Iraq passes bill criminalizing homosexual relations, punishable by up to 15 years in prison

Iraq:

Iraq’s parliament on Saturday passed a bill criminalizing homosexual relations, punishable by up to 15 years in prison, with human rights groups condemning it as an “attack on human rights.”

Transgender people will be sentenced to three years in prison under the amendment to a 1988 anti-prostitution law, which was adopted during a session attended by 170 out of 329 lawmakers.

A previous draft had proposed the death penalty for homosexual relations, which campaigners called an “alarming” increase.

The new amendments enable courts to sentence people involved in homosexual relationships to 10 to 15 years in prison, according to the document seen by AFP, in a country where gay and transgender people already face frequent attacks and discrimination. have to do.

They set a minimum prison sentence of seven years for “promoting” homosexual relations, and one to three years for men who “knowingly” behave like women.

The amended law criminalizes “biological sex change based on personal desire and inclination” and punishes transgender people and doctors who perform gender-affirming surgeries with up to three years in prison.

Homosexuality is taboo in Iraq’s conservative society, although there was previously no law that explicitly penalized same-sex relationships.

Members of Iraq’s LGBTQ+ community have been prosecuted for sodomy or under vague morality and anti-prostitution sections in Iraq’s penal code.

“Iraq has effectively codified into law years of discrimination and violence against members of the LGBTI community,” said Rajav Salihi, Amnesty International’s Iraq researcher.

Salihi said, “The amendments related to LGBTI rights are a violation of fundamental human rights and endanger Iraqis whose lives are already put at risk on a daily basis.”

The amendment also bans organizations that “promote” homosexuality and provides for a prison sentence of 10 to 15 years for “wife swapping”.

“This law serves as a preventive measure to protect society from such acts,” lawmaker Raed al-Maliki, who pushed for the amendments, told AFP.

He said passage of the new amendment had been postponed until Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s visit to the United States earlier this month.

The United States and the European Union oppose the law, he said, and “we did not want to impact travel.”

“This is an internal matter and we do not accept any interference in Iraqi affairs.”

According to a 2022 report by Human Rights Watch and an Iraqi NGO, LGBTQ+ Iraqis have been pushed into the shadows, often being the targets of “kidnapping, rape, torture, and killings”, but go unpunished .

Iraqi politicians and social media users have increasingly resorted to anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, creating further fear among members of the community.

Sarah Sambar, Iraq researcher at Human Rights Watch, said the new law change is “a terrible development and an attack on human rights”.

He said, “Instead of focusing on enacting laws that will benefit Iraqis – such as passing a draft domestic violence law or passing a draft child protection law – Iraq is choosing to codify discrimination against LGBT people “

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