10 nations where the penalty for gay sex is death

Colin Stewart is a 45-year journalism veteran living in Southern…

This photo accompanied the Iran Human Rights report on three men who were hanged in Shiraz on Aug. 3. — These three men, hanged in Iran in 2014, may have been convicted and executed for same-sex activity. (Photo courtesy of Iran Human Rights)

Ten nations with large Muslim populations have laws providing for the death penalty for same-sex activity. How many actually impose the death sentence is a difficult question.

According to the 2015 State-Sponsored Homophobia report from ILGA, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association:

In relation to death penalty, eight States officially legislate for it, but only five (Mauritania, Sudan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Yemen) actually implement it. …

Further, some provinces in Nigeria and Somalia officially implement the death penalty.

Nigeria and Somalia bring the total to 10, as cited in this article’s introductory sentence: “Ten nations with large Muslim populations have laws providing for the death penalty for same-sex activity.” That total would be extended to 13 by adding Brunei Darussalam (law scheduled to take effect in 2016), Iraq (executions imposed despite the lack of a law allowing for them) and the Islamic State (executions imposed by an entity that acts as a nation but without international recognition as such).

However, news coverage in each of those nations is unreliable at best, so specific evidence of executions for same-sex intimacy is rare. In some countries, the death penalty for homosexual behavior may only be threatened, not carried out.

In Sudan, the death penalty is in frequent use, but there are no recent reports of executions for same-sex intimacy. Sudan ranked at No. 6 worldwide in number of executions (23+) in 2014, just below the United States, with 35, according to Amnesty International.

Similarly, Yemen is No. 7 in frequency of executions overall, but the death penalty apparently has not been imposed recently for homosexual activity. Researchers for Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board reported more than 10 years ago, “Information on whether such sentences have been carried out was not found.” More recently an article on Yemen’s gay community in The Tower magazine stated, “Traditionally, that death penalty is not enforced, but citizens have been imprisoned for their sexual orientation.”

Saudi Arabia is No. 3 among the world’s most avid executioners, with 90+ in 2014. At least in the past, beheadings were imposed for homosexual behavior, including three men in 2002. Imprisonment and lashings are a more common punishment for same-sex activity.

Iran is No. 2 in the world for frequency of executions, behind China. Those include executions for homosexual activity, although the facts are often unclear or misrepresented in such cases. (See, for example, “Bogus hanging in Iran, bogus tweets in Egypt” and “Series of public hangings in Iran, including 2 for sodomy.”)

Evidence is a bit clearer about two war-torn areas — Iraq and the territory controlled by Daesh/the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL). The ILGA report notes that “a sixth State, Iraq, although [the death penalty is] not in the civil code, clearly has judges and militias throughout the country that issue the death sentence for same-sex sexual behaviours. … We are also aware that in the Daesh(ISIS/ISIL)-held areas the death penalty is implemented (although a non-State actor, it is listed in the report). ” For examples, see:

Iraq has become a death trap for gay men (September 2012)
‘Islamic State’ has reported 15 LGBTI executions (May 2015)

In some nations, the death penalty is on the books but is not imposed. ILGA states:

Brunei Darussalam is due to activate the death penalty for same-sex sexual acts in 2016, but it seems likely that like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Qatar although it is on the statute, it will not be implemented.

According to the U.S. Department of State, Mauritania belongs in this category too. A U.S. Department of State cable from 2009, released by WikiLeaks in 2011, indicated that Mauritania has never imposed the death penalty for homosexual activity or any other crime.

Here is a summary of all the information above in list form — a best-information-available list of 13 countries/regions where executions for homosexual activity are carried out or are provided by current or future law:

Nations with such laws on the books; executions have been carried out