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Delay in Fiji gay sex trial

Mon 2 May 2005 In: New Zealand Daily News

There has been a delay in the case of an Australian man jailed for consensual gay sex in Fiji, with lawyers being given 45 days to amend an appeal before the country's High Court. 55-year-old retired professor Thomas McCoskar and 23-year-old Fijian local Dhirendra Nandan were convicted on gay sex charges and sentenced to two years' imprisonment earlier this month. The pair were later released on bail pending an appeal. The case has sparked international media coverage over Fiji's laws which make homosexuality a punishable offence, carrying a maximum sentence of fourteen years jail and even flogging; despite a clause in the country's 1997 Constitution which protects gays and lesbians. Activists from around the world have called for the Fijian government to repeal the anti-gay laws, but church groups have vowed this will not happen. The Fiji Times reported church groups had written to the Fiji Prime Minister and would hold a march against same-sex relationships.    

Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff

First published: Monday, 2nd May 2005 - 12:00pm

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