Tunisian protesters call for decriminalising homosexuality

About 60 protesters and LGBTQ activists demonstrated on Wednesday in Tunisia's capital Tunis demanding the decriminalisation of same-sex relations, following calls from local NGOs.

The protest came days after two people were arrested and sentenced to two years in prison on May 19 under Article 230 of the country's penal code, which also allows the authorities to conduct anal tests.

"Down with the anal test, down with colonial laws," chanted the demonstrators, who were also marking the world day against torture.

Article 230 criminalises "sodomy" and "male and female homosexuality" with punishment of up to three years in prison.

Rights groups have long called for the law to be repealed, and Tunisia committed in 2017 before the UN Human Rights Council to no longer impose the tests which the UN considers to be a form of torture.

But the legislation, which dates back to the French colonial era, has remained in force since independence in 1956.

"Members of the LGBTQ community are not second-class citizens," Badr Baabou, co-founder of rights group DAMJ, said during the protest.

The Tunisian state must "preserve the dignity and privacy" of its citizens, he added.

Tunisian President Kais Saied, who launched a sweeping power grab in 2021, said he was opposed to decriminalising homosexuality.