afrol News, 7 January - Amnesty International has appealed for the release of the first Malawian gay couple to wed in the Southern Africa state. The couple, Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjezar was arrested on 28 December in Blantyre for holding the country's first public same-sex wedding.

The two suspects who appeared before the court on 30 December, were denied bail by the Blantyre Magistrate court on Monday for what was called their security and in the interest of natural justice.

Amnesty International statement said the detention of the two men amounts to discrimination and it is in violation of their rights to freedom of conscience, expression and privacy.

The rights group has also condemned the attempts by the government to carry out examinations on the men to establish if they had sexual intercourse, for another added charge of sodomy.

"The arrest, risks driving underground men who have sex with men in Malawi, making it more difficult for access to information on HIV prevention and health services," the statement said.

The authorities recognise the existence of gays in Malawi and often call on them to come out in order to help fight AIDS in a country where 12 percent of adults have HIV.

Mr Monjeza and Mr Chimbalanga's love affair has shocked the conservative nation where homosexuality is banned by the law. They face a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison if convicted.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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