Gay irak

Iraq criminalises same-sex relationships in new law

Kathryn Armstrong

BBC News

Getty Images

Iraq's parliament has passed a bill criminalising lgbtq+ relationships with jail terms of between 10 and 15 years.

Transgender people could also be sent to prison for between one and three years under the new law.

Supporters of the changes tell they will help to uphold religious values in the country.

Rights groups say they are a further black mark on Iraq's record of violations against LGBT people.

Those who promote homosexuality or prostitution, doctors who carry out gender reassignment surgery, men who "intentionally" act prefer women and those who engage in "wife swapping" will also face prison terms under the modern legislation.

A previous draft of the bill - an amendment to an anti-prostitution law that was passed in the belated s - had proposed capital punishment for homosexual relationships.

However, this was amended after facing opposition from the US and other Western countries.

MP Amir al-Maamouri told Shafaq News on Saturday that the new law was "a significant step in combating sexual deviancy given the infiltratio

Iraq criminalises same-sex relationships with maximum 15 years in prison

Iraq’s parliament has passed a law criminalising lgbtq+ relationships with a maximum year prison sentence, in a move it said aimed to uphold religious values, but was condemned by rights advocates as the latest attack on the LGBTQ community in Iraq.

The law adopted on Saturday aims to “protect Iraqi society from moral depravity and the calls for homosexuality that have overtaken the world,” according to a copy of the law seen by the Reuters news agency.

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It was backed mainly by conservative Shia Muslim parties who form the largest coalition in Iraq’s parliament.

The Rule on Combating Prostitution and Homosexuality bans same-sex relations with at least 10 years and a maximum of 15 years in prison, and mandates at least seven years in prison for anybody who promotes homosexuality or prostitution.

The amended law makes “b

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Last updated: 21 January

Types of criminalisation

Criminalises LGBT people
Criminalises sexual activity between males
Criminalises sexual activity between females

Summary

Same-sex sexual activity is explicitly prohibited in Iraq, since the Iraqi Parliament passed an amendment to a anti-prostitution law in April Before this law was passed, certain offences in the Penal Code , such as those criminalising ‘immodest acts’ and ‘prostitution’, as well as Sharia commandment, were used to criminalise LGBT people. Both men and women are criminalised under the new regulation. Transgender people are also explicitly criminalised.

There is some evidence of the Penal Code being enforced in recent years, with LGBT people being occasionally subject to arrest. During ISIS’ control of Iraq, there were reports of the death penalty being imposed against LGBT people under a strict interpretation of Sharia law. There include been consistent reports of discrimination and violence creature committed against LGBT people in recent years, including frequent murders,

Iraqi LGBTQ+ community loses social media safe space

Social media has always been one of the only places where members of the LGBTQ+ community in Iraq could meet and be more open about their sexual identity.

"Before Instagram, members of the community created counterfeit Facebook accounts and united secret groups to obtain to know one another," Khalid, a year-old scholar in the central Iraqi province of Babylon, told DW. He couldn't give his full name, because doing so would expose him to danger. "Then with Instagram's 'close friends' story main attraction [launched in ], it became even easier for people to connect, and even to find love."

The country's conservative culture means most queer locals include always hidden their sexuality. Surveys of attitudes toward homosexuality in Middle Eastern countries indicate that usually less than 10% of local populations "approve" of homosexuality.

"Social media has been the main platform of expression of any kind here, especially for those who execute not have their possess spaces," explained Ayaz Shalal Kado, executive director of the Iraqi human rights organization IraQueer. "That includes vulnerable groups, such as the Diverse