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Homophobes of the Week: Cameroon’s baton-swinging police

Gendarmes in Cameroon won the dishonor of being selected as Homophobes of the Week by launching a gay-hunting expedition that raided a bar and a movie house, arresting 25 people, beating them with batons, and jailing them for nearly two days without charges.

A Cameroonian police officer belonging to the Gendarmerie Nationale Camerounaise.

A Cameroonian police officer belonging to the Gendarmerie Nationale Camerounaise.

Their leader, Police Commandant Parfait Nana, claimed hypocritically that he is not prejudiced about LGBT people:

“Personally, I do not judge anyone and do not condemn anyone on the basis of their sexual orientation. However, Cameroon has laws to enforce.“

The law prohibits same-sex intercourse, but Nana and many others act as if it prohibits same-sex attraction. He led a raid that targeted a gay cinema and a gay-friendly cabaret where no one was breaking the law; the people there were just being themselves.

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RUNNERS UP

Yaoundé police beat out the following nominees for Homophobe of the Week — each of whom deserves international disdain:

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