A Malawian man has been gaoled for ten years by a court in England after infecting three women with HIV. Feston Konzani was convicted of grievous bodily harm, the third time in 2004 that an individual has been convicted of this offence after infecting somebody with HIV.
Passing sentence, Judge Peter Fox QC said that the sentence was intended to act as a deterrent to other HIV-positive people, who, he said, should disclose their health status and use condoms with their sexual partners. The judge also ordered that Konzani be deported to Malawi after serving his sentence.
Earlier this month the Court of Appeal overturned a guilty verdict on Mohammed Dica, the first man to be convicted of transmitting HIV in England. The appeal court ordered a retrial of Dica after it heard that the judge in the first case refused to let the jury hear arguments of consent. Dica will remain in custody until his case is retried.
Further information on this website
First English HIV transmission prosecution ruling “wrong”, retrial for Mohammed Dica - news story
AIDS Treatment Update 131 - the legal implications of the Dica case