Dozens of people have reportedly been arrested in Niger as authorities intensify a crackdown on the LGBTQ+ community following the country’s recent criminalisation of same-sex intimacy.
The Guardian described the operation as a “witch-hunt”, reporting that up to 40 people have been arrested, including 16 men who have been imprisoned across the West African country.
A source told the newspaper: “LGBTQ+ populations are keeping a low profile and have gone into hiding because they are at risk. We have lost contact with many and the recent arrests have exacerbated tensions.”
Senior officials among those arrested
According to local media reports cited by The Guardian, several of those taken into custody are high-ranking officials.
A judicial source told Reuters that at least 16 people had been arrested after Niger introduced prison sentences and fines for same-sex sexual acts. The source said those arrested included high-ranking customs and police officials, as well as civilians.
Another source told Reuters: “The operation is ongoing.”
According to reports, the crackdown is expected to target locations where people of the same sex live together, including army barracks and college campuses.
New anti-LGBTQ+ law drives arrests
The arrests come as Niger begins enforcing recent amendments to its penal code, which introduced provisions targeting LGBTQ+ people for the first time in the country’s history.
Under the new code, anyone who “commits or attempts to commit an immodest or unnatural act or practices lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, Queer, intersex, Asexual (LGBTQIA+) acts” faces between five and ten years in prison, as well as a fine.
The code also imposes penalties on those involved in same-sex marriages, including people who officiate, witness, consent to or organise them. AP reported that Niger’s previous law did not criminalise homosexuality, though LGBTQ+ people were heavily stigmatised.
The Guardian reported that the new penal code also provides for prison terms of up to 20 years for those participating in, witnessing or organising a same-sex marriage, and for individuals or organisations involved in LGBTQ+ groups.
Human rights concerns mount
People who operate LGBTQ+ organisations also face fines and prison sentences. Reports indicate that organisations providing HIV services to men who have sex with men have been forced to stop work amid the crackdown.
Human rights organisation Front Line Defenders said the new provisions raise serious concerns because of the severity of the penalties, the vague wording of the law and the broad range of conduct it criminalises.
“The legislation interferes with fundamental rights, including the rights to privacy, equality, non-discrimination, freedom of expression, and family life,” the organisation stated.
Front Line Defenders has warned that human rights defenders working on LGBTQIA+ rights in Niger now face severe criminal liability under the new Criminal Code, including penalties for managing, operating or financing organisations supporting LGBTQIA+ communities.
Niger’s new penal code forms part of a growing wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in West Africa.
Human Dignity Trust said Niger has joined neighbouring countries under military rule, including Burkina Faso and Mali, which have also recently criminalised homosexuality.
For LGBTQ+ people in Niger, the impact has been immediate and severe: arrests, fear, disrupted health services and communities forced further underground.
Advocates warn the crackdown is not only a legal attack, but a public health and human rights crisis.
