LGBTQ rights in Syria

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people in Syria face serious legal challenges which are not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Article 520 of the penal code of 1949 prohibited "carnal relations against the order of nature," and it was punishable with a prison sentence of up to three years. Beatings and torture against LGBTQ people occur frequently in Syria, including attacks by the rebel group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham and the Islamic State.

Mahmoud Hassino, a gay Syrian activist and journalist who created the online magazine Mawaleh, notes that regardless of the outcome of the civil war, work needs to be done in the area of civil rights on behalf of all Syrians, not just the LGBTQ community. Miral Bioredda, a secular leader of the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, said, "Personally I see homosexuality as a private matter. But Syrian society would say 'no way' if gays rose to claim their rights. Developing a civil society will take time." Nasradeen Ahme, a member of the Free Syrian Army which strived to topple the government of Bashar al-Assad, said "If I was in charge I would enforce tougher laws against homosexuals. If someone said homosexuals should be stoned to death as in Iran and Saudi Arabia, I would not object."