GAYS AMONG 149 ARRESTED IN KUWAIT

Police in Kuwait have arrested 149 people, a number of them gay, as part of a crackdown on vice, reports local media.

According to Emirates247, the authorities conducted massive raids on buildings and houses in the capital Kuwait City.

Among those arrested were 65 women and a number of gay men and possibly transgender people.

“The campaigns will intensify in the next period to end such illegal practices inside suspected apartments and houses,” a police source told the site.

Police also revealed that 14 of the Arab women arrested were foreigners and would be immediately deported and that several gays and “tomboys” remain in jail pending trial.

The Arab Times, which labelled the arrested people as “fun-seekers”, confirmed the story and said that four gays and two transvestites were arrested in the weekend raids.

Same-gender sexual activity is illegal in Kuwait with penalties including 10 years in prison. As of 2007, cross-dressing in public was also made illegal.