Pictured About 50 gays picketed Iran Air's Vienna office Aug. 26 protesting the Iranian government's executions of gay men, the death penalty and sodomy laws. The action was organized by the groups Rosa Lila Villa and Homosexual Initiative Vienna. Photo courtesy of HOSI Wien
Fiji gay sex
convictions overturned
The convictions of an Australian tourist and a Fijian man for having sex in private in Fiji last April were overturned Aug. 26.
Lautoka High Court Justice Gerard Winter struck down the convictions on constitutional grounds, citing rights to privacy and equality.
State prosecutors said they may appeal the decision.
Thomas McCosker, 55, and Dhirendra Nandan, 23, had been convicted of 'unnatural offence' and 'indecent practice between males' by a judge who called their crimes 'something so disgusting that it would make any person vomit.'
They were sentenced to two years in prison, spent a week in jail, and then were bailed out pending appeal.
Officials became aware of the men's activities after McCosker reported a theft and police discovered incriminating images on his digital camera. The photos were used as evidence in court.
McCosker, a retired university teacher from the state of Victoria, has now returned to Australia.
Gays picket Iran Air
About 50 gays picketed Iran Air's Vienna office Aug. 26 protesting the Iranian government's executions of gay men, the death penalty and sodomy laws.
The action was organized by the groups Rosa Lila Villa and Homosexual Initiative Vienna.
Iran recently executed two gay teenagers. The government said they raped another boy but some activist groups claim the rape charge was bogus and that the two were hanged solely for being gay.
The Iranian exile gay group Homan reportedly claims that 4,000 homosexuals have been executed in Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
The European Region of the International Lesbian and Gay Association will stage its annual conference in Paris Oct. 26-30.
Better funded and more active than the larger ILGA organization, the European subgroup is promoting the confab as 'one of the hottest events on LGBT activists' calendars.'
A special Web site—www.ilga-europe.org/conference/Paris—provides registration forms, tourist information and details on this year's conference themes.
Romanian politician warned over hateful rhetoric
Romania's National Council for Combating Discrimination issued a disciplinary warning against ultranationalist party leader Vadim Tudor Aug. 25 for defaming gays — and threatened to fine him if he does it again.
'Homosexuals are an aberration of nature,' Tudor said on television in May. 'They shouldn't mess with me because I'm going to impale them on wooden stakes and they might like it.'
The council said the remarks 'violate gay minority rights to dignity, freedom from discrimination and equal treatment.'
Tudor responded with a threat to sue the council, according to Reuters.
'I am the one who is discriminated against because they don't allow me to express my constitutional right to free speech,' he said.