71 People to Face Trial in Senegal for Homosexual Relations
In early August 2026, a court in Senegal, a country in West Africa, ordered 71 men to face criminal trial on charges of “unnatural acts” and criminal conspiracy. The mass arrests are the result of a recent tightening of anti-homosexual legislation in the country.
Initially, 99 people were detained in this case in a suburb of Dakar. On August 7, an investigating judge dropped charges against 28 suspects due to the expiration of the statute of limitations or a lack of evidence, but the prosecutor’s office has appealed this decision. The remaining 71 defendants had initial charges of intentional HIV transmission and endangering the lives of others dropped, leaving them to stand trial on the reduced charges.
The prosecution of homosexuals in Senegal intensified after the country’s president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, signed a new law in March 2026. The document increased the maximum prison sentence for consensual same-sex contact from five to ten years and raised potential fines. In addition, the law criminalizes the “promotion of LGBT ideology” and the funding of such initiatives, providing for up to seven years in prison.
In April 2026, the first sentence was handed down under the new law: a 24-year-old man received six years in prison and a fine of about 3,300 US dollars for “acts against nature and public indecency.” Human rights organizations note that current legislative measures have led to mass arrests and made it more difficult for LGBT individuals to access medical services. According to MambaOnline , arrests of eight women in connection with the same investigation were also reported in July.
