July 8
TUNISIA:
Gay Tunisian politician Mounir Baatour is running for President
A gay politician has announced he is running to become President of Tunisia,
where homosexuality is still illegal.
Mounir Baatour, the head of the country’s fringe Liberal Party and a well-known
campaigner for LGBT rights, has announced he will contest the country’s
Presidential elections on November 10.
The move is a bold step in Tunisia, where where gay sex is still illegal and
LGBT+ people face routine discrimination and even forced anal probes.
Mounir Baatour is running for President of Tunisia
The 48-year-old lawyer, who has faced arrest himself previously, has led
efforts to challenge the law via Tunisian LGBT+ group Association Shams.
Baatour says he would stand for a progressive and modern Tunisia that defends
the rights of all people and fights against corruption.
He said: “Tunisia needs a democratic programme that can include the different
identities, cultures, beliefs, and languages of this country.
“Our programme aims to democratise power, strengthen the Parliament and give
more weight to local institutions.”
Incumbent president Beji Caid Essebsi is not seeking reelection in November.
However, Baatour faces a steep climb to ever gain power, with many in the
country rejecting the prospect of a gay leader.
If elected, he would be the first out leader in the Arab world.
Decriminalising homosexuality needs ‘political will’
Speaking to International Policy Digest, Baatour added: “Political will is
needed to reduce homophobia in society.
“When in 1956 President Bourguiba banned polygamy, allowed abortion and
adoption and banned the repudiation of women, at that time the Tunisian people
were very conservative but there was enough of political will to impose these
reforms.
“Today too, political will is needed to decriminalise homosexuality and fight
homophobia.
“Even though the people are conservative, they will adapt to the reforms.”
The candidate would also delete provisions that prohibit non-Muslims from
running for high office.
He said: “Tunisia has more than three million years of history, many
civilisations have passed through it.
“Tunisian Identity is plural and all the cultures and beliefs that make up the
current Tunisian civilisation must be respected.”
Tunisia was the birthplace of the so-called Arab Spring, with protests dubbed
the Jasmine Revolution managing to overthrow dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
in January 2011. A democratic system of representation has since been
established in the country.
While democratic rights have been slow to affect the LGBT+ community, an
increasing number of political figures have been advocating for lifting the ban
on homosexual acts.
In 2018, a commission called for the decriminalisation of homosexuality as well
as the removal of the death penalty and equal rights for women.
(source: pinknews.co.uk)
RUSSIA/TOGO:
Russia to Deport Togolese National Facing Death Penalty at Home
A former presidential guard from the West African nation of Togo who faces the
death penalty for helping his country’s opposition will be deported from
Russia, Moscow-based activists have said.
Russia has for the past 5 years denied refugee status to Bozobeyidou Batoma,
42, a former member of the Togolese commando guard force, Russia’s Civic
Assistance Committee said. A Russian court ruled last month to deport Batoma
back to Togo, which he had escaped after allegedly being imprisoned and
tortured and where he faced the threat of extrajudicial execution.
He could be sent back to Togo on a Monday morning flight via Casablanca,
Morocco, the Civic Assistance Committee, a primary point of contact for
refugees in Russia, wrote on Facebook Sunday.
The NGO said it appealed the court’s decision last week and a new court date
has been set for July 22, but police in the Bryansk region near the Belarussian
border had reportedly taken him to Moscow ahead of his deportation.
“Bozobeyidou Batoma can’t be put on a plane and forced to return to Togo, death
awaits him there!” the activists warned.
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, in 2018 had recognized Batoma as a person in need
of international protection, the Civic Assistance Committee added.
Russia has called the charges against him in Togo "speculation" when denying
him asylum, the MBKh Media news website cited authorities as saying.
A flight had departed toward Casablanca from Domodedovo Airport earlier on
Monday and is scheduled to arrive in Lome, Togo, early Tuesday.
(source: TheMoscow Times)
GREECE:
Greek elections: Conservatives win power from Syriza
Conservative Kyriakos Mitsotakis is to become the next Greek Prime Minister
after voters gave his New Democracy party a parliamentary majority on Sunday.
It was the sixth time in just a decade — and the first time since the country
successfully exited its bailout programme in August 2018
