(ANSAmed) - TUNIS, DECEMBER 14 - Six university students
between the ages of 18 and 19 were sentenced on December 10 in
Kairouan, 60 km east of the seaside resorts Sousse and Monastir,
to three years in prison for ''homosexual acts''.
One of them received an extra six months for possession of a
homosexual video on his computer, reported the Shams
association, which works for LGBT rights in Tunisia and the
depenalization of homosexuality in the country.
Shams reported that the Kairouan court added an extra 5-year
ban from the city. An appeals trial is expected to start around
December 20.
The sentencing of the five youths has reignited debate as to
whether Article 230 of the criminal code should be abolished,
which sets a three-year maximum sentence for both ''the male
homosexual act (liwat) and the female one (mousahaqa)'', since
it is said to go against the principles of the 2014 Tunisian
constitution. (ANSAmed).
