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   From: edellwy@ottawa.ca   
      
   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/   
           
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)