Military-run Niger has enacted a new penal code criminalising for the first time same-sex relations, with heavy sentences of up to 20 years in prison, a legal source said Thursday quoting the official gazette.

Under the new law, same-sex relations will be punishable by a jail term of between five and 10 years and a fine.

La junte militaire au pouvoir a promulgué ce jeudi un nouveau code pénal visant les personnes LGBT+. Ce durcissement s'inscrit dans un mouvement de répression régional