Passage of harsh anti-LGBTQ+ law in Iraq draws diplomatic backlash

By ABDULRAHMAN ZEYAD and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA
Associated Press

BAGHDAD (AP) — Human rights groups and diplomat have criticized a law that was quietly passed by the Iraqi parliament over the weekend that would impose heavy prison sentences on gay and transgender people. Although homosexuality is taboo in the largely conservative Iraqi society and political leaders have periodically launched anti-LGBTQ campaigns, Iraq did not previously have a law that explicitly criminalized it. The law passed Saturday with little notice as an amendment to the country’s existing anti-prostitution law, imposes a sentence of 10 to 15 years for same-sex relations and a prison term of one to three years for people who undergo or perform gender-transition surgeries and for “intentional practice of effeminacy.”