Niger criminalizes same-sex relations with jail terms

ABIDYAN, Ivory Coast — Military-run Niger has enacted a new penal code criminalising same-sex relations with heavy jail sentences, following other west African countries in adopting tough anti-LGBTQ legislation. Although a taboo subject, same-sex relations had not been a criminal offence in Muslim-majority Niger. General Abdourahamane Tiani, the head of the military government, has pushed an anti-Western agenda since seizing power in July 2023, criticising some Western values. Under Niger'