A group of deputies in Senegal tabled a bill on Wednesday aimed at strengthening the repression of homosexuality in this predominantly Muslim West African country.
The bill is supported by the deputies Mamadou Lamine Diallo, Cheikh Bamba Dièye, Aliou Souaré and Moustapha Guirassy, all from the parliamentary opposition.
It aims to modify paragraph 3 of article 319 of the penal code to punish "
with a penalty of five to ten years' imprisonment and a fine of 1 million to 5 million FCFA (1,500 to 7,625 euros ) without the possibility of granting mitigating circumstances anyone who has been found guilty of acts against nature
”.
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The article that the deputies seek to modify stipulates in its current version that "
will be punished by imprisonment from one to five years and a fine of 100,000 to 1,500,000 francs (152 to 2,286 euros), whoever commits a shameless or unnatural act with an individual of his sex
”. "
The office of the National Assembly will meet soon to rule on the admissibility
" of the proposal, said MP Mamadou Lamine Diallo during a press conference Wednesday in Dakar. He specified that the collective "
And Samm Jikko
" (Together for the safeguarding of values, in Wolof) founded by the Islamic NGO Jamra, at the origin of this bill, is composed of "
Senegalese associations of all stripes who have assumed their responsibilities
”.
On May 23, several hundred demonstrators gathered in Dakar to call on the government to “
urgently
adopt
a law criminalizing homosexuality
”.