J. Lester Feder
Randy Berry Likely Pick For First Special Envoy For LGBT Rights
Berry currently oversees consular operations for the United States in the Netherlands. Update: LGBT rights advocates are expecting an announcement the announcement as early as February 23.
J. Lester Feder
State Department To Create Special Envoy For LGBT Rights
The State Department is expected to name an out gay official currently at the department to fill the role.
J. Lester Feder
Pope Endorses Referendum Denying Marriage And Adoption Rights To Same-Sex Couples
Pope Francis encouraged "everyone to continue their efforts in defense of the family" ahead of a vote Saturday on an anti-LGBT referendum in Slovakia.
J. Lester Feder
Egyptian Court Sentences Trans Woman To Six Years In Prison On Prostitution Charges
It comes after 26 men were acquitted in Egypt's most high-profile homosexuality trial in more than a decade.
Maged Atef
France Overturns Treaties Blocking Same-Sex Couple's Wedding
France's highest appeals court ruled that marriage is a fundamental right that could not be restricted by treaties with foreign governments.
J. Lester Feder
Witness Says Gambian Man Accused Of Homosexuality Bore Signs of Torture, May Be Executed
"He has cotton in his nose and he is coughing blood and saying, 'I know I'm going to die,'" the witness told BuzzFeed News.
J. Lester Feder
Religious Authorities In Nigeria Reportedly Detain 12 People Accused Of Holding A "Gay Wedding"
"We have 12 men in custody, including the bride. We arrested them at the venue of a planned gay wedding,” an official told AFP.
J. Lester Feder
Egyptian Appeals Court Dismisses Case Against 26 Men Accused Of "Gay Sex Party"
"This means they are totally innocent and the case is totally closed," a defense lawyer told BuzzFeed News.
Maged Atef
Marriage Equality Ban In Macedonia May Signal Growing Anti-LGBT Backlash In Europe
The Balkan state is the fourth Eastern European country to outlaw marriage equality since 2012.
J. Lester Feder
Egyptian Government "Instructions" Have Led Media To Boost Anti-Gay Coverage, Editor Says
"The [bathhouse] case has become a kind of fulcrum for different kinds of people to say ‘no’ to different kinds of oppression from the regime," an activist said. J. Lester Feder and Maged Atef report from Cairo.
J. Lester Feder
Egyptian Court Acquits 26 Men Charged With "Debauchery"
No trial court has ever cleared Egyptians of charges of homosexuality in a high profile case, say human rights activists. J. Lester Feder and Maged Atef report for BuzzFeed News from the courthouse in Cairo.
J. Lester Feder
Russia Bans People With "Gender Identity Disorders" And "Disorders Of Sexual Preference" From Driving
A new list of disorders that can disqualify people from driving ranges from "transsexualism" to "sadomasochism."
J. Lester Feder
25-Year-Old Trans Woman Is Latest Target Of Egyptian LGBT Crackdown
The arrest of the 25-year-old trans woman is the latest in a crackdown on LGBT rights in Egypt that has landed more than 100 people behind bars. Her friend tells BuzzFeed News she fears she may be next.
J. Lester Feder
Egyptian Court Reduces Sentences For Eight Men In "Wedding Video" To One Year In Jail
The eight were originally sentenced to three years in jail for appearing in a video that seemed to show two men exchanging wedding rings.
J. Lester Feder
U.S. Kicks African Nation From Trade Agreement Over Anti-LGBT Crackdown
"For the first time the gay community really is coming together to get equal consideration in U.S. foreign policy," activists tell BuzzFeed News.
J. Lester Feder
Thirty-Five Injured In Attack On LGBT Event In Zimbabwe
Attackers beat people "using logs, iron bars, empty beer bottles and clenched fists," according to a statement from the organization hosting the event.
J. Lester Feder
Ugandans Won't Be Getting A New Anti-LGBT Law For Christmas
The most vocal advocate of legislation to restore the Anti-Homosexuality Act struck down by the Constitutional Court in August had said he had hoped Ugandans would be able to "celebrate it as a Christmas gift."
J. Lester Feder
At Least 594 LGBT People Were Murdered In The Americas In A 15-Month Period
Four were killed by decapitation, according to a new report.
J. Lester Feder
Egyptian Reporter Broadcasts Program That Led to Raid on "Gay Sex Parties"
"Our society is full of disasters ... and if we kept hiding from that without facing those disasters, frankly, we will all be destroyed," the reporter said of a bathhouse where more than 26 men were arrested on Sunday.
J. Lester Feder
Emails Show "Pro-Family" Activists Feeding Contacts To Russian Nationalists
"The empire strikes back :)" Emails posted online by mysterious leak publishers suggest a concerted effort to "push the pro-family worldwide movement."
J. Lester Feder
