Police arrest 10 men suspected of conducting gay wedding in Zanzibar, Tanzania

Tanzania police have arrested 10 men suspected of conducting same-sex marriage, after a tip-off by members of the public led to a raid.

The men were arrested at a party on Pongwe Beach, in Zanzibar and are being held at Chakwa police station in Unguja, the main island in the Zanzibar archipelago.

Human rights group Amnesty International say six other men escaped arrest.

The East Africa Deputy Director of the rights group said that it was "mind-boggling that the mere act of sitting in a pair can assume criminal proportions" adding that there are suspicion that the police may subject the men to forced anal examination.

Magango called on the police to immediately release the men.

Last week, the regional commissioner for Dar es Salaam, Paul Makonda said a surveillance squad had been formed to track the activities of homosexuals in the commercial capital of East African country.

However, the Tanzanian government denied the claims through a statement  saying "Mr Makonda was only airing his personal opinion", not government policy.


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