The Iraqi parliament passed a law over the weekend that outlaws homosexuality with a punishment of up to 15 years in prison. The law is an amendment to the country’s Law on Combatting Prostitution and Homosexuality and mandates a sentence of at least 10 years.
The new law also adds a sentence of seven years in prison for anyone who promotes homosexuality and a sentence of one to three years for any man who “changes his biological gender” or dresses effeminately.
The original bill included the death penalty for same-sex acts but was changed under pressure from the U.S. and E.U.
Until this bill was passed, homosexuality and transgenderism weren’t illegal in Iraq. Written into the law is its goal to “protect Iraqi society from moral depravity and the calls for homosexuality that have overtaken the world.”
According to NBC News, the U.S. State Department was a threat to human rights, would hurt the economy and would “hamper free speech and expression and inhibit the operations of NGOs across Iraq.
— David Taffet
