A Senegalese court has jailed two men for “spreading false news” after accusing Ousmane Sonko, the country’s new prime minister, of tolerating homosexuality.
Activist Bah Diakhate and imam Cheikh Ahmed Tidiane Ndao were jailed for three months and fined 100,000 CFA francs ($165, £130) each.
They were angry because Sonko had allowed a visiting French politician to voice his support for same-sex marriage.
Homosexual acts are banned in the predominantly Muslim West African country and are punishable by up to five years in prison.
The political activist and pastor were arrested two weeks ago after posting a video attacking Mr. Sonko for giving a platform to Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a far-left French politician.
Mr Mélenchon gave his opinion on gay marriage at a student forum in the capital Dakar in mid-May.
His comments reportedly drew boos from the crowd at Cheikh Anta Diop University.
In response, Sonko said Western countries should exercise restraint on social issues such as LGBTQ rights as this could “lead to anti-Western sentiments.”
Senegal would continue to manage issues surrounding homosexuality in accordance with its socio-cultural norms, the prime minister said.
He said homosexuality was “not accepted, but tolerated” in Senegal.
Mr Sonko, a former opposition leader, was appointed prime minister in April after his ally Bassirou Diomaye Faye was elected president.
They were released from prison not long before the election under an amnesty measure intended to calm months of political unrest after the outgoing president tried to postpone the election.
The pair campaigned on the promise of radical change – with an Afrocentric and nationalist agenda, promising to repair Senegal’s relationship with France, the country’s former colonial power.
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