At least six people have been arrested in Egypt after raising the rainbow flag of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community at a Cairo concert, security and judicial sources said. They are accused of “public indecency” and “inciting immorality among young people”, the sources said following Monday’s arrests.
A 29-year-old man has been jailed, to serve a minimum of 39-years for the murder of a 58-year-old man he met via a gay dating website.
Jason Marshall was found guilty on Wednesday, 9 August at the Old Bailey in London, for the murder of 58-year-old Peter Fasoli. He was also sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for arson, to run concurrently.
Originally it was believed that Mr Fasoli had died accidentally in his own home, it wasn’t until a seven-hour video of him being tortured was discovered that his death was treated as a murder case.
The jury heard how Marshall set up a rendezvous via a gay dating site with Mr Fasoli at his Ealing home and tortured him for a prolonged period before suffocating him. He then committed arson in a bid to hide the evidence of the brutal murder and stole his victim’s credit card using it to flee by plane to Italy a few days after the murder.
Mr Fasoli, aged 58, died on Monday, 7 January 2013, after he was brought out of his burning flat in Rubens Road, Northolt.
Police, London Ambulance Service (LAS) and London Fire Brigade (LFB) attended after being called just before 01:00hrs in the morning. The case was originally treated as non-suspicious, following an investigation led by LFB which concluded the fire was accidental, with the most likely cause a faulty light bulb.
A forensic pathologist who examined Mr Fasoli’s body found no evidence of any third party involvement and the inquest held at West London Coroner’s Court on 16 August 2013 returned a verdict of accidental death.
However, around a year later, in autumn 2014, Mr Fasoli’s nephew decided to collect the hard drive of his uncle’s computer, which was being stored on behalf of the family with other belongings that had survived the fire by a friend in Yorkshire.
His nephew knew his uncle had been interested in the family tree and hoped to find research preserved on the computer system. Instead, he discovered a number of videos featuring his uncle taking part in sexual activities with other men – including the horrific seven-hour film of the encounter with Marshall. Mr Fasoli had unwittingly captured his own murder on the web camera that he had on his computer in the living room.
The film, shown to the jury in court, showed Marshall arriving kitted out with generic police accessories he had purchased on the internet, and he and Mr Fasoli chatting and then engaging in what appeared to be consensual role-playing based on an ‘interrogation’ before Marshall initiated what became a prolonged and violent domination of Mr Fasoli culminating in his murder. This included threatening him at knifepoint, and forcibly injecting him on multiple occasions. Classic FM radio station is playing throughout.
The audio captures the sounds at the end of the film of Mr Fasoli shouting out to Marshall after his head has been covered and he has been pulled off the bed and out of view of the camera. Marshall remains impervious as he continues to ignore his victim’s increasing and visible distress. After Peter had stopped making any noise at all, Marshall left him lying on the floor and calmly smoked a cigarette before gathering his belongings.
The web camera lead then appears to be pulled out and the sound can be heard of Marshall splashing a liquid around and flicking a lighter. A short time later Marshall is heard leaving the flat and the smoke alarm activates. The next morning he sent a message to Peter via the same dating site apologising for not having turned up the night before in a further attempt to cover his tracks, before using Peter’s bank card to withdraw hundreds of pounds. The day before he fled to Italy he sent further messages accusing Peter of ‘ignoring’ him.
Later enquiries showed that Marshall had contacted and met Peter on at least one occasion in the weeks before 7 January, and had led Peter to think that on the night of the murder he would be bringing another young man along to join them for the evening.
Once the hard drive found by Peter’s nephew and given to West Yorkshire Police was passed to the MPS, the Met’s Homicide and Major Crime Command launched its investigation into Mr Fasoli’s murder on 10 November, 2014.
The MPS formally informed the Coroner of this development. Following enquiries, officers identified Marshall as the key suspect. Police discovered that Marshall was in prison in Italy in late 2014, having been convicted and jailed for a murder and subsequent attempted murder of two men in Rome just weeks after he fled the UK. These also took place in the context of sexual encounters.
A European Arrest Warrant was obtained, and on Wednesday 15 February, officers travelled to Heathrow Airport to meet the flight Marshall was returning to the UK on. He was arrested and later that same day charged with the murder of Mr Fasoli.
Detective Inspector James Stevenson, of the Homicide and Major Crime Command, said, “We are pleased the sentence handed down to Marshall for the brutal killing of Peter. This was a cold-blooded attack, during which Marshall cynically gained the trust of a vulnerable older man to get entry into his home, then subjected him to a horrific and prolonged ordeal and ruthlessly ignoring Peter’s cries for help knowing he was fighting to stay alive. Marshall then did everything he could to evade being brought to justice.
