Two women in Comoros have been arrested for allegedly planning to marry, in a country where same-sex relationships are illegal, a prosecutor announced on Saturday.
The women are currently detained in a prison in the capital, Moroni, and could face up to two years in prison or a 600-euro fine.
“They were presented to the public prosecutor on June 8 for acts unanimously considered to be be unnatural and contrary to public decency,” prosecutor Ali Mohamed Djounaid said.
Comoros, with a predominantly Muslim population of 870,000, criminalized same-sex sexual activity in 1981, six years after gaining independence from France. While the Human Dignity Trust, a global LGBT rights group, claims the law is “largely obsolete” and infrequently enforced, Djounaid indicated that the recent allegations might have been influenced by controversy over a lesbian wedding in neighboring Mayotte.
Mayotte, the fourth island in the Comoros chain, opted to remain a French overseas territory when the other three islands gained independence in 1975. Despite the political separation, the Comoros maintains its claim over Mayotte, which is only 70 kilometers (43 miles) away, and the islands share strong family and cultural ties.
Same-sex marriage is legal in France, and last month, two women were married in a civil ceremony in Mayotte, sparking controversy in the conservative Comoros. Rumors then emerged that two women in Comoros had asked a Muslim religious judge to officiate their marriage, but Djounaid clarified that this was not the case.
“The investigation did not establish that they had gone to a local preacher to ask him to marry them,” Djounaid said in a press release. However, he noted, “It is well established that these two girls were in a loving relationship with each other and that they have been living together for almost two years.”
Djounaid further explained that a male accuser had informed a preacher of the women’s alleged plans, prompting the investigation.
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