A new Iraqi law raises controversy: 15 years in prison for homosexuals

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A new Iraqi law raises controversy: 15 years in prison for homosexuals

[size=45]Yesterday, Parliament discussed a law criminalizing same-sex relations and transgenderism with a prison sentence of up to 15 years, after the first version provided for the death penalty. While Iraq relied on the Penal Code of 1969 to criminalize the LGBT community, relying on an article that stipulates “life imprisonment or several years” on charges of homosexuality.[/size]
[size=45]In response, Amnesty International criticized the “violation of basic human rights,” considering that the amendments adopted on Saturday “pose a danger to Iraqis who are already exposed to harassment on a daily basis,” in a conservative country where sexual minorities live their lives in secret.[/size]
[size=45]This text, which represents an amendment to the Anti-Prostitution Law of 1988, was approved during a session attended by 170 deputies out of 329, according to a statement issued by the Parliament’s Information Department.[/size]
[size=45]The new provisions stipulate a prison sentence of between 10 and 15 years for same-sex relations, as well as the exchange of wives, according to the text seen by Agence France-Presse.[/size]
[size=45]The law also prohibits “the activity of any organization that promotes prostitution and homosexuality in Iraq,” and punishes it with seven years in prison for “promoting” same-sex relations.[/size]
[size=45]In addition, it is prohibited to “change a person’s biological sex based on personal desires and inclinations,” under penalty of exposing anyone other than his sex and any doctor who performed the operation to a prison sentence for a period ranging between one and three years.[/size]
[size=45]A similar penalty applies to any man who intentionally practices or promotes effeminacy.[/size]
[size=45]Iraqi society rejects homosexuality, and the few LGBT people are repeatedly subjected to “kidnapping, rape, torture, and assassinations” by armed groups with “impunity,” Human Rights Watch said in a 2022 report.[/size]
[size=45]For her part, Razao Salehi, a researcher at Amnesty International, said, “Indeed, Iraq has given a legal character to discrimination and violence directed for years against members of society with complete impunity.”[/size]
[size=45]Representative Raed al-Maliki, who proposed the amendments, acknowledged that the vote, which was scheduled to take place in mid-April, was postponed to avoid “influencing” Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa al-Sudani’s visit to Washington.[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that there is “a refusal from the European Union and the United States to legislate a law like this,” stressing that the law is “an internal matter and we do not accept that there be interference from any party.”[/size]
[size=45]He added, “The culture of (Iraqi) society rejects (homosexuality), but there is a deliberate promotion of unrecognized cultures, and therefore we fear for the future. This law comes as a matter of prevention, protecting society from such actions.”[/size]
[size=45]It is noteworthy that Iraq relied on the Penal Code of 1969 to criminalize the LGBT community, relying on an article that stipulates “life imprisonment or several years” on charges of homosexuality.[/size]
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