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Washington, DC (DailyHaze) – Monique Coverson and her girlfriend
Larissa are facing the very real possibility that they will
spend the next 25-years of their life in a Kuwaiti prison.

After serving in the United States Army for seven years, Monique
and Larissa returned to Kuwait as military contractors. Last
May, police kicked in their door and found an ounce of a
suspicious tobacco-like substance. After sending the substance
to Germany for testing, it was discovered the substance was K2.
Which is legal in Kuwait.

But Monique’s family claim that something changed after
receiving the initial results. The girl’s lawyer claimed that
the two would be fine due to the legal standings of K2, yet both
girls remained in prison for months as they waited to go to
court. When it came time for their trial, they were no longer
looking at an ounce of K2. Now it was claimed the two had one
pound of hash.

Kuwait is one of the worst places to receive any kind of drug
charge. You can expect large fines, lengthy jail sentences and
even the possibility of death. For being caught with alcohol you
can face large fines, lengthy jail sentences and even
deportation.

On January 16 of this year, the two women were sentenced to 25-
years in prison for possessing one pound of hash. A possession
charge they claim to be false. But why would these charges be
falsely used against the two women? Monique’s family believes it
could be in relation to their openly homosexual lifestyle.

Kuwait holds a semi-complicated view towards homosexuality.
While being gay is not flat out outlawed, homosexuals are still
prosecuted under the “debauchery” law. The Kuwaiti penal code
contains provisions that can easily be used to target those in
the LGBT community.

In Kuwait, two men being caught in sexual activity could result
in up to 6 years in jail, but it is technically legal for women
to participate in same sex activity. Gays and lesbians are not
allowed to serve in the military. Joint adoption, or step child
adoption is not allowed for same-sex relationships. There is no
recognition for same-sex couples. There is also no protection
from discrimination in employment, purchasing goods or services
and the use of hate speech.

Monique’s mother has started a petition on Change.org asking for
the US government to look into the possibility of the wrongful
imprisonment of her daughter and her girlfriend. As of now the
petition has received 17,220 signatures out of a goal of 25,000.
The petition reads as follows.

“My daughter Monique earned a stellar record for her seven years
as a soldier in the United States Army, stationed in Kuwait.
Now, she and her partner wallow in a Kuwaiti prison, facing 25
years on baseless charges.

After active duty, Monique and her partner Larissa later
returned to Kuwait to work as military contractors. On the the
morning of May 8, 2015, their house was raided and police
confiscated one ounce of a “tobacco-like” substance. It was sent
to a lab in Germany for analysis, and it was determined to be a
substance that is completely legal in Kuwait. Yet, Kuwaiti
officials held them in prison anyway. After 8 months of
uncharged incarceration, the one ounce of legal substance
magically turned into one pound of marijuana, and on January 12,
2016, Monique and Larissa were sentenced to 20-25 years in
prison.

I am begging the US Government to do what it can to get my
daughter and her partner out of jail and back to the States.
They have clearly been targeted by the Kuwaiti government for
their lifestyle, and could spend half their lives in prison for
it.

This whole ordeal is a nightmare. One minute, I was expecting
her for Mother’s Day, and the next, I was told she was in
prison. Everything I have learned has been through her friends
and her lawyer, who has only called to demand more money — money
for services he hasn’t rendered. Right now, I would do anything
just to hear her voice.

To this day, I cannot understand how the US government has
allowed them to remain in prison. They were not in possession of
an illegal substance, yet their freedom and belongings have been
taken away from them. They are being held captive in a foreign
land for a crime they did not commit, with no help in sight.

I need all of you who read this to help me send a message to the
US Government, and ask them to do what is right and get Monique
and Larissa out of jail and bring them home. This injustice
cannot stand. Please sign my petition.”

Written by Meko Haze for DailyHaze.

So don't be gay. It's your choice.

http://pontiactribune.com/2016/02/two-former-us-soldiers- sentenced-to-25-years-in-kuwaiti-prison/
 

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