named.
"The people took the body from the mosque and dumped it on the road because they did not want it to be buried in the cemetery," he said.
Homosexuals bemoan what they call the "worsening conditions" of their day-to-day lives, with many saying they receive regular death threats from homophobic telephone callers.
Homophobia is also rampant on the Internet where gays are regularly denounced as "impure" and "non-Muslim".
Professor Niang attributed the rise in anti-gay sentiments to "a certain radicalisation of religious speech".
He also said in Senegal, "the society is in crisis and is tending to channel its aggressions onto the weakest minorities, like homosexuals."
While Senegal is considered one of Africa's rare stable democracies the country was hard hit by rising food and petrol prices last year which sparked social unrest and demonstrations.
"The most worrying thing is that everything that is happening today makes it look like the state is trying to please the homophobic camp," he said.
"Things are declining in respect to human rights. If we tolerate this situation things will only get worse."
So far the Senegalese government has declined to comment on the most recent case.
Laws against homosexuality are not unusual in Africa, where nearly three-quarters of the continent -- at least 38 countries-- have outlawed consensual gay sex.
Rights campaigners, however, warn that such homophobia only fuels the spread of AIDS -- on a continent already plagued by the disease -- because gay men will be reluctant to get treatment that could mark them as gay.
Paradoxically, Senegal is only one of seven African countries whose national AIDS prevention specifically focusses on men who have sex with men.
According to the French organisation Aides, set up to fight HIV/AIDS, Senegal has an HIV/AIDS rate of 0.7 percent for the general population but in the gay community it jumps to 21.5 percent.
"These charges will have a chilling effect on AIDS programmes," said HRW's Long. "Outreach workers and people seeking HIV prevention or treatment should not have to worry about police persecution."
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