Senegal charges 71 men in escalating anti-gay crackdown

Senegal has charged 71 men with “unnatural acts” as authorities intensify a crackdown on homosexuality following the introduction of tougher penalties for same-sex relations.

The men were brought before a court after a preliminary investigation, while prosecutors dropped charges against 28 other defendants, according to a statement issued by the public prosecutor’s office on Friday.

Senegal passed a new law in March that doubled the penalties for homosexual relations, which are now punishable by between five and 10 years in prison.

The latest prosecutions come amid a wider wave of arrests across the country. More than 100 people, including some local celebrities, have reportedly been arrested in recent months over alleged homosexual acts.

Some suspects were also investigated for allegedly endangering the lives of others and deliberately transmitting HIV/AIDS. However, prosecutors said those charges had been dismissed.

Prosecutor Saliou Dicko told AFP on Saturday that a French national, an engineer in his 30s who had been detained since February over an allegation of “unnatural acts”, had also had the charges against him dropped.

The public prosecutor’s office has appealed that decision.

The developments come amid a broader regional trend, with several West African countries recently adopting or strengthening laws criminalising same-sex relations.

Senegal’s intensified enforcement has drawn international attention as authorities pursue cases under the country’s increasingly stringent legislation.