Cameroon releases transgender women 'provisionally'

Two transgender women in Cameroon who were sentenced to five years in jail and fined for "attempted homosexuality" have now been provisionally released.

Trans celebrity Shakiro and her friend Patricia were two months into their sentences at a prison in Douala, which they had appealed.

The pair's lawyer Alice Nkom say they will now be able to appear free for the next hearings in a court of appeal.

Cameroon is among 31 African countries that criminalises gay sex.

According to Human Rights Watch, security forces in Cameroon have arrested, threatened, or assaulted at least 24 people since February as part of a crackdown on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

This article originally appeared on BBC News

Photo: Reuters