Delay for Fiji gay sex appeal

Delay for Fiji gay sex appeal

Lawyers representing the Australian man jailed for consensual sex in Fiji have 45 days to amend an appeal before the country’s High Court.

Lawyers for Thomas McCosker and Fijian Dhirendra Nandan today said they had new evidence to present in the case, 365Gay.com reported.

McCosker’s lawyer, Iqbal Khan, said the facts presented to a lower court bore no relation to the court’s conviction of his client and Nandan for consensual gay sex.

The only facts tendered before the lower court showed McCosker accused Nandan of robbing him, Khan said.

The facts that were outlined by the prosecution in the lower court does not constitute any offence my client was charged with, he said.

The High Court gave Khan 45 days to file the amended appeal.

The original appeal had argued McCosker and Nandan’s convictions clashed with Fiji’s constitution, which forbids discrimination on the grounds of sexuality.

McCosker, 55, and 23-year-old Nandan were convicted for gay sex and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment earlier this month. The pair were later released on bail pending an appeal.

Meanwhile, Fiji churches have said they will fight efforts to legalise homosexuality in light of the McCosker conviction.

Church groups said they had written to the Fiji Prime Minister and would hold a march against same-sex relationships, the Fiji Times reported.

The development follows calls from Australian activists for the Fiji government to repeal laws outlawing gay sex.

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