<p>Four Malaysian men have been caned for having gay sex in violation of Islamic laws, with activists on Tuesday condemning "vicious punishments" they said highlighted a crackdown on the LGBT community.</p>.<p>Rights group say there is a worsening climate for gays in the Muslim-majority country, where authorities have maintained a colonial-era ban on sodomy and mete out harsh physical punishments for same-sex relations.</p>.<p>The men, aged 26 to 37, received six strokes of the cane each in a prison outside Kuala Lumpur on Monday for attempting "intercourse against the order of nature", an offence under sharia law, Amnesty International said.</p>.<p>They admitted committing the offence in an apartment last year, with an Islamic court also fining the men and sentencing them to jail terms of up to seven months each.</p>.<p>Religious authorities found out about the private event by monitoring messages between the men, and then sent a raiding party of 50 officers to detain them, according to Amnesty.</p>.<p>A fifth man convicted with the others was not caned as he is appealing against the punishment, while a further six men arrested in the apartment raid are still facing charges, the rights group added.</p>.<p>"These vicious punishments... are the actual crimes being committed here," said Shamini Darshni Kaliemuthu, Amnesty's Malaysia executive director.</p>.<p>"Malaysia should be creating an environment in which LGBT people are free from discrimination, not ensnaring and beating innocent people."</p>.<p>Gay rights activist Numan Afifi, who has been following the case, confirmed the men were caned. AFP could not immediately contact court officials or the men's lawyers.</p>.<p>Malaysia has a dual-track legal system, with sharia courts handling some cases for Muslim citizens. Sodomy is a crime under the country's regular criminal code as well as under Islamic law.</p>.<p>Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad last year said that Malaysia could not accept LGBT rights such as same-sex marriage, dismissing them as "western" values.</p>.<p>A month before his remarks, two women were caned in a sharia court in what campaigners said was the first time the punishment had been used in Malaysia as part of a conviction for lesbian sex.</p>
<p>Four Malaysian men have been caned for having gay sex in violation of Islamic laws, with activists on Tuesday condemning "vicious punishments" they said highlighted a crackdown on the LGBT community.</p>.<p>Rights group say there is a worsening climate for gays in the Muslim-majority country, where authorities have maintained a colonial-era ban on sodomy and mete out harsh physical punishments for same-sex relations.</p>.<p>The men, aged 26 to 37, received six strokes of the cane each in a prison outside Kuala Lumpur on Monday for attempting "intercourse against the order of nature", an offence under sharia law, Amnesty International said.</p>.<p>They admitted committing the offence in an apartment last year, with an Islamic court also fining the men and sentencing them to jail terms of up to seven months each.</p>.<p>Religious authorities found out about the private event by monitoring messages between the men, and then sent a raiding party of 50 officers to detain them, according to Amnesty.</p>.<p>A fifth man convicted with the others was not caned as he is appealing against the punishment, while a further six men arrested in the apartment raid are still facing charges, the rights group added.</p>.<p>"These vicious punishments... are the actual crimes being committed here," said Shamini Darshni Kaliemuthu, Amnesty's Malaysia executive director.</p>.<p>"Malaysia should be creating an environment in which LGBT people are free from discrimination, not ensnaring and beating innocent people."</p>.<p>Gay rights activist Numan Afifi, who has been following the case, confirmed the men were caned. AFP could not immediately contact court officials or the men's lawyers.</p>.<p>Malaysia has a dual-track legal system, with sharia courts handling some cases for Muslim citizens. Sodomy is a crime under the country's regular criminal code as well as under Islamic law.</p>.<p>Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad last year said that Malaysia could not accept LGBT rights such as same-sex marriage, dismissing them as "western" values.</p>.<p>A month before his remarks, two women were caned in a sharia court in what campaigners said was the first time the punishment had been used in Malaysia as part of a conviction for lesbian sex.</p>