US men arrested on Caribbean gay cruise

www.pinknews.co.uk:

Two American men have been arrested on the Caribbean island of Dominica for violating indecency and gay sex laws.

Police boarded the Celebrity Summit cruise ship docked at Roseau and arrested the men, who are believed to have had sex in such a way that it was visible from the dock.

Constable John George confirmed the arrests on the Lesser Antilles island nation, AP reports.

The men, aged 41 and 43, are due to appear before a magistrate’s court this morning and could be fined $370 each and face six months’ imprisonment.

The cruise left the men at Dominica in police custody yesterday and headed on to St Barts.

The Celebrity ship had been chartered by Atlantis Events, whose president was on board and believes the men will be freed today.

He told AP: “Many countries and municipalities that gay men visit and live in have antiquated laws on their books.

“These statutes don’t pose a concern to us in planning a tourist visit.”

Of the incident in question, he said he expected the men to be let off with minor misdemeanor charges, adding: “The guests actions were unfortunate but minor in this case and have no bearing on our overall guest experience.”

Last year, an American man was jailed for selling drugs on a luxury gay cruise from what the sentencing judge termed an “apothecary” in his cabin.

The 16-deck Royal Caribbean ship, the largest passenger ship ever built, had also been chartered by Atlantis Events on a sailing billed as the world’s largest gay cruise.

Steven Krumholz, 51, from California, was found with more than 142 ecstasy pills, methamphetamine, a small amount of ketamine, and about $51,000 (£31,000) in cash.

In February, a man was feared dead after falling from the deck of another Atlantis Events cruise on the Allure of the Seas.

Source: www.pinknews.co.uk