Namibian court declares law criminalising same-sex relationships unconstitutional
- Two colonial-era laws in Namibia criminalizing same-sex acts between men were declared unconstitutional by a high court on Friday, a victory for the LGBTQ community in the country.
- The high court ruling in Windhoek invalidated laws on 'sodomy' and 'unnatural sexual offences,' praised by LGBTQ rights groups.
- The laws, dating back to 1927, were overturned by the judgement, influenced by activist Friedel Dausab with support from Human Dignity Trust.
51 Articles
51 Articles
Namibia Overturns Colonial-Era Sodomy Law in Historic LGBTQ Victory
Namibia Overturns Colonial-Era Sodomy Law in Historic LGBTQ Victory Namibia's High Court has taken a historic step by overturning a colonial-era law that criminalized gay sex between men. The decision, announced on Friday, was celebrated by LGBTQ activists across the southern African nation.The court's ruling came in response to a legal challenge filed by Friedel Dausab, a gay Namibian man. He argued that the law was a vestige of Namibia's colo…
Namibia High Court declares criminalization of sexual acts between males unconstitutional
The Namibian High Court ruled Friday that the law criminalizing “sodomy” and “unnatural sexual offences” is incompatible with the right of non-discrimination guaranteed under the Namibian constitution. In the case of Dausab v The Minister of Justice, applicant Friedel Dausab, a Namibian gay man working as an LGBTQ rights activist, stated that he endured hardship by openly living as a gay man. Thus, he decided to bring the claim in order to chall…
Namibian court overturns and declares unconstitutional a law criminalizing gay sex between men
By SONJA SMITH Associated Press WINDHOEK, Namibia (AP) — A law in Namibia criminalizing gay sex between men has been overturned and declared unconstitutional and illegal by a court, in a victory for LGBTQ campaigners in the southern African nation. Three judges in the High Court in the capital, Windhoek, said in a joint ruling Friday that the law that banned “sodomy” and “unnatural sexual offenses” and dated back to the time when Namibia was rul…
The colonial-era law criminalizing homosexual relations in Namibia has been invalidated by the High Court of this southern African country on Friday, a decision welcomed by the LGBTQ+ community facing increasing signs of intolerance for a year, according to NGOs.
African nation's high court rules law banning gay sex is 'unconstitutional'
Crowds cheering and dancing during the Namibian Pride event in 2017 (Picture: Hildegard Titus/AFP) LGBTQ+ activists in Namibia are celebrating a major win as two laws which criminalised sex between men have been deemed unconstitutional. Namibian activist Fiedel Dausab brought the landmark case because while convictions under the ‘sodomy’ and ‘unnatural sexual offences’ laws are relatively rare, they have led to gay men living in fear of arrest a…
The Namibian court decision comes in a context of growing intolerance against LGBTQ+ people in southern Africa.
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