US EditionSenegal Has First Conviction Under Law Toughening Punishment for Homosexual Acts
The law raises prison terms to 5 to 10 years and also targets the “promotion” or “financing” of homosexuality, officials said.
- On Friday, a court in the Dakar suburb of Pikine-Guédiawaye sentenced a 24-year-old laborer to six years in prison and fined him 2 million CFA for "acts against nature and public indecency."
- Senegal's new law increases prison sentences for homosexual acts to between five and 10 years while also punishing what the government calls the "promotion" or "financing" of homosexuality.
- More than 30 of Africa's 54 countries currently criminalize homosexual acts, with Somalia, Uganda, and Mauritania potentially imposing the death penalty for such offenses.
- Human Rights Watch researcher Larissa Kojoué told The Associated Press on Monday the law has created a climate of "constant fear," with arrests becoming "more aggressive" due to state backing.
- Senegal, a largely Muslim nation, is the latest country to impose harsher penalties against the LGBTQ community, signaling a broader effort to crack down on groups supporting sexual and gender minorities.
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According to the court, the man is guilty of "unnatural acts and public indecency." According to human rights organizations, a climate of constant fear has emerged in the country.
Since March, Senegal has been threatening significantly longer prison terms for same-sex relations. A 24-year-old has now become the first victim of the amendment.
Senegal Enforces Stricter Penalties on Homosexuality
Senegal has delivered its first conviction with harsher penalties under a new law that ramps up punishment for homosexuality. A 24-year-old man received a six-year sentence and a fine for acts of public indecency, reflecting the broader African trend toward increased penalties for LGBTQ+ activities.
In Senegal, on Friday, 10 April, a 24-year-old man was sentenced to six years in prison and two million CFA francs were fined by the court in Pikine-Guédiawaye, in the suburbs of Dakar. This is the first application of a text promulgated last month that doubles the penalties, now increased to a maximum of ten years. Since February, some 60 people have been arrested.
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