Twenty people including 12 women have been freshly arrested from an HIV/AIDS training session in Tanzania’s semi-autonomous Zanzibar island accused of homosexuality over the weekend.
Police said the vigilance will be intensified further against LGBT group as homosexuality is illegal in Zanzibar and also against the Tanzanian law.
All the arrests were made in a hotel where an NGO working on education programs for HIV/AIDS was conducting training session.
Earlier this year the John Magufuli government had announced to be cracking down heavily on such privately run centers that provide AIDS-related services and promotes homosexuality.
There’s a discrimination between gay and lesbian sex in the country. The government has not banned lesbian sex but the gay sex between men could attract punishment of 30 years to life imprisonment.
Meanwhile, the Tanzanian Deputy Health Minister Hamisi Kigwangalla vowed Friday to fight with all the strengths.
In the middle of last year the government banned sexual lubricants as being accused of encouraging homosexuality, which finally leads to spread of HIV/AIDS.
