The 15-year prison sentences imposed this week on a gay Zambian couple are a shocking miscarriage of justice, African gay-rights activists declare. The U.S. ambassador to Zambia agreed, saying that the sentences harm the country’s international reputation and perpetuate discrimination. Pan-Africa ILGA, the African chapter of the International Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans and Intersex Association, is appealing to Zambians, other Africans and international human rights defenders to intensify their opposition to Zambia’s harsh anti-gay laws. The court action is an invasion of privacy, a violation of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, and “impairment of one’s right to practice their full identity as a human being,” Pan-Africa ILGA stated.