A young Jamaican man has died, supposedly after a homophobic mob that believed he was gay hounded him through the streets of Kingston, according to a release from the United Kingdom-based LGBT group OutRage!
Nokia Cowen was chased by the crowd into a Kingston harbor. Unable to swim, he drowned. Cowen’s sexual orientation remains unknown.
The Jamaican gay-rights group, in a statement, called on the police to investigate Cowen’s death and for the government of Jamaica to speak out against homophobic violence. In a visit to Chicago last February, members of the organization spoke out about the omnipresent homophobia on the island.
Cowen’s death follows the murder of Jamaican gay AIDS activist Steve Harvey in November. Last June, Brian Williamson—Jamaica’s most vocal advocate of LGBT rights —was murdered in what supporters called a hate crime, 365Gay.com reported. Also, Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton and two other men are facing trial on assault charges in a vicious attack on six gay men.
Gay sex is considered illegal in Jamaica. A single offense is punishable by up to ten years in jail along with the possibility of hard labor.