Niger’s military junta announced a new penal code that criminalizes homosexuality, an adviser to the justice minister said Friday.
The West African nation is the latest to criminalize homosexuality, following similar measures earlier this year in Senegal.
The new penal code punishes anyone who “commits or attempts to commit an immodest or unnatural act or practices lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-gender, Queer, intersex, Asexual (LGBTQIA+) acts” with between five and 10 years in prison and a fine, according to the text of the new penal code.
Laws prohibiting homosexuality are common across Africa: more than 30 of the 54 countries criminalize same-sex sexual acts. Niger has joined countries like Senegal, Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania, where penalties can include 10 or more years of imprisonment. In Somalia, Uganda and Mauritania, the offense can carry the death penalty.
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