UAE: Court upholds men’s 6-month jail term for ‘sodomy’
A court in the United Arab Emirates has upheld a six month jail term handed to two men who are alleged to have had sex.
State-run newspaper The National is reporting that the Federal Supreme Court has upheld a sentence against the two men, who had previously been convicted of intentionally committing acts of ‘sodomy’.
According to the paper, the prosecution reports said there was ‘forensic evidence’ that the men had sex.
The unnamed men, who are both Muslim, told the court they contest the claims, and say they were coerced by police into confessing to the crime.
They will face deportation after serving their sentence.
Homosexuality is strongly criminalised in the UAE, and carries penalties ranging from a month in prison to the death penalty.
