Iraq Passes Law Punishing Homosexuality with 15 Years Imprisonment... US Calls It a "Human Rights Violation"

Iraq has passed a bill that imposes up to 15 years imprisonment for homosexuality, drawing criticism from the United States and international human rights organizations as a human rights violation.

According to foreign media including AFP on the 27th (local time), the Iraqi parliament passed a bill defining homosexuality as a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison. The law on the prevention of prostitution and homosexuality, which amended the 1988 Anti-Prostitution Law, was passed with 170 out of 329 members present, with conservative Islamic Shia parties particularly supporting the amendment.

According to the amendment, homosexuality is punishable by 10 to 15 years imprisonment, and those who incite homosexuality or prostitution face a minimum of 7 years imprisonment.

Those who change their biological sex or deliberately wear feminine clothing are also subject to 1 to 3 years imprisonment. The bill includes a background explanation stating it aims to "protect Iraqi society from moral decay and demands for homosexuality that have befallen the world."

According to major foreign media, the bill originally included the death penalty for homosexuality but was revised due to strong opposition from the United States and European countries. Until now, Iraq had provisions that loosely punished homosexuality but did not define it as illegal.

The U.S. State Department issued a statement criticizing the bill, saying it "threatens the most vulnerable people in Iraq" and "could be used to obstruct free speech and freedom of expression across Iraq and to ban non-governmental organizations (NGOs)."

Rasha Younes of the international human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) pointed out that the bill "automatically permits Iraq's horrific record of human rights abuses against sexual minorities (LGBT) and deals a serious blow to fundamental human rights."

Amnesty International researcher Rajaw Salih said, "Iraq has effectively codified discrimination and violence against members of the sexual minority community, who have gone unpunished for years, into law."

Before the amendment, public criticism against sexual minorities had intensified in Iraq. Last year, protests involving the burning of the Quran, the Islamic holy book, occurred in Sweden and Denmark, and in response, protests led by Shia clerics in Iraq involved burning rainbow flags symbolizing sexual minorities. Iraqi authorities banned the use of the term homosexuality in the media.

Worldwide, about 60 countries criminalize same-sex sexual relations, while about 130 countries have legalized them.