From: Human Rights Spanish Network
Cuban police launched a campaign against homosexuals Habana,

BBC.- “Municipal police warns you not to dress as a woman, and if you do they will hold you under a dangerous law with which they can sanction you and even give you four years in prison”, explained health professional Francisco Garcia, “Sissi”, to a BBC journalist.

One of the chief of the specialized police, who held the journalist while he made an investigation, denied that there is such a campaign against gays in Cuba . “This is against the negative conduct which they display”, he stated. BBC reporter in the Cuban capital, Fernando Ravesberg, assured in his report that they arrest transvestites, close private clubs in which they have performances and at a municipal level the police is citing them to warn them about their clothing. “If we go out in the street dressed as women they arrest us; we cannot have gay parties because they are illegal; if we go to a straight club they won't let us in” stated “Giliana”, a transvestite.

The National Center for Sexual Education (CENES, initials in Spanish), had gathered many transvestites and transsexuals and had turned many of them into health promoters for the Cuban homosexual community. In his article Rayberg stated, “CENES has in some way protected this minority; but against this campaign by the police, even they seem impotent”. However, several of the transvestites that were interviewed by the BBC stated that they were advised by CENES not to go out on the street dressed as women until this repressive wave passes.

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From: Human Rights Spanish Network
Portugal constitutionally prohibits discrimination for sexual orientation Madrid, Agencia


Portugal is the first European country and the fourth in the world to constitutionally prohibit discrimination due to sexual orientation. On July 24 of this year, Constitutional Law # 173 was published in the “Diario de la Republic”.

The law came into effect on July 30 th in the interior part of the country and in the Azores and Madeira areas on August 10 th . Article 13 of the Portuguese Constitution now reads “All citizens have the same social level and are equal under the law. No one should be privileged or favored or discriminated, or un-favored of any right or excluded from any obligation due to their heritage, sex, race, language, territory of origin, religion, ideological or political beliefs, education, economic situation, social circumstances or sexual orientation”.