71 men arrested in Senegal for 'unnatural acts' as crackdown intensifies

Months after passing a law upping the penalties for homosexual relations, Senegal is intensifying its crackdown on same-sex relations.

On Friday, the public prosecutor’s office said 71 men have been arrested and charged with “unnatural acts.”

The men were brought before a court while 28 other defendants have had their charges dropped, the statement said.

More than 100 people have been charged since the law was passed, including local celebrities arrested on suspicion of homosexual acts and in some case of deliberately transmitting HIV.

The charges of willful transmission of HIV/AIDS have since been dropped.

Senegal is one of several West African countries to enact laws criminalising homosexuality in recent months.

Activists say the LGBT+ community is being scapegoated by politicians falling back on a subject that draws unanimity.