No crime: Top Lebanon prosecutor rules homosexuality not a crime. A top military prosecutor in Lebanon has ruled that homosexuality is not a crime, Lebanon’s Daily Star has reported.
In a landmark decision, Judge Peter Germanos on Saturday ruled against prosecuting four soldiers. The men were dismissed from their posts in a “sodomy” case.
The Daily Star reported Germanos as saying: “Sodomy is not punishable by law”.
The judge also decided not to issue arrest warrants for violating Penal Code Article 534. This states that “any sexual act contrary to nature is punishable by imprisonment of one year.”
Germanos said that a controversial article of the Lebanese penal code failed to clarify what sexual acts are “against nature”. Sodomy not punishable by law
Germanos told The Daily Star that “sodomy is not punishable by law,” as Article 534 is not explicit in terms of what kind of relationship can be considered “contrary to nature”. The paper said he also noted that the article does not distinguish between male and female.
However, people charged with homosexuality in the Middle Eastern nation have been punished under an article that outlaws “unnatural relations”. This law carries up to one year in prison.
The Star cited a judicial source as saying that he expected the military would appeal to take the case to a higher court.
An appeals court decision last year upheld a 2017 acquittal of nine people prosecuted for being gay.
Judges in civilian courts have decided not to punish people for homosexuality under Article 534. However, this is the first time such a ruling has been issued within the military judiciary, the Star quoted it source as saying.
by Admin
Source – LGBT Life
