In a high-profile recent news story, a large group of online and real-world protestors succeeded in bringing a bill in Ugandan parliament to the world’s attention, and altering its course. That bill was a proposed move to impose the death penalty for homosexuality in Uganda, and the protestors collected more than 1.6 million signatures – the same number of protestors as Travbuddy has members – and gained an impressive selection of international press before the bill was eventually thrown out of parliament. I think we can all agree that this is a very good thing. Shockingly, though, there are still quite a few countries that have – and may have had for some time – death sentences in place for the ‘crime’ of having a different sexual preference to what has been deemed by the government to be the norm. Today’s blog entry has two purposes: to name and shame those countries, and to help the gay travel community identify the discriminatory high points. Of course, most of these countries would prefer to export a tourist caught for this ‘crime’ than try to execute them, due to the potential human rights own goal. Still, the status of these countries gives a good idea of the likely reception a gay traveller might receive, and, well, we should look out for more than just ourselves, right?

Iran According to the letter of the law in Iran, homosexuality is punishable by death, corporal punishment or imprisonment; though the country also outlaws any sexual activity outside of marriage, which would obviously also make homosexuality illegal . There have been no recorded cases of execution for homosexuality this century, though some pressure groups allege that homosexuals have been executed on faked, unrelated charges.

Mauritania Technically Mauritania has a single defined punishment for homosexuality: the death penalty, with no other options currently available according to the letter of the law. Like Iran, sexual relations are illegal outside of heterosexual marriage, however the death penalty is technically one that only applies under Shari’a, Muslim law, and so would not apply to non-Muslims. There is extremely little societal tolerance towards gay activity.

Saudi Arabia A range of penalties are available to Saudi Arabian courts, varying from whipping and fines all the way to the death penalty. If the death penalty is applied, it is through stoning, however the laws are quirky to say the least. For the penalty to apply, the perpetrator must either confess four times, or be witnessed in the act by four upstanding Muslim men. If there are less than four men, or one of the men proves not to be upstanding, the death penalty cannot be applied and the accusers suffer 80 lashes each. There is believed to be a fairly substantial if well-hidden underground gay community in Saudi Arabia.

Somaliland While a common punishment is expulsion from the country or prison sentences of anything up to life, Somaliland also carries the death penalty for homosexuality in some regions. Of course, as the country is barely recognized by most other nations, it’s extremely difficult to gauge the real situation.

Sudan A varied penalty system which punishes the ‘crime’ of homosexuality with anything from five years in prison to the death penalty. The death penalty applies after a third offence for men, while women receive lashes but are not subject to the death penalty. There are thought to be regular public demonstrations against homosexuality.

UAE An otherwise modern Arabic country that still leaves open the death penalty for homosexual actions, though a fine, deportation or a prison sentence are more likely punishments. In the more modern cities, such as Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the law is a little more precise, and sets the punishment for homosexuality at ten years for ‘consensual sodomy’. In a case in 2006, the government initially punished 26 young men in part with experimental hormone injections, though the punishment was later ‘reduced’ to ‘only’ a five year prison sentence.

Yemen Penalties in Yemen range from flogging to the death penalty, with cases of execution by security forces without the case progressing to court occasionally reported. Officially, the government maintains that there are no homosexuals in Yemen, though, of course, having an anti-gay law seems to contradict that quite convincingly.

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