Those convicted of engaging in same-sex relations in Iraq will face a 15-year jail sentence. This decision was made by the parliament on Saturday, with 179 out of 329 lawmakers in attendance.
The law also stipulates that transgender individuals will be subject to a three-year jail term under amendments to a 1988 anti-prostitution law. Speaking in an interview, lawmaker Raed al-Maliki, who proposed the amendments, stated that the law serves as a preventive measure to safeguard society from such acts or beliefs.
Al-Maliki mentioned that the passage of the amendment was delayed until after Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani’s visit to the United States earlier this month.
He asserted that while the United States and the European Union have opposed their law, Iraq will not tolerate any interference in its affairs.
In Iraq, there is also a minimum seven-year jail sentence for individuals found guilty of promoting same-sex relations and a one to three-year jail term for men who intentionally present themselves as women.
Some civil rights groups have denounced the latest development as an assault on human rights. The previous draft, which proposed capital punishment, was described as a dangerous escalation.
The law also criminalises “biological sex change based on personal desire and inclination,” with both transgender individuals and doctors who perform gender-affirming surgery facing up to three years in prison.
“Iraq has effectively codified in law the discrimination and violence members of the LGBTI community have been subjected to with absolute impunity for years.
“The amendments concerning LGBTI rights are a violation of fundamental human rights and put at risk Iraqis whose lives are already hounded daily,” said Amnesty International’s Iraq researcher Razaw Salihy.
According to Sarah Sanbar, Iraq researcher for Human Rights Watch, the new law is a terrible development and an attack on human rights.