(New York City) The imprisonment of nine men in Senegal on charges of homosexuality will have a profound impact on the fight against HIV/AIDS in the African nation, Human Rights Watch said today.

They were sentenced to eight years in prison on charges of “indecent and unnatural acts” and “forming associations of criminals.”

“These charges will have a chilling effect on AIDS programs,” said Scott Long, director of Human Rights Watch’s LGBT program. “Outreach workers and people seeking HIV prevention or treatment should not have to worry about police persecution. Senegal should drop these charges and repeal its sodomy law.”

HIV and AIDS advocates in Senegal report that the ruling has produced widespread panic among organizations addressing HIV and AIDS, particularly those working with men who have sex with men and other marginalized populations.

Human Rights Watch has called for the immediate release of the nine. Long said that they apparently were arrested merely on suspicion of engaging in homosexual conduct.

The organization also said that as long as they remain detained – given the general climate of hostility against men perceived to engage in homosexual conduct and the risk of violence against them – Senegalese authorities should ensure their safety by separating them from other prisoners if necessary.

“The authorities must also ensure that the men receive any necessary medical care, including antiretroviral therapy,” HRW said in a statement.

The men were detained on Dec. 19, 2008, after several police officers burst into the private residence of an HIV outreach worker. Police confiscated condoms and lubricants – tools used for HIV-prevention work.

The police allegedly forced several of the men to disclose family members’ phone numbers and threatened to inform their families. Sources told Human Rights Watch that the men were beaten in detention.

“Senegal’s sodomy law invades privacy, criminalizes health work, justifies brutality, and feeds fear,” said Long. “This case shows why it is time for the sodomy law to go.”

Long said that the men’s arrest and  detention violates article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees the right to liberty and security of person and rights against arbitrary detention. Senegal ratified the covenant in 1978 without reservations.

The men were arrested only days after Senegal served as the host for the 15th International Conference on AIDS.

Senegal, a primarily Muslim nation in West Africa, is one of 38 countries on the continent that criminalize homosexual acts.