BAGHDAD - Iraq's parliament passed a law criminalising same-sex relationships with a maximum 15-year prison sentence on Saturday (April 27), in a move it said aimed to uphold religious values but was condemned by rights advocates as the latest attack on the LGBT community in Iraq.
A general view of the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad, Iraq, on Jan 9, 2022.BAGHDAD - Iraq's parliament passed a law criminalising same-sex relationships with a maximum 15-year prison sentence on Saturday , in a move it said aimed to uphold religious values but was condemned by rights advocates as the latest attack on the LGBT community in Iraq.
It was backed mainly by conservative Shi'ite Muslim parties who form the largest coalition in mainly Muslim Iraq's parliament. It also imposes between one and three years in prison for anyone who changes their "biological gender" or wilfully dresses in an effeminate manner. Until Saturday, Iraq didn't explicitly criminalise gay sex, though loosely defined morality clauses in its penal code had been used to target LGBT people, and members of the community have also been killed by armed groups and individuals.
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