Iraqi parliament passes controversial anti-LGBT+ amendments
Iraq’s parliament has passed a law criminalizing same-sex relationships with a maximum 15-year prison sentence under the amendments to a 1988 anti-prostitution law, which were adopted during a session attended by 170 out of 329 lawmakers.
The Parliament said the new law is a move aimed at upholding religious values but was condemned by rights advocates as the latest attack on the LGBTQ community in Iraq.
According to a copy of the law, the law adopted on Saturday aims to “protect Iraqi society from moral depravity and the calls for homosexuality that have overtaken the world.”
It was backed mainly by conservative Shia Muslim parties who form the largest coalition in Iraq’s parliament. The Law on Combating Prostitution and Homosexuality bans same-sex relations with at least 10 years and a maximum of 15 years in prison and mandates at least seven years in prison for anybody who promotes homosexuality or prostitution.
