A gay British man, Ray Cole, who was sentenced to four months in a Moroccan jail after authorities found images on his phone that reportedly proved homosexuality, has been released.

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/gay-british-man-ray-cole-released-from-moroccan-prison-9780959.html

 

We still have a long way to go before we have equality for gay people but what I found most disturbing and sickening when listening to the report on BBC Radio was that there are still around 8 moronic countries in the world that have the death sentence for people convicted of committing homosexual acts. We are far from being a civilized race.

 

 

 

 

Anyone going to some of these intolerant countries needs to be very careful to clear images off their devices. Not going there at all would be even better, as I don't think they deserve tourist revenue.

 

Ideally this should not be an offence, however even allowing for the very different culture, that punishment is clearly disproportionate to the "offence".  

At the very least our government should at the very least call their ambassador in to receive a formal objection.

I do not think calling an ambassador of any country for application of their home country law is an option.

Their laws are of course medieval but there is a concept of sovereignty.

I do not think calling an ambassador of any country for application of their home country law is an option.

Their laws are of course medieval but there is a concept of sovereignty.

The reason for calling the ambassador in would be the excessively severe punishment for a minor oversight. 

Within the context of anti-gay legislation in certain countries (which I obviously oppose altogether), I think the punishment in this particular case isn't excessively severe, but rather quite the opposite.

 

Having the wrong kind of images on your phone can get you in hot water elsewhere, too. In Morocco, it might be quite legal to marry a 14 y.o. girl. It doesn't take a lot of fantasy to dream up the following plot: The girl's husband travels to the U.S. and has photos of her on his phone that are deemed child pornography there. Since there's no such thing as universal law, that people are subjected to local laws wherever they travel will always lead to stories like the one in the OP.

 

Having the wrong kind of images on your phone can get you in hot water elsewhere, too. In Morocco, it might be quite legal to marry a 14 y.o. girl. It doesn't take a lot of fantasy to dream up the following plot: The girl's husband travels to the U.S. and has photos of her on his phone that are deemed child pornography there. Since there's no such thing as universal law, that people are subjected to local laws wherever they travel will always lead to stories like the one in the OP.

very smart reminder that all travelers need to be aware of local laws and what we take for granted at home  can be capital offence somewhere else i.e. gay sex in Uganda