IRAQ CRIMINALISES SAME-SEX RELATIONSHIPS TO “PROTECT IRAQI SOCIETY FROM MORAL DEPRAVITY”

Sun 28 April 2024:

Iraq’s parliament passed a bill that forbids same-sex relationships and carries a possible 15-year prison penalty, citing Islamic beliefs as the motivation for the action.

A draft of the law obtained by the Reuters news agency states that its goal is to “protect Iraqi society from moral depravity and the calls for homosexuality that have overtaken the world.” The law was adopted on Saturday.

The Law 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 “biological sex change based on personal desire and inclination” a crime and punishes transgender people and doctors who perform gender-affirming surgery with up to three years in prison.

The bill had initially included the death penalty for same-sex acts but was amended before being passed after strong opposition from the United States and European nations.

Lawmaker Raed al-Maliki, who advanced the amendments, told AFP that the law “serves as a preventive measure to protect society from such acts”.

According to Our World in Data, homosexual activity is illegal in more than sixty countries, but same-sex relationships are permitted in more than 130.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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