Lebanon-based LGBT organization Helem launched on Monday, December 21, 2009 in Beirut a groundbreaking report on the legal situation of homosexuals in Arab countries.

Funded by the Ford Foundation, the publication, titled “Homosexual Relations in Penal Codes: General Study on Laws in Arab Countries with Reports on Lebanon and Tunisia”, is part of a series of thematic researches that address the effect of Article 534 on the political, civil, economical, social [...]

MANAMA, Oct 31 (IPS) – Transsexuals in the Gulf call Bahraini lawyer Fawziya Janahi “guardian angel”. She is the Arab world’s only female lawyer who takes up cases on behalf of clients who want to change their sex.

لا حياة لمن تنادي ولا مجيب لصرخاتنا، نحن أصحاب الجنس المغاير من ذكور وإناث أو “المتحولين”، بعد إقرار إضافة (مادة 199 مكرر) إلى مادة 198 من قانون الجزاء، وجاء في التعديل أن كل من ارتكب في علانية فعلاً فاضحاً أو تشبه في مظهره بالجنس الآخر، يُعاقب بالحبس مدة لا تجاوز سنة واحدة وبغرامة لا تجاوز ألف دينار.

On Monday, August 10, 2009, Nahwa Al Muwatiniya hosted Lawyer Nizar Saghieh for an open discussion about Article 534. You can listen to (or download) the full speech given by Mr. Saghieh here:
nizar-saghiyeh-10-Aug-09.mp3
We’re also re-posting “Notes on Article 534″ by permission from our friends at the Gay-Straight Alliance. They are not the same things the [...]