Four men from South Africa have been jailed over the brutal
killing of a local lesbian in 2006.
The stabbing and stoning to death of Zoliswa Nkonyana in 2006 has
lead to the four men being jailed for 19 years, BBC News
reports
Victory for Nkonyana's family was achieved as four of the nine men
responsible for the death of their daughter were given 18 years in
prison.
According to the BBC, the court heard how she was stoned and
stabbed nine times in February 2006 by them on the basis of her
sexual orientation.
The other five were acquitted.
Talking afterwards, her step-father told South Africa's Sowetan
newspaper: "They did not accept responsibility for what they did
and we are happy that when we asked for a lengthy jail term, the
magistrate agreed to that".
The sentence is significant as, although the constitution protects
LGBT people, homophobia is abound.
The magistrate told the court that the motive was clearly
homophobic, and that the sentence was to send a message that
violence because of sexual orientation is not accepted.
