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Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has signed into law legislation doubling the maximum penalty for same-sex relations, making them punishable by up to 10 years in prison amid a crackdown on the country’s gay community.
The law, which was signed on Monday and appeared in the official journal that was distributed on Tuesday, passed by an overwhelming majority in the National Assembly and also includes criminal penalties for those found guilty of promoting or financing same-sex relationships.
UN rights chief Volker Turk called the law “deeply worrying” after its passage in parliament and said that it “flies in the face of the sacrosanct human rights”.
The law punishes “acts against nature”, a term used to signify same-sex relations, by five to 10 years’ imprisonment, compared with one to five years previously.
It also provides for three to seven years in prison for those found guilty of promoting or financing same-sex relationships.
According to media reports, dozens of men have been arrested under the anti-LGBTQ laws since February, when police detained 12 men, including two local celebrities, the start of a spate of detentions.
Arrests have often been based on accusations and phone searches, which are reported almost daily, with the names of those detained made public.
The new law additionally penalises anyone who accuses another of same-sex offences “without proof”.
After debating for several hours, lawmakers approved the bill by a vote of 135 in favour, zero opposed and three abstentions on March 11.
Under the law, the maximum sentence will be handed down if the act was committed with a minor.
Punishment will additionally include fines from two million to 10 million CFA francs ($3,500 to $17,600), compared to 100,000 to 1.5 million CFA francs previously.
LGBTQ rights group ILGA World had called on Faye not to sign the bill, urging him to uphold “respect for individual liberty and the human person”.
In recent years, LGBTQ issues have stirred controversy in Senegal, where gay rights advocacy is frequently denounced as a tool used by Westerners to impose foreign values.
Religious associations in the Muslim-majority west African country have staged demonstrations to demand tougher penalties.
Ousmane Sonko, before becoming Senegal’s highly influential prime minister in 2024, had promised to make same-sex relations a crime, upping the offence from its current classification as misdemeanour.
However, the new law, which Sonko himself presented to parliament, maintains the same misdemeanour status.
AFP
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