A Muslim man was sentenced to 20 lashes after being convicted of homosexual offences by an Islamic court in the city of Bauchi, Nigeria.
Under Islamic law, homosexual acts are normally punished with death by stoning.
Mubarak Ibrahim, 20, was given a reduced sentence because he has not engaged in homosexual acts for seven years.
Ibrahim was arrested alongside 11 other Muslim men, as well as a Christian man, after authorities accused them of being homosexuals.
He had to pay a $30 (£18) fine in addition to being lashed.
After pleading guilty to the charges, Ibrahim was made to lie on a bench in the court room. He was then lashed with an animal skin whip covered in oil. He screamed in pain as he was lashed, according to the BBC’s Ishaq Khalid, who was in the courtroom at the time.
Homosexual acts are illegal in both Islamic and secular law in Nigeria.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan signed the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act into law on Jan. 7. In addition to banning same-sex marriages, the law also forbids gay people to gather together. Public displays of same-sex affection are banned as well.
