Proposal in Chad would make gay sex a crime
The north African country of Chad is considering adopting a new penal code that would punish homosexual activity with up to 20 years in prison, Agence France-Presse reports.
The proposed legislation was adopted by the country’s cabinet on Sept. 4, but would need parliamentary approval to become law. AFP obtained a copy of it last week.
Article 361 bis of the draft of a new penal code calls for punishments of 15 to 20 years in prison and fines of 50,000 to 500,000 CFA francs (76 to 762 euros) for same-sex activity.
The issue of homosexuality, “has never really been an issue” in Chad, according to Florent Geel, Africa director of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).
He called the proposal discriminatory, demagogic and counter-productive and urged parliament to amend the text before passing it.
According to the latest report from the ILGA (International Association of lesbians, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex), Chad has no law against homosexual activity, although the AFP article said homosexual activity is currently a misdemeanor, likely they meant it is considered a misbehaviour.
According to Radio France Internationale, “The old code was not explicit enough. This time, homosexuality is strongly repressed. Officials in Chad say that law is needed to ‘protect the family and to comply with the Chadian society.’ ”
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