Senegal court jails man for six years in first conviction under new anti-LGBTQ+ law

A court in Senegal has issued the first conviction under the country’s newly toughened anti-LGBTQ+ law.

A 24-year-old man was sentenced on Friday (10 April) to six years in prison and fined 2 million CFA francs (around $3,300) after being found guilty of “acts against nature and public indecency” in Pikine-Guédiawaye, a suburb of Dakar. He had been arrested earlier this month.

The ruling follows recent changes to legislation signed into law by president Bassirou Diomaye Faye after approval by the National Assembly. The updated framework increases the maximum penalty for same-sex acts from five to 10 years in prison. It also introduces sentences of between three and seven years for what the law defines as the “promotion” or “financing” of homosexuality.

UN rights chief Volker Turk called the new law “deeply worrying”

Same-sex sexual activity had already been criminalised in Senegal prior to the amendment, under provisions commonly described as “acts against nature”.

The country has seen repeated arrests of individuals accused of same-sex relations in recent years. Those detained have also faced public exposure and, in some cases, violence from members of the public.

UN rights chief Volker Turk called the new law “deeply worrying” and said that it “flies in the face of sacrosanct human rights”.

Ghana is planning to re-introduce an anti-homosexual bill

LGBTQ rights group ILGA World had called on Faye not to sign the bill and to uphold “respect for individual liberty and the human person”.

As well as increasing prison sentences, the law allows for fines of up to 10 million CFA francs – around £13,000 – upholding Faye’s promise in 2024 to criminalise homosexuality.

Several other African countries have also introduced tough new laws targeting the community in recent years. Ghana is planning to re-introduce an anti-homosexual bill that activists say threatens basic human rights.