Senegal brings 32 more to court in LGBTQ crackdown

Thirty-two more people arrested in Senegal’s crackdown on homosexuality have been charged and brought before a court for “unnatural acts” and “wilful transmission” of HIV, authorities announced on Friday, Punch reports.

The public prosecutor for the northern Louga region announced the charges, which come on top of 71 other people already facing trial. The latest case will be heard at a special hearing, with no date given.

Senegal, a mostly Muslim country, passed a law in March doubling sentences for same-sex relations from five to 10 years in prison. In recent months, hundreds of people, mostly men and some of them local celebrities, have been arrested. Some were accused of deliberately transmitting HIV.

The announcement came ahead of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, which run from October 31 to November 13 and will bring 2,700 young athletes to Senegal. It is the first Olympic event held in Africa.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) had called on Senegal to stop what it called “brutal repression” of LGBTQ people. It said earlier this month that the Olympic Charter bans discrimination and that all participants should have their human rights respected. It said the crackdown is violating “rights, causing increasing fear and stigma, and should be ended immediately.”

Several West African countries have recently passed laws criminalising homosexuality. Only about 20 of Africa’s 54 countries do not criminalise it.