10 Nations and the Death Penalty for being Gay
Ten nations with large Muslim populations have laws providing for the death penalty for same-sex activity. How many actually impose the death sentence is a difficult question.
According to the 2015 State-Sponsored Homophobia reportfrom ILGA, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association:
In relation to death penalty, eight States officially legislate for it, but only five (Mauritania, Sudan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Yemen) actually implement it. …Further, some provinces in Nigeria and Somalia officially implement the death penalty.
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Somali pirates |
Nigeria and Somalia bring the total to 10, as cited in this article’s introductory sentence: “Ten nations with large Muslim populations have laws providing for the death penalty for same-sex activity.” That total would be extended to 13 by adding Brunei Darussalam (law scheduled to take effect in 2016), Iraq (executions imposed despite the lack of a law allowing for them) and the Islamic State (executions imposed by an entity that acts as a nation but without international recognition as such).
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Egypt |
However, news coverage in each of those nations is unreliable at best, so specific evidence of executions for same-sex intimacy is rare. In some countries, the death penalty for homosexual behavior may only be threatened, not carried out.
In Sudan, the death penalty is in frequent use, but there are no recent reports of executions for same-sex intimacy. Sudan ranked at No. 6 worldwide in number of executions (23+) in 2014, just below the United States, with 35, according to Amnesty International.




These three men, hanged in Iran in 2014, may have been convicted
and executed for same-sex activity. (Photo courtesy of Iran Human Rights)
- Iraq has become a death trap for gay men (September 2012)
- ‘Islamic State’ has reported 15 LGBTI executions (May 2015)
In some nations, the death penalty is on the books but is not imposed. ILGA states:
Brunei Darussalam is due to activate the death penalty for same-sex sexual acts in 2016, but it seems likely that like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Qataralthough it is on the statute, it will not be implemented.
According to the U.S. Department of State, Mauritania belongs in this category too. A U.S. Department of State cable from 2009, released by WikiLeaks in 2011, indicated that Mauritania has never imposed the death penalty for homosexual activity or any other crime.
Here is a summary of all the information above in list form — a best-information-available list of 13 countries/regions where executions for homosexual activity are carried out or are provided by current or future law:
Nations with such laws on the books; no recent executions reported
Nations with such laws on the books in part of the country; executions have or may have occurred
Nations with such laws on the books; no executions reported
Nation where such a law is scheduled to take effect in 2016
Nation with no such a law on the books; executions are carried out by militias and others
Not recognized as a nation; carries out executions
- Daesh/the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL)
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