This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Vanished user 5zariu3jisj0j4irj (talk | contribs) at 11:23, 17 June 2006. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 11:23, 17 June 2006 by Vanished user 5zariu3jisj0j4irj (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)It is proposed that this article be deleted because of the following concern:
If you can address this concern by improving, copyediting, sourcing, renaming, or merging the page, please edit this page and do so. You may remove this message if you improve the article or otherwise object to deletion for any reason. Although not required, you are encouraged to explain why you object to the deletion, either in your edit summary or on the talk page. If this template is removed, do not replace it. The article may be deleted if this message remains in place for seven days. Please check the history to see when this template was added. Find sources: "Thomas McCosker v The State" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTORPRODExpired+%5B%5BWP%3APROD%7CPROD%5D%5D%2C+concern+was%3A+non-notable+criminal%2C+seems+to+exist+more+because+he+was+gay+than+because+he+was+notableExpired ], concern was: non-notable criminal, seems to exist more because he was gay than because he was notable Nominator: Please consider notifying the author/project: {{subst:proposed deletion notify|Thomas McCosker v The State|concern=non-notable criminal, seems to exist more because he was gay than because he was notable}} ~~~~ |
Former textile worker Thomas McCosker, 55, from Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia, visited Fiji and had sex with Dhirendra Nadan, 23. He reported Nadan to police for allegedly taking AUD1500 from his wallet. McCosker and Nadan were separately held by police on April 3, 2005.
Dhirendra said to police that Thomas paid for sex with him and took photos of him to be sold on the internet. Thomas denies both allegations.
Within 48 hours he was tried and sentenced to 2 years jail for sodomy. The AUD1500 and the photos were not part of his conviction. An appeal was raised on the basis of Fiji's constitution outlawing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. On Friday August 26, 2005, his conviction, and that of Dhirendra Nadan, was overturned on constitutional grounds.
Thomas was not an "out" homosexual in Australia. He says the sex with Dhirendra was consensual, which has not been disputed. In the initial trial he had no legal representation.
International reaction
Thomas rang neighbour Alan Richardson, who in turn contacted the Australian High Commission in Suva. A consular official rang back that night to say that "inappropriate images" had been found and he was likely to be fined. However, 48 hours after his arrest, Thomas rang Alan to say that both he and Dhirendra had been jailed.
Thomas told Melbourne newspaper The Age "I would have liked the Australian Government to have taken more interest in my case". The Australian government has offered the usual consular assistance, but have not condemned the sentence. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have both condemned the conviction.
See also
External links
- Little help, no protest for Victorian jailed in Fiji The Age (20 August, 2005)
- Australian home after Fiji gay sex conviction overturned The Sydney Morning Herald (28 August, 2005)