Ahmed Ben Amor, vice president of the Tunisian LGBT rights advocacy group Shams, attempted suicide over the weekend at his home in Tunis. According a post on Shams’ official Facebook page, Ben Amor ingested a large quantity of prescription drugs on the night of July 9th before being taken to a hospital and falling into a coma that lasted 19 hours. The post from Shams speculated that his attempted suicide came as a result of “homophobia” from within his family and “death threats” that he’d been receiving recently.
As an organization, Shams seeks to change the anti-gay laws that exist in Tunisia and have often led to the arrest or prosecution of LGBT. Ben Amor was an active and well-liked member of the group who had made numerous television appearances in Tunisia advocating for LGBT rights. The most notable of these appearances was on popular debate show “al-Hiwar al-Tounsi” (Tunisian Dialogue), an event which made Ben Amor a recognizable figure in the LGBT movement and a target of public ridicule as well as threats of violence from members of Tunisian society.
In the hours following news of Ben Amor’s suicide attempt Hamed Sinno, the frontman of popular Lebanese band Mashrou’ Leila, began a twitter campaign to support the injured Gay rights activist. Under the hashtag #WeLoveYouAhmed, Sinno and other supporters of LGBT rights in the Arab World tweeted their support for Ben Amor.
All my thoughts are w/ Ahmed Ben Amor today. Kills me 2 c another one suffer @ the hands of heteropatriarchy. Come back, & pick up the fight
— hamed sinno (@hamedleila) July 10, 2016
@hamedleila @ahmedbenamor507 If I was religious I'd pray for you, instead my heart's calling out to the universe, sending you love&strength.
— Lena (@itsmydari) July 10, 2016
@hamedleila @ahmedbenamor507 you're an extremely precious person. We're all here for you #WeLoveYouAhmed pic.twitter.com/k9e5CDlomi
— Lama Of House Leila (@lama_kawsan) July 10, 2016
According to a Shams spokesperson, Ben Amor has awakened from his coma but remains in the hospital.
Homosexuality is illegal in Tunisia under the controversial "Article 230" law which prohibits "sodomy". Though attempts have been made to overturn Article 230, the majority of the Tunisian populace supports the criminalization of homosexual acts and advocacy campaigns have not been successful in changing the country's anti-gay laws. Still, Tunisia remains one of the more "open" and "liberal" Arab nations, and its treatment of homosexuals is comparatively better than many of its neighbors.
