The East African nation of Sudan has removed the death penalty as a punishment for homosexuality, leaving life imprisonment as the maximum penalty for a third offense.

The Sudanese Sovereign Council also eliminated the imposition of 100 lashes as a punishment for same-sex intimacy, but left a punishment of up to five years in prison for a first offense. It established a penalty of up to seven years for a second offense.
Bedaaya, the LGBTQ+ rights advocacy organization of Egypt and Sudan, hailed the full package of reforms as “as a great step toward reforming the justice system in Sudan.”
Although Sudan’s anti-gay Article 148 is still in force, Bedaaya stated, “the queer movement in Sudan is fully aware of the importance of its continuous and dedicated work to advocate for decriminalization.”
Sudan’s repeal of the death penalty left a total of six nations with laws that allow for executions for gay sex. (See the article “6 nations have death penalty for gay sex; 4 carry it out”.)
Sudan has been in turmoil since long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir was overthrown in April 2019. The military and pro-democracy advocates have been in a power struggle over the course of a power-sharing agreement between the military and civilian groups. The regime has been under pressure from street protests demanding faster and more comprehensive reforms
The latest response to that pressure was the July 9 action by Sudan’s Sovereign Council in approving the package of reform laws, including making female genital mutilation a crime, dropping the law against turning away from Islam, and ending the death penalty for gay sex and for all convicted children and senior citizens.
Thank you for not killing us again. But it is simply stupid of Sudan to think life in prison can control homosexuality. Prison is divided by gender. Main means of sexual release in prisons and dormitories is homosexual acts.
[…] Selon le site 76 crimes, Bedaaya, l’organisation de défense des droits des personnes LGBT+ d’Égypte et du Soudan, a salué l’ensemble des réformes comme « un grand pas vers la réforme du système judiciaire au Soudan ». L’organisation souligne que l’article homophobe 148 est toujours en place mais elle écrit : « Le mouvement queer au Soudan est pleinement conscient de l’importance de son travail continu et dévoué pour plaider en faveur de la décriminalisation. » […]
[…] “un grand pas vers la réforme du système judiciaire au Soudan”, comme l’a rapporté le site 76 crimes. Si l’article homophobe 148 est toujours en vigueur, l’organisation précise tout de même que […]
[…] reforms as “a big step towards reforming the justice system in Sudan”, As reported by the site 76 crimes. If the homophobic article 148 is still in force, the organization still specifies that “the […]
[…] activistas LGTB sudaneses han expresado su satisfacción por la derogación de la pena de muerte para el delito de sodomía, al considerarlo «un gran paso hacia la reforma del sistema […]