An American Couple Has Been Sentenced To 20 Years In A Kuwaiti Prison. Is It Because They're Gay? | ThinkProgress

Again I am going to be the asshole.  The drug issue aside, "authorities fabricated charges after they were found to have K2 — a synthetic form of marijuana that’s legal in Kuwait."  Why would any LGBTQI individual want to visit, let alone live or work, in a country that is known for its harsh treatment of said individuals

The country carried out a crackdown against LGBT Kuwaitis and foreign nationals in the past, including a sweep that resulted in more than 200 arrests in 2013. Kuwait’s health ministry claimed to be developing a “gay detector test” meant to keep LGBT people out of the country, and MPs rallied against Amnesty International for protecting LGBT people who one former MP said harbored “deviant behavior and attitudes undermine and destroy humanity.”

I will not go so far as to say "they made their own bed" as numerous comments scattered throughout the inter-web imply, but I will question their judgement - maybe they thought it couldn't happen to them.  Either way, two "wrongs" do not make this situation palatable.

The U.S. government wasn’t aware of the arrests until Jackson reached out to the U.S. embassy in Kuwait to advocate for the release of Coverson and her partner.

“The U.S. embassy didn’t even know she was sentenced until I contacted them,” she said, expressing disappointment. “I thought they are supposed to visit U.S. citizens whenever they are in captivity.”

Enclosed is a link to the Change.org petition being sent to President Obama.

An American Couple Has Been Sentenced To 20 Years In A Kuwaiti Prison. Is It Because They're Gay? | ThinkProgress