The United Arab Emirates has sentenced eleven men, arrested last year after allegedly attending a 'gay wedding party,' to five-year terms for homosexuality and one-year sentences for obscenity, according to reports from Abu Dhabi. Also last year the Emirates' Interior Ministry said it would be giving the arrested men hormone treatments to "cure" them of their homosexuality, which is still illegal in the United Arab Emirates. If you're even thinking of flying the agressively advertising Emirates Airlines trans-Tasman or further... maybe it's time to have another think. The Daubi-based Emirates group of companies, which includes government majority-owned Emirates Airlines, no doubt would take you're GLBT dollars ok but not respect one of your most basic human rights, the right to your natural sexuality. Frankly, we have a choice as to whether or not we support a government and its airline that would jail you just for being gay, before injecting you with hormones in an ignorant and barbaric attempt to try and make you straight. We strongly suggest glbt travellers stick with Air New Zealand, Qantas or any other airline... and totally bypass supporting Emirates and the UAE Government's anti-gay persecution of gays. Why should our glbt dollars contribute to their financial well-being and "we're a modern' progressive nation" marketing hype when their treatment of their glbt citizens, folks just like us, is straight out of the middle ages. GayNZ.com - 15th February 2006