TIG Post

Tag: LGBT community

  • Incest! You slept with your wife’s sister – Bitter Transgender attacks Speak of Parliament

    Incest! You slept with your wife’s sister – Bitter Transgender attacks Speak of Parliament

    Accusations of engaging in a sexual relationship with a minor and incest have been leveled against Alban Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament in Ghana, by pro-LGBTQ campaigners. Ghanaian musician Deborah Vanessa, also known as Sister Deborah, and transgender activist Angel Maxine made these claims on social media, specifically in the comments section of an Instagram video posted by @angelmaxinetv.

    The video focused on Angel Maxine’s threats to expose Members of Parliament (MPs) involved in LGBTQ practices if they support the passage of the controversial anti-LGBTQ+ bill. Sister Deborah expressed support for Angel Maxine and alleged that Speaker Bagbin was guilty of pedophilia and incest.

    “The Bagbin nu, dem say ebe minor sef he sleep with o. That’s pedophilia and that’s the real crime here,” Sister Deborah wrote.

    Angel Maxine repeated the accusations in the video, referring to the Speaker as an “old fool” and claiming he engaged in incest and slept with his wife’s sister. She expressed disappointment that Bagbin was not facing legal consequences for these alleged actions.

    The anti-LGBTQ+ bill, officially titled the Promotion of Appropriate Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill 2021, aims to criminalize various aspects of homosexuality, including promotion, advocacy, funding, and the acts themselves. The bill proposes severe penalties, with LGBTQ advocates facing up to ten years in prison and self-identifying individuals potentially facing three years of incarceration. Additionally, the bill seeks to restrict health services, including HIV medication, for the LGBTQ community.

    The bill’s primary sponsor, Sam Nartey George, argues that homosexuality is not a human right but a lifestyle choice. He has warned against U.S. interference, suggesting potential impacts on Ghana’s business interests. Speaker Bagbin supports the bill, asserting that it aligns with constitutional provisions and international obligations.

    Human rights organizations, including Rightify Ghana, argue that the bill undermines HIV/AIDS efforts and violates basic LGBTQ rights. Similar concerns were raised by the UNAIDS program in 2021.

    It is crucial to note that these allegations against Speaker Bagbin are unverified and remain claims made by individuals who purport to have evidence. The controversy adds another layer of complexity to the already contentious debate surrounding the anti-LGBTQ+ bill in Ghana.

  • Don’t be violent towards LGBTQ+ persons – Rev Lawrence Tetteh ‘pleads with’ Ghanaians

    Don’t be violent towards LGBTQ+ persons – Rev Lawrence Tetteh ‘pleads with’ Ghanaians

    The renowned evangelist and president of the Worldwide Miracle Outreach, Rev Lawrence Tetteh, has urged Ghanaians not to be violent towards LGBTQ persons, even as he expressed his opposition to the practice. He said this during a discussion on GTV’s breakfast show with host Kafui Dey on the subject of the stalling of the passage of the anti-LGBTQ bill in Ghana.

    The bill, which seeks to criminalise and punish LGBTQ activities and advocacy in the country, has generated heated debate and controversy among various stakeholders, including religious leaders, human rights activists, politicians, and the general public. The bill has also attracted international attention and criticism from some foreign governments and organisations, who have threatened to cut aid and impose sanctions on Ghana if the bill is passed.

    Rev Lawrence Tetteh, who is a Christian, said that he does not endorse LGBTQ and that he would be a coward and a hypocrite if he did. He said that LGBTQ is not part of Ghanaian culture and tradition, and that it goes against the teachings of the Bible and the Quran. However, he also said that LGBTQ persons should not be subjected to violence and hatred, but rather be shown love and compassion, and be won over to Christ or Allah.

    “The only thing I keep saying is that we shouldn’t be violent towards them. Let’s see how we can win them to Christ, just like they will win them to Allah. But it is not our culture, it is not our tradition,” he said.

    He also expressed his concern about the political implications of the bill, noting that most of the sponsors of the bill were from the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), while only one was from the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).

    He questioned the motives and interests of the politicians who have failed to support the bill, and urged them not to forget their civic responsibility to the people.

    “And some of you, don’t cry more than the bereaved. I am looking at the people who are part of the bill and I am getting very worried. I had the privilege to go to parliament in the early days of this programme, and we were invited to parliament and I noticed that up until now, seven of the people are NDC and it looks as if only one is NPP. What are we trying to prove and who are we trying to impress? These are some of the little things that I say the nonsense must stop. Don’t be too politically right to forget your civic responsibility. In our bid to be politically right, we would be losing the people that we are supposed to be leading,” he said.

    He called for a balance and a convergence on the issue, and suggested that the bill should not be too harsh or lenient, but rather reflect what is good for Ghana.

    “Yes, let’s create a balance, I believe that. Let’s get to a point of convergence, I believe that. Let’s find a way around it to make sure that at least it is not too stringent a point to take, but let’s also make sure that what is good for Ghana is what we want to maintain,” he noted.

  • Texas woman detained after Trump judge received threats

    Texas woman detained after Trump judge received threats

    A Texas woman is accused of making death threats against a judge who is presiding over a criminal investigation into former US President Donald Trump.

    Abigail Jo Shry, 43, is accused of calling the court in Washington, DC, on August 5 and calling US District Judge Tanya Chutkan a racial slur.

