Bhutan’s parliament adopted the Penal Code (Amendment) Bill of 2019 on Thursday, decriminalizing homosexual conduct between two consenting adults. The legislation was tabled before both houses, being the National Assembly and the National Council, in a joint sitting of the bicameral legislature this year. Section 213 of the Penal Code of Bhutan criminalized “unnatural sex,” [...]
Search Results for: sodomy
On This Coming Out Day, The Court Must Let the LGBTQ+ Community In
“Representation matters. I wore my father’s prayer hat, and stood at the steps of the Supreme Court, waving our flag.” – Ibrahim “Ibby” Baig On June 15th, 2020, Ibrahim “Ibby” Baig awaited, like many others, for a decision of paramount importance to the lives of gay Americans to come down from a court which has [...]
Hong Kong Ruling Strengthens Rights Protection on Same-Sex Relations
Nearly 120 years after Hong Kong made sodomy punishable by a possible life sentence, a recent court ruling marks a further step toward completely decriminalizing same-sex relations. In 2007, Hong Kong scrapped its British-era sodomy law. But, for over a decade, several remaining provisions in its Crime Ordinance continued to single out male same-sex relations, [...]
More than two centuries ago Mary Wollstonecraft laid the foundations for feminist thought with a simple premise: lack of equal opportunity diminished individual self-worth and hobbled social progress. In A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), Wollstonecraft made a “wild wish” for equality between the sexes. When women are treated as less than equal [...]
Amnesty: Iran execution of two financial criminals 'abhorrent'
Amnesty International on Tuesday condemned the execution of two financial criminals in Iran, calling it an “unfair TV show trial.” “Use of the death penalty is appalling under any circumstances,” said Amnesty’s Middle East and North Africa Research and Advocacy Director, Philip Luther. “ut it is even more horrific given that these men were convicted [...]
UN rights experts urge Saudi Arabia to stop executions for crimes committed as minors
UN human rights experts on Monday urged Saudi Arabia to halt its executions on offenders who were minors when they committed their crimes. “Death penalty sentences and executions for crimes committed by persons below the age of 18 at the time of the offence run contrary to international law and standards,” said the experts. “Children [...]
Former Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim received a royal pardon Wednesday and was released after serving three years of his five-year sentence. He was sentenced for sodomy in proceedings that were widely seen as politically motivated . Amnesty International had previously called Anwar’s imprisonment a human rights violation. Malaysia held elections on May 9—their first [...]
Amnesty: Malaysia imprisonment of Anwar Ibrahim symbolizes violation of human rights
According to an Amnesty International report (AI) on Friday, "the ongoing political persecution of Anwar Ibrahim is symbolic of Malaysia's crackdown on human rights." According to Josef Benedict, AI's Deputy Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, Anwar...
Malaysia court rules opposition leader can challenge rejection of royal pardon
The Malaysian court of appeal ruled Wednesday that jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim can continue challenging the rejection of his petition for a royal pardon. Anwar, the former deputy prime minister, is serving a five-year jail sentence for...
A Malaysian federal court on Wednesday rejected a final appeal by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to set aside his sodomy conviction. Anwar was convicted of sodomy in 2014 and sentenced to a five-year jail term. This...