GAY TRAVEL WARNING FOR GAMBIA

The UK has issued a travel warning for The Gambia after the recent arrest of two apparently gay Spanish tourists.

According to PinkNews.co.uk, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has warned travellers that the Gambian government is “actively enforcing” laws against gay people.

The Spanish men were held by police after allegedly making advances on two taxi drivers near the resort of Kotu. The taxi drivers reported the tourists to the authorities who arrested the EU nationals on Friday.

The men were released on Tuesday. Under Gambian law they could have faced up to 14 years in prison if found guilty of being homosexual.

The country’s president, Yahya Jammeh, was recently in the news after threatening to “cut off the heads” of homosexuals in his country.

Describing The Gambia, which is overwhelmingly Muslim, as a nation of believers, Jammeh last month promised to introduce new laws against homosexuality that would be “stricter than those in Iran.”