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Demand the Immediate Release of Malawi Gay Couple Arrested for Marrying
PETITION CLOSED
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Signatures
431 out of 500Petitioning
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States (Her Excellency Mrs. Hawa Olga Ndilowe)
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On December 26, Malawi couple Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza married in traditional public ceremony. Two days later the two men were arrested and brought to court on charges of indecency.
Currently they are awaiting trial, and were denied bail. Furthermore three activists were arrested for their involvement in the legal defense for Monjeza and Chimbalanga.
Let the Malawi Ambassador to the U.S. know that persecuting gay couples for marrying goes against their own constitution's guarantees of nondiscrimnation, and the African Charter on human and people's rights, which Malawi signed.
This case has the potential to set a precendent for gay rights in Malawi, and at bare minimum this courageous couple should be set free.
Recent Signatures
Release Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza
To Your Excellency Mrs. Hawa Olga Ndilowe,
We urge you to release Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza from prison, and to drop all charges brought against these courageous men and the activists who defend them.
Chimbalanga and Monjeza were arrested for performing a public wedding ceremony. However, these two men are guilty of no crime. They are, rather, a shining example of courage in their quest to defend the freedom to love.
As Your Excellency surely knows, under the Malawian constitution, all citizens are guaranteed freedom from discrimination. These men's arrests are a contradiction to the constitution. Malawi also showed her respect for human rights by pledging to uphold the African Charter on human and people's rights, so take this opportunity to perform that duty to its fullest degree.
Respectfully yours,
[Your name]