The story: A wave of outrage has been unleashed upon Iraqi Kurdistan’s Asayish security service over its crackdown on “suspected” LGBT+ individuals. The contentious arrests took place in the town of Sulaimaniyah (Sleimani) earlier this month, leading Kurdish youth and rights organizations to protest the targeting of an extremely vulnerable community in the region.

The coverage: Independent Kurdish outlet Rachlaken News on Apr. 1 published an interview it conducted with the apparent mastermind behind the operation. Pshtiwan Bahadin, who also heads Sulaimaniyah’s narcotics control directorate, said those suspected to be LGBT+ individuals “will be tried in a court of law.” However, he did not specify under what charges.

In another interview with Kurdish opposition-linked channel, NRT, Bahadin suggested that the “operation would not be limited to one night or location, but rather an ongoing operation.”

The day after, the US consulate in Erbil tweeted that it was “watching with concern the events in Sulaimani[ya].” Asayish issued a statement on the same day dubbing the arrests as “part of a crackdown on prostitution” in the town and insisting that the detentions are not targeted “against any group of people.”

On Apr. 5, Rudaw, a channel affiliated with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), interviewed a number of officials and experts on the matter. Sleman Mohsin, a senior member of the Independent Human Rights Commission in Kurdistan, said the arrests were made “on charges of homosexuality” but described them as “procedurally sufficient” given that “security forces had a court order.”

LBGT+ activist Zhiar Ali slammed Mohsin’s claims that “the 15 detainees were released," having tweeted the day before, on Apr. 4, “We have a lawyer investigating their cases and we are sure that they are still detained.”

Kurdish member of the Iraqi parliament, Shadi Nawzad, who also appeared on the same program as Mohsin, described “the arrest of people on charges that they are from the rainbow community” as a “violation of human rights.”

Indeed, in another article published on Apr. 5, Rudaw highlighted the state of terror among members of the Kurdish LGBT+ community.

The context/analysis: A wave of repression against the rainbow community has been ongoing in Sulaimaniyah for weeks now. The context is that the city was previously known as a relatively safe space for LGBT+ individuals.

The crackdown comes as shocking footage has been circulating on social media showing Asayish round-ups of young gay men or lining them up against walls with the presence of dog handlers. The Kurdish security service has also reportedly established “temporary checkpoints” in Sulaimaniyah’s Sarchnar district and “raided places frequented by LGBT+ members.”

Kurdish security officials claim the arrests are based on the Iraqi penal code, which they say applies to the Kurdistan region and allows the punishment of persons who engage in same-sex intercourse with up to 6 months in prison along with a fine.

However, the Iraqi penal code does not criminalize same-sex activities among adults. Rather, it contains other provisions, such as indecency statutes, which are often used to punish LGBT+ individuals.

In February this year, a member of the Kurdistan region’s parliament, Omar Gulpi, filed a lawsuit against the LGBT+ and women protection advocacy organization Rasan. He also published a statement on Facebook saying that homosexuality is “a violation of public rights and morals.” Of note, Gulpi is a member of the Kurdistan Justice Group, an Islamist group that was until recently known as the Kurdistan Islamic Group.

Of further note, in May 2020, the Iraqi foreign ministry along with many Iraqi political figures slammed the embassies of the European Union and Canada for “ raising the LGBTQ banner alongside the Iraqi flag” in Baghdad on the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia. The diplomatic missions were accused of offending the country's "norms and values."

The future: LGBT+ individuals are already perceived unfavorably in the pre-dominantly Muslim and conservative Kurdistan region of Iraq. The new crackdown on the rainbow community is thus not expected to draw much sympathy from the general population.

Given the discrimination faced by the LGBT+ community, periodic arrests can be expected to continue. One factor that may act as a deterrent, however, is pressure exerted on Kurdish authorities from Erbil’s international allies.