    Ms. Shry is also accused of threatening to kill a Democratic congressman.

    According to a court filing, she acknowledged making the call once detectives found her phone number.

    You are in our crosshairs, we want to murder you,” Ms. Shry allegedly warned the judge handling a case against Mr. Trump alleging election interference in the phone call.

    According to the prosecution, Ms. Shry said, “We are coming to kill you if Trump doesn’t win in 2024.”

    According to the court document, the caller also threatened the LGBT community and all Democrats in Washington, DC.

    She allegedly also threatened to murder Houston mayoral candidate and black Texas Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee.

    Three days later, when federal investigators went to Ms. Shry’s house in the Houston suburb of Alvin, she claimed she had no plans to travel to Washington, DC, to carry out her threats, according to the court document.

    She allegedly went on to say that “we need to worry” if Shelia Jackson Lee visits Alvin.

    The day before receiving the menacing call, Mr. Trump had written in capital letters on his Truth Social social media page: “If you go after me, I’m coming after you!” On allegations related to the election conspiracy, he had been arraigned the previous day.

    In a court session last Friday, Judge Chutkan cautioned that neither side should make any “inflammatory statements” regarding the issue.

  • The term ‘homosexuality’ prohibited in Iraq over sexual deviance

    The term ‘homosexuality’ prohibited in Iraq over sexual deviance

    An official document from Iraq’s media regulator and a government spokeswoman both confirm that the regulator ordered all media and social media businesses operating in the Arab nation to stop using the term “homosexuality” and start using the phrase “sexual deviance.”

    According to a document from the Iraqi Communications and Media Commission (CMC), the word “gender” is likewise forbidden. It forbade the phrases from being used in any mobile applications by any phone or internet firms that were granted licences by it.

    Later, a government official claimed that the choice still needed to be approved in full.

    In an Arabic-language statement, the regulator instructed media outlets to refer to sexual deviation instead of homosexuality.

    According to a government official, the punishment for breaking the law has not yet been determined but may include a fine.

    Although gay intercourse is not expressly illegal in Iraq, members of the LGBT community have been targeted under vaguely interpreted morality articles in the country’s penal code.

    Major Iraqi political parties have increased their condemnation of LGBT rights in the last two months, and rainbow flags are routinely set ablaze in demonstrations by Shi’ite Muslim groups objecting to recent Koran burnings in Sweden and Denmark.

    According to Our World in Data, homosexual actions are illegal in more than 60 countries while they are permitted in more than 130.

  • David Smith, a British embassy security guard, admits to spying for Russia

    While working at the British Embassy in Berlin, a security guard admitted to spying for Russia.

    Prosecutors claimed David Smith, 58, intended to cause harm to the United Kingdom and the embassy where he had worked for eight years.

    The British citizen was accused of gathering intelligence on the embassy and leaking classified documents.

    Smith pleaded guilty to eight charges under the Official Secrets Act at the Old Bailey.

    He is said to have wanted to live in Russia or Ukraine during the time he passed on classified information beginning in May 2020.

    Prosecutors claimed he was motivated by a deep hatred for his homeland and enraged by the display of the Rainbow flag in support of the LGBT community.

    He was arrested in August 2021 and 800 euros (£700) of cash was found in his home in Potsdam, Germany.

    Smith, now of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to the charges on 4 November, but reporting restrictions were initially put in place.

    They were lifted on Friday after the prosecution indicated it would not seek a trial on a ninth charge that he had denied.

    Smith will be sentenced at a later date and faces a maximum of 14 years in prison.

    Extradited to UK

    The charges laid against Smith stated he had communicated with General Major Sergey Chukhurov, the Russian military attache based out of the Russian Embassy in Berlin in 2020 – giving information about the addresses, phone numbers and activities of various British civil servants.

    He collected intelligence on the operation and layout of the embassy, which was said to be useful to “an enemy, namely the Russian state”.

    Some of this material was classified as “secret” and related to the activities of the British government and its German embassy.

    As a security guard, David Smith did not have access to Top Secret material in the embassy.

    But the material he has admitted passing on or collecting could still be very useful for the Russians.

    It could potentially help identify undercover British intelligence officers at the Embassy and potentially even any agents they were meeting.

    Things like details of CCTV could also potentially have helped Russian spies work out how to run their own operations against the embassy and collect its secrets.

    Smith’s lawyers are understood to dispute the prosecution’s claims about his motivation but disgruntled employees historically have often been the most effective recruits for spy services.

    The case may also raise questions about the checks carried out on staff, like Smith, that are recruited locally.

    On the day of his arrest, Smith had left work early complaining he was feeling ill and was met by German police at his home.

    A request was made for his extradition to the UK in November 2021, following a probe by British counter-terrorism police. Smith arrived back to the UK in April.

    Footage from the embassy and a draft letter to a Russian military attache, dated 14 May 2020, were found after an examination of his electronic devices.

    In the letter he confirmed he worked at the embassy and wanted anonymity as he offered a book classified as “official sensitive”.

    There were also “secret” classified emails and documents, pictures of staff security passes and personal information as well as posters and whiteboards in the embassy.

    Smith’s lawyer told the court the defendant disputed the way the prosecution was presenting his motivation.

    Matthew Ryder KC said: “It is right to say there is significant difference as to the basis Mr Smith has pleaded guilty including him not having a negative intention towards the UK that the prosecution have alleged against him.”