The case of the first gay military couple in the country to come out publicly escalated over the weekend with a special report last night on primetime TV show Fantástico. Sargeant Fernando de Alcântara Figueiredo spoke to the show openly about his ten-year relationship with Sargeant Laci de Araújo, who was arrested last Tuesday for desertion, and taken to a military hospital.

Laci was interviewed over the phone for the show. Here is a brief transcript of the conversation.

Laci: I am afraid. I fear for my life. The institution has made me their number one enemy.
Reporter: Have you been threatened?
L: Many times.
R: What kind of threat?
L: I can't talk about that right now. There are people around me.

Even though the couple is certain that Laci's arrest was because of their homosexuality, the Army claims that Laci was arrested exclusively for leaving duty for eight consecutive days. When interviewed by the reporter, the prosecutor in charge of the case claimed that "the Army does not discriminate regarding sexual preference." She should have known better not to use the word preference, and that the Brazilian Army DOES actually discriminate against homosexuality. Fantástico highlighted a passage from the Army's Penal Code, written in 1969, which clearly defines homosexuality as a crime, with punishment up to a year in jail.

On the interview, Fernando said that he has been harassed by several officials, and that his goal is to leave the Army and find another job as soon as he is able to do so. Watch the interview on video (in Portuguese):

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