Where AIDS efforts are often praised, prison for counselors is a surprise

Human rights organizations, health groups and some foreign governments have united in condemning Senegal for imprisoning nine local AIDS activists. The men were arrested Dec. 19, tried in two weeks and sentenced to eight years in prison for "unnatural acts" and "belonging to a criminal association." Their group, AIDES Senegal, gave condoms and counseling to gay men. Human Rights Watch said the men were beaten in detention. The arrests and harsh sentences came as a surprise because Senegal has long been praised for its handling of the epidemic and held up as a model for the rest of Africa. Only 10 days before the arrests, the country had been the host of an international conference on AIDS. Criminalization of homosexuality is a major barrier to stopping the epidemic, said Michel Sidibé, the new executive director of UNaids. His agency, the United Nations Development Program, the International AIDS Society and the French and Swedish governments are among those calling for the men to be released. Senegal has kept its infection rate stable at less than 1 percent of the adult population for more than a decade. Unlike many African leaders who denied that AIDS was within their borders, the president and top Muslim clergy joined early to warn of the danger. Senegal moved quickly to promote condom use, test the blood supply, require medical checkups for sex workers and give them antiretroviral drugs. But antigay sentiment has been on the rise recently; magazine photos of a gay wedding led to arrests last year, and mobs attacked gay people, a homosexual rights group said.