NorthEastern country, Sudan, is one of the African countries popular for its notorious and extreme punishments for homosexuality. According to the Sodomy Article 148 of the Penal Code 1991, gay sex is punishable by flogging and death.
That law, however, has now been changed.
According to LGBT+ rights organisation, Bedayaa, the country has revisited the laws that recommended the death penalty and floggings as punishment for gay sex. “On July 9, 2020, the Sudan’s Sovereign Council approved new laws, and passed a package of amendments to the existing ones; these amendments are to reform the justice system in Sudan,” the statement from Bedayaa read.
Based on the new reformation of the justice system, Sudan will be removing “with shipping a hundred lashes” and “Death” from her penal code and instead replace it with imprisonment of jail time of not more than seven years.
“Although Article 148 is still active, the queer movement in Sudan is fully aware of the importance of its continues and dedicated work to advocate for decriminalization. Bedayaa Organization considers passing these laws and amendments as a great step toward reforming the justice system in Sudan; this would pave the path for new amendments for change. As ‘Freedom, Peace and Justice’ was and will remain the slogan of the Sudan Revolution, justice will not exist without institutions that apply the role of law on the basis of freedom and equality,” the statement from Bedayaa added.