“Anyone affected by this case can get in touch with LGBT agencies such Galop www.galop.org.uk and Camden LGBT forum www.camdenlgbtforum.org.uk who can offer confidential counselling and third-party reporting.”
A British lesbian on Monday won the right to live and work in Hong Kong with her partner in a landmark legal decision that could reduce more hurdles for same-sex couples in the city. QT, as she is referred to in court, entered into a civil partnership in Britain in 2011 and moved to Hong Kong… (more…)
An HIV-positive former college wrestler from was sentenced in Missouri to 10 years in prison for knowingly transmitting HIV to one man and exposing four others to the virus. Michael Johnson, 25, also known as “Tiger Mandingo,” pleaded no contest to the charges Thursday, reports said. A no contest plea is used in criminal proceedings as… (more…)
At around 2:30 AM on Wednesday 13th September, a man was assaulted as he prepared to leave the Eazy Street bar in Newcastle’s city centre. The victim was celebrating his 33rd birthday when the attack happened.
The man was seen being punched in the face. He suffered a suspected fractured eye-socket and was transported to a local hospital for treatment.
Eazy Street is a popular bar in Newcastle’s city centre and features nightly drag entertainment.
Enquiries to identify the man responsible are ongoing and police are appealing for anyone who witnessed the assault to get in touch.
Police have released a CCTV image of the man they wish to speak to in connection with the assault. He was in the bar at the time assist their enquiries.
The man, or anyone who knows him, should contact police on 101 quoting log 269 13/09/17.
The openly gay comedian broached the topic when she asked NBC’s Megyn Kelly whether she would consider having the president… (more…)
On the 23rd September, Worcester will play host to Worcestershire Pride 2017 – there will also be an LGBT+ Arts Festival in the run-up to the day. The pride event itself starts at midday.
This is no parade for Worcestershire Pride – all the activities take place at The Fountains and Copenhagen Street Car Park, South Quay, Worcester until 8 PM. A statement from the organisers of the event said,
“On September 23rd, 2017, we’ll be running the first Worcestershire Pride event down by the riverfront in Worcester. We’re also running an LGBT+ Arts Festival in the run-up to the main day event and various fundraisers to unite the community whilst raising community funds for Worcestershire Pride”.
On the day there will be a dance tent, a family area, market stalls and a main stage. Local bar, Browns at the Quay, are providing bar services for the day, With Worcester’s premier gay bar, The Flag, Providing a second bar and club tent.
Fortis Living is providing a family fun area for those bringing youngsters with them. The University of Worcester has given funding so that we can also provide a “quiet” tent for those in our community who may need to to take a break from the crowds and noise due to mental health issues, being on the autistic spectrum or those with guide dogs who need to rest and have some water.
Live entertainment from our main stage on the day from 12 noon until 8 PM.
Hosted by local legends, Their Royal Highness: Princx and Ginny “Fancy a Slice” Lemon (as seen on this year’s X Factor)
We have live performances from Zara Sykes, Beth Prior, Nth Cave, Elea Calvet, Jenna Davinci, Wymsical Theatre, Stuart Woolfenden, Reigns, Dan Brown, George Howes, Yshee Black, Whoofy Powder, Roosa & Jared.
With X Factor alumni, Freddy Parker headlining the day.
Worchestershire Pride is completely free to attend, although if you want to donate, you are, of course, welcome to do so! You can find out more about Worcestershire Pride at their website.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawsuit seeks to limit which agencies can claim objections, by asking a Detroit federal court to rule that an agency… (more…)
A report released by Liberal Democrat, John Leech shows a shocking increase in homophobic and transphobic bullying in Manchester’s high schools. Nearly 700 incidents were recorded in the last six years. John Leech called the increase “upsetting”.
The report also highlights that there were just 8 reports of homophobic bullying in 2010/11 to 160 in 2015/16.
The former Manchester MP of ten years submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) enquiry to every high school in the city and has said it is “depressingly clear” that homophobic and transphobic bullying is here to stay.
Of the 42 high schools in Manchester, 36 responded to the legal request. Mr Leech also raised concerns at the number of schools who had reported zero incidents in the last five years, saying that schools may be too worried to come forward with the real numbers.
