The Iraqi parliament approved, on Saturday, amendments to the law against prostitution, to include the criminalization of homosexual relations and transgender expressions, which from now on will carry penalties of up to 15 years in prison.
The new law has already provoked diplomatic reactions and the US State Department spokesperson said it poses a threat to those “who are most at risk in Iraqi society” and “could be used to hinder freedom of expression”.
Quoted in a statement, Matthew Miller warned that the legislation could deter foreign investment and said that “international business coalitions have already indicated that such discrimination in Iraq will harm the country’s business and economic growth”.
The British Foreign Minister, David Cameron, also spoke out, classifying the law as “dangerous and worrying”.
Despite it being a taboo in conservative Iraqi society, and several political leaders having previously launched anti-LGBTQ+ campaigns, there was no law criminalizing homosexuality in the country.
The new legislation was approved on Saturday as an amendment to the law against prostitution and imposes prison sentences of 10 to 15 years for same-sex relationships and one to three years for those who undergo sex change surgery, as well as as the doctor who performs them.
It also bans any organization that promotes “sexual deviance,” imposing a sentence of at least seven years and a fine of no less than 10 million dinars (about $7,600), and provides punishments for any man who displays “effeminate behavior.”
A previous project, which ended up not being approved, provided for the death penalty for same-sex relationships.
The Iraqi parliament justified the changes with the need to “preserve moral decency in Iraqi society from the calls for homosexuality that have invaded the world” and in view of the “absence of legislation” in the country that “dissuasively punishes homosexual acts”.
In a statement, the acting speaker of the Lower House, Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, said: the vote is “a necessary step to protect the value structure of society” and to “protect our children from calls for moral depravity and homosexuality.” .
Rasha Younes, a researcher with Human Rights Watch’s LGBT Rights Program, said the law’s passage “stamps Iraq’s appalling record of rights violations against LGBT people and is a serious blow to fundamental human rights, including the rights to freedom of expression. expression and association, privacy, equality and non-discrimination”.
A report released by the organization in 2022 accused armed groups in Iraq of kidnapping, raping, torturing and killing homosexual, bisexual and transgender people with impunity and the Iraqi government of failing to hold those responsible accountable.
