ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2012

Turkmenistan
Male/Male Illegal Female/Female Legal
Criminal Code of 1997 (Effective January 1, 1998) 218
Article 135. Sodomy
“(1) Sodomy, that is the sexual relations of the man with the man, is punished by imprisonment for the term of
up to two years.”
(Unofficial translation)
United Arab Emirates
Male/Male Illegal Female/Female Illegal
All sexual acts outside of heterosexual marriage are banned in the United Arab Emirates. 219 However, whether
sodomy is punished with death penalty remains in dispute. The Arabic text of article 354 is ambiguously
phrased and can be translated in different ways. Some sources indicate that the article punishes rape of a
woman or forced sodomy with a man, while others indicate that it punishes rape on women and sodomy
between men.
The semi-official translation used by attorneys in the Emirates states that “any individual who forcibly compels
a woman to carnal copulation or a man to sodomy” is punished by death. 220 In a German parliamentary
report the article has been translated as follows: “Irrespective of the provisions of the Act on Delinquent and
Vagrant Juveniles, any person who forcibly engages in sexual intercourse with a woman, or a homosexual
act with a homosexual, shall be punished with the death penalty. Coercion shall be recognised if the
condemned person was fourteen years of age at the time of the commission of the offence.” 221 Sofer, on the
other hand, means that the article can be translated differently; “Whoever commits rape on a female or
sodomy with a male”. 222 Amnesty International, finally, considers article 354 to apply to rape only, and not to
consensual same-sex acts. However, the organization states that the “Zina” provision according to Sharia law,
punishing sexual acts by married persons outside of marriage by death, could possible apply in the UAE,
although it is not aware of any such death sentences for consensual same-sex conduct. 223
Apart from federal law, consensual sodomy is criminalised in the emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Article 80
of the Dubai Penal Code punishes sodomy with a penalty of up to 14 years imprisonment, while article 177 of
the Abu Dhabi Penal Code punishes such acts with a penalty of up to ten years imprisonment. 224
218 Criminal Code of the Republic of Turkmenistan.
219 See United Arab Eminates section on Sexual Offences Laws, Interpol.
https://www.interpol.int/Public/Children/SexualAbuse/NationalLaws/
220 Schmitt, Arno and Sofer, Jehoeda, 1992, Sexuality and Eroticism Among Males in Moslem Societies. Binghamton:
Harrington Park Press, p. 144.
221 German Bundestag; Printed Paper 16/3597, p. 29.
http://www.volkerbeck.de/cms/files/16_3597_minor_interpellation.pdf
222 Schmitt, Arno and Sofer, Jehoeda, 1992, Sexuality and Eroticism Among Males in Moslem Societies. Binghamton:
Harrington Park Press, p. 144.
223 Love, hate and the law: decriminalizing homosexuality.
224 Schmitt, Arno and Sofer, Jehoeda, 1992, Sexuality and Eroticism Among Males in Moslem Societies. Binghamton:
Harrington Park Press, p. 145.
State-Sponsored Homophobia – May 2011
ILGA – The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association - www.ilga.org
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