Iraq jails doctor for writing gay article

Reporters Without Borders has called for the release of a doctor jailed in Iraq for writing a scientific article about homosexuality.

The media-independence group said Adel Hussein was jailed for six months on 24 November in the Kurdish city of Erbil after being found guilty of offending public decency laws.

However, new laws covering journalism that came into effect after Hussein’s arrest might secure his release.

What was the point of adopting -” and then liberalising -” a press code in the Kurdistan region if people who contribute to the news media are still being tried under more repressive laws? Reporters Without Borders said in a statement on its website.

Sexual practices are part of the individual freedoms that a democratic state is supposed to promote and protect.

Furthermore, Hussein did not defend homosexuality. He limited himself to describing a form of behaviour from a scientific viewpoint.
The offending article was published in April 2007.