Of the 25 schools that did respond, a worrying trend showed incidents doubling in the last two years, from 76 in 2012-13 to a staggering 160 in 2015-16.
Reports of bullying ranged from name-calling to physical assault.
John Leech, who led the successful campaign to pardon war hero Alan Turing, said: “Bullying of any kind is completely unacceptable but to still have homophobia and transphobia rife in Manchester’s schools is deplorable.
“I have fought for LGBTQ+ rights my whole life and these numbers are really, really upsetting to see.”
Leech designed the Bill and led the campaign to pardon Alan Turing, whom he said was a “hero”, and whose conviction for homosexuality he slammed as “utterly disgusting and ultimately just embarrassing”. He went on to secure the pardon for the 50,000+ other men convicted of similar offences and led the campaign to outlaw homophobic chanting at football matches.
Now Mr Leech has turned his attention to what appears to be a concerning spike and consistent rise in teenage bullying. In 2010-11 there were just 8 reports but continued to rise steadily to 160 in 2015-16.
The information for the year 2016-17 only covers until January but there were already 134 incidents making it set to be the worst year yet. In total there were 666 reported incidents of homophobic and transphobic bullying in Manchester’s high schools from 2010-17.
But that doesn’t cover the full story. 17 schools either refused to answer the FOI Request or reported zero incidents – something Mr Leech raises significant doubt over: “Whilst this is concerning, it is much better that schools are transparent with their reports. Schools that came back with 0 reports can only be misleading in what is clearly a worrying trend across the city. We have to be realistic about the issue here and sweeping it under the carpet helps no one.”
In an emotional speech at the Liberal Democrats conference in Bournemouth the former MP added: “We have absolutely no right to claim we live in a decent society when this kind of behaviour is still rife in our schools.”
Mr Leech pledged to work with schools, LGBTQ+ groups and local communities to further promote equal rights and said that he would commit himself and his party to “virtually anything” to tackle the growing problem in Manchester’s schools.
Despite having one of the largest LGBT+ prides in the world, a court in Brazil’s capital, Brasilia, has ruled that homosexuality is a disease and that so-called “gay cure” therapy is legal.
Judge Waldemar Claudio de Carvalho ruled that homosexuality can be treated as a disease and that conversion therapy as a means of curing it, is legal. The ruling has caused widespread condemnation and concern amongst LGBT+ people and their allies.
The judge overruled a 1999 resolution which outlawed therapists from treating homosexuality.
The appeal on that resolution was put forward by an evangelical Christian, Rozangela Justino, who was banned from practising after offering conversion therapies.
A number of high-profile organisations and people have rallied against the ruling saying that they will appeal the decision. Toni Reis, who heads the National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Alliance, said the ruling was a step in the wrong direction plans to appeal at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
Brazil’s psychology council says it would appeal the injunction also.
Speaking to the Guardian, David Miranda, a gay councillor in Rio de Janeiro said,
“This decision is a big regression to the progressive conquests that the LBGT community had in recent decades”.
Brazil also has one of the highest crime and murder rates against LGBT+ people in the world. In 2016 it was recorded that one LGBT+ person was killed every day in Brazil.
The actor, who is most notable for his character, Justin Foley in the hit Netflix series, 13 Reason Why just came out in an Instagram post aimed at those who are against same-sex marriage in Australia. The Australian actor, who is 23, was spurred on to come out following the No vote campaigns currently active in Australia.
One such message was a “vote no” message which was written in the sky. Although the star didn’t specifically mention whether he identified as gay or bisexual, he did include himself within the LGBT+ community in his passionate message.
He wrote,
“Just saw the “vote no” message in the sky, looming over Sydney.
“Thank you for raising money and hiring on a plane to write your lack of support amongst the clouds. I hope your hate and lack of understanding fades, just like those words will.
He continued,
“Too many of my friends have been kicked out of their homes, kept in the closet, beat up, killed, ridiculed by church and state, institutionalized… and you are scared that if we vote YES, you won’t be able to show your hate for Us. Fu*k that.
“We’ve been scared sh*tless our whole lives thanks to all the stigmas that surround Us, stigmas that were set in place by the same kind of people who flew that plane over Sydney.
“We’ve fought, we’ve come out bravely even in our fear, and you wrote a message in the sky because you’re scared. Equality takes courage, it worries me that too many people in this world lack the balls to stand up for what is right.
Brandon isn’t the first gay cast member from 13 Reasons Why – his co-star Tommy Dorfman also came out as gay.
You can catch up with 13 Reasons Why on Netflix now.