Senegal Enacts Law Doubling Prison Terms for Same‑Sex Relations

Overview

• President Bassirou Diomaye Faye signed the measure and it appeared in the official gazette despite appeals from the United Nations and Human Rights Watch.
• The law raises prison terms for same‑sex relations to five to ten years and lifts fines to as much as 10 million CFA francs.
• It broadens offenses by punishing the “promotion,” “financing,” or “apologia” of homosexuality and by penalizing false accusations.
• The Assemblée Nationale passed the bill 135–0 with three abstentions after Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko introduced it as a campaign pledge.
• Reports describe intensified policing and at least a dozen arrests of suspected gay people, which rights groups say is fueling fear in LGBTQ+ communities.