In the African nations of Algeria, Libya, Cameroon, Tanzania, Egypt, Uganda, and Eritrea, activists for gay rights as well as gay people themselves or even people accused of being gay are subjected to beatings, torture, and murder by vigilantes.

These nations not only turn a blind eye to these deaths, almost never making arrests for these brutal murders, but also encourage them with homophibic speech by leaders, archaic laws putting gay peole in prison, and even complicity on the part of law enforcement officers.

Investigating and prosecuting those responsible should be common sense: even those leaders who condemn gay people should recognize that vigilante murders have no place in any society where law and order prevail, where basic principles of justice and fair trial are applied, and where peace and harmony are the goal.

We the undersigned demand that people, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation, should have the same protection for violence and cruelty that other citizens are entitled to, and the only way this can be achieved is by arresting and prosecuting the mobs of citizens intent on spreading the hatred they hold in their hearts to people trying to live in peace.

Nobody deserves to die for who they are!