Date: 25 Oct 94 14:05 PDT From: International Gay Lesbian Human Rights Commission To: "Recipients of conference iglhrc.ern" Subject: ALBANIA: Activists Tortured International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission Contact: Jorge Cortinas, +1- 415-255-8680 NEW Gay Activists Arrested and Tortured in Albania Members of Albania's first and only gay and lesbian organization, Shoqata Gay Albania, have been rounded up and severely beaten by police in an apparent attempt to discover the name of the group's president. According to information received by the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), three members of Shoqata Gay Albania were seized by police in the capital, Tirana, on the night of Friday, 14 October. They were accused of belonging to an illegal organization. Police beat them for several hours, demanding the names of the president and other members. IGLHRC understands that one of the victims is still being held, and is apparently undergoing interrogation. Another is in the hospital, unconscious and with a broken leg. A third is at his own home, with injuries sustained during the police beatings. Shoqata Gay Albania was founded in March 1994. Since homosexual acts between consenting adult males remains illegal in Albania, the group was unable to seek legal recognition. The Albanian government has proposed a revision of the law criminalizing consensual adult homosexual acts which would reduce the punishment for such acts from 3 to 10 years' imprisonment. The proposal, which falls far short of the complete decriminalization ostensibly required of applicant countries to the Council of Europe, is scheduled for parliamentary debate in November. "This level of official persecution of gay people resembles Nazi tactics in the 1930's," remarked Jorge Cortinas, Program Director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. "Defenders of liberty and human rights around the world need to denounce such state directed persecution in clear and unequivocal terms."