Iraq’s parliament has passed a bill making same-sex relations punishable by up to 15 years in prison[…]
Transgender people will also be sentenced to three years in jail under the amendments to a 1988 anti-prostitution law, which were adopted during a session attended by 170 out of 329 lawmakers on Saturday
A previous draft had proposed capital punishment for same-sex relations, in what campaigners had called a “dangerous” escalation. The new amendments enable courts to sentence people to between 10 and 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
They also set a minimum seven-year prison term for “promoting” same-sex relations and a sentence ranging from one to three years for men who “intentionally” act like women
The amended law makes “biological sex change based on personal desire and inclination” a crime and punishes trans people and doctors who perform gender reassignment surgery with up to three years in prison[…]
The amendments also ban organisations that “promote” homosexuality and punish “wife swapping” with a prison sentence of 10 to 15 years
Lawmaker Raed al-Maliki, who advanced the amendments, told AFP that “the law serves as a preventive measure to protect society from such acts”
He said passing the new amendment had been postponed until after the visit of the Iraqi prime minister, Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, to the US[…]
The US and the EU oppose the law and “we didn’t want to impact the visit,” he said
“It is an internal matter and we do not accept any interference in Iraqi affairs”[…]
Human Rights Watch’s Iraq researcher Sarah Sanbar said the new law change “is a horrific development and an attack on human rights”
“Rather than focusing on enacting laws that would benefit Iraqis – like passing the draft domestic violence law or draft child protection law – Iraq is choosing to codify discrimination against LGBT people”