Iraq Criminalises Same-Sex Relationships With 15-Year Prison

On Saturday, the Iraq parliament passed a bill seeking same-sex relations punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

The bill will also sentence a transgender individuals to three years in jail under the amendments of the 1988 anti-prostitution law.

This legislation was adopted during a session attended by 170 out of 329 lawmakers.

CityMirrorNews recalls that previous draft had proposed capital punishment for same-sex relations.

But the new amendments allow the courts to sentence people to between 10 and 15 years in prison.

They also set a minimum of a seven-year prison term for “promoting” same-sex relations and a sentence ranging from one to three years for men who “intentionally” act like women.

The amended law makes “biological sex change based on personal desire and inclination” a crime and punishes trans people and doctors who perform gender reassignment surgery with up to three years in prison.