1.3.7. LGBTIQ persons

According to the article 520 of the 1949 Penal Code, ‘Unnatural Sexual Intercourse’ is a crime punishable for up to three years in prison and it is applicable to men as well as women.317At the time of drafting this report, sources indicate that it is not yet clear what the position of the new authorities on same-sex relations is.318In a meeting with journalists in December 2024, Mohamed Khaled from the HTS’ political office indicated that the treatment of LGBTIQ persons is one of the topics that will be discussed by the new government.319BBC News reported that the new authorities ‘have been implicated in violence and persecution against gay people’320and ILGA indicated that ‘consensual same-sex sexual acts continue to be criminalized’ in 2025.321

Sources have documented abuses against LGBTIQ individuals during the Syrian conflict by state322and non-state actors.323Additionally, according to Freedom House, persons suspected of same-sex relations ‘are at risk of execution in areas held by extremist groups.’324Sources indicate that homophobia is prevalent in Syrian society,325including from family members, religious groups, and society at large.326

In 2024, a Syrian transgender woman was deported from Türkiye to north-western Syria and killed by Turkish-backed armed groups in collaboration with her family.327In February 2025, sources reported on attacks targeting transgender individuals in Syria.328Videos circulating online were reportedly showing a campaign by the Syrian authorities targeting transgender individuals for arrests.329According to ‘an anonymous security source in the Damascus government’ interviewed by the Jerusalem Post, the goal of the operation was to ‘send a message to these people that they should not appear freely in the area and stop their activities in front of the people.’330According to an article by the Guardians of Equality Movement (GEM), the first Syrian LGBTIQ organisation,331since December 2025, armed groups linked to the new authorities as well as non-state actors were implicated in serious violations against LGBTIQ individuals including ‘entrapment through dating apps, home raids, abductions, arbitrary arrests, torture, humiliation, threats of physical violence and disfigurement, as well as other dangerous practices such as forced filming and public shaming.’332GEM also indicated that ‘society has become a major source of violence against LGBTQIA+ individuals’, while the authorities have not shown support for them.333