Man arrested, forcibly outed as gay to his parents

He was lured on a 'date' by a man, taken to a police station and held there as the authorities ruined his life.

A Cameroon man has had his life ruined after police forcibly outed him as gay to his friends and family.

The 22-year-old, identified as A.H, was lured on an alleged 'date' by a Facebook friend who he had been talking to for around three months online.

Once he went to meet the other man, A.H was taken to the police station in the Ekounou district of Yaounde where he was arrested on accusations of sexual harassment.

Gay rights activist Erin Royal Brokovitch, writing for the 76 Crimes blog, described what happened next as an 'anti-gay steamroller'.

‘They seized A.H’s phone to look for proof of homosexuality. A police investigator and the local police captain looked into A .H’s messages, seeking evidence that he is gay. The captain used A.H’s directory to call his contacts, masquerading as a gay man, again seeking evidence against him,' they reported.

'The captain tried to force A.H to admit that he is gay. A.H’s family was told a few hours later that A.H had admitted to police that he is gay and he had been an open homosexual for four years.'

A.H has denied all accusations thrown at him by police, and says he has not admitted to anything.

With the help of the activist group Humanity First, they have obtained a promise from the accuser to drop the charges. However, the police are still insistent.

The investigator allegedly told A.H.’s mother: 'Your son is a homosexual. This is very serious.'

Police have requested the records of telephone conversations between A.H and his former accuser, seeking to prove the man is gay.

While A.H was in jail from 17 to 20 November, the police have pledged to continue investigating the case.

Recently, Cameroon rejected the United Nations Human Rights Council’s recommendation that it decriminalise homosexuality.

During the Universal Periodic Review with the Council, Cameroon rejected every proposal suggesting the country tackled homophobic discrimination and violence.

Homosexuality is punishable by prison terms of up to five years. As the country prosecutes more people for being LGBT than anywhere, it is often described as the worst place in the world to be gay.