A Lebanese Judge Issues Verdict Against the Prosecution of LGBTQ People

A Lebanese judge overseeing a case prosecuting homosexuality issued a ruling on Thursday stopping the prosecution of LGBTQ individuals in Lebanon, stating that the Lebanese penal code doesn't outlaw homosexual acts.

The  Lebanese criminal law doesn't explicitly criminalise homosexuality, however, Article 534  of the penal code is often used to prosecute LGBTQ people on the basis of homosexual relationships being 'unnatural', a perspective which the judge's ruling nullified.

The verdict relied in part on a previous ruling by Judge Mounir Suleiman that consensual homosexual relations aren't unnatural, and therefore could not be prosecuted under Article 534, the Daily Star reports.

The importance of the aforementioned ruling lies in the judge's consideration of "homosexual acts as an exercise of fundamental rights," Al Mufakera El Qanunyia reports.

Lebanon has a reputation of being ahead of other Arab countries in terms of civil liberties and human rights. In Egypt, LGBTQ people are still under the risk of prosecution despite the fact that the Egyptian penal code doesn't outlaw homosexual relations.

Photo by Pink News