Entry #10190: Censorship of LGBT issues in Syria

Current Version

Region	Syria
Issue	Censorship of LGBT issues
Status	State-enforced
Start Date	1949
End Date	(none)
Description	Article 208 of the Penal Code (1949) prohibits "offensive public utterances" in writing, graphics, images, and other forms of expression. Before the civil war, it was reported that films with LGBT content were censored. In June 2022, it was reported that Syria's Directorate of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection confiscated around 600 rainbow kites as their designs were similar to the pride flag and therefore "indicating homosexuality". Various articles of Law No. 93 (1958) allow the Ministry to appoint or remove board members, disallow political participation, foreign funding, and allow the registration to be rescinded at will. Further, Article 35 allows any Board decision to be suspended “if it deems it to be against the law, the public order or morals”. This legal framework appears to pose severe barriers to the formal registration and the operation of an organisation working on sexual and gender diversity issues.
Sources	https://database.ilga.org/syria-lgbti https://coar-global.org/2021/06/22/lgbtq-syria-experiences-challenges-and-priorities-for-the-aid-sector/

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Revision History (18)

Dec 23, 2024

edited by qcksws. Reverting to revision #41491: please so not change the edits unless it becomes law

Helpful?

	Old Value	New Value (Current)
Value	(REMOVED)	State-enforced
Special Status	Ambiguous	State-enforced
Start Date	Dec 8, 2024	1949
Description	Syrian law is being re-written with the new government after the Bashar Al-Assad Regime fell on December 8th, 2024.	Article 208 of the Penal Code (1949) prohibits "offensive public utterances" in writing, graphics, images, and other forms of expression. Before the civil war, it was reported that films with LGBT content were censored. In June 2022, it was reported that Syria's Directorate of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection confiscated around 600 rainbow kites as their designs were similar to the pride flag and therefore "indicating homosexuality". Various articles of Law No. 93 (1958) allow the Ministry to appoint or remove board members, disallow political participation, foreign funding, and allow the registration to be rescinded at will. Further, Article 35 allows any Board decision to be suspended “if it deems it to be against the law, the public order or morals”. This legal framework appears to pose severe barriers to the formal registration and the operation of an organisation working on sexual and gender diversity issues.
Description	Show Difference Syrian law is being re-written with the new government after the Bashar Al-Assad Regime fell on December 8th, 2024. Article 208 of the Penal Code (1949) prohibits "offensive public utterances" in writing, graphics, images, and other forms of expression. Before the civil war, it was reported that films with LGBT content were censored. In June 2022, it was reported that Syria's Directorate of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection confiscated around 600 rainbow kites as their designs were similar to the pride flag and therefore "indicating homosexuality". Various articles of Law No. 93 (1958) allow the Ministry to appoint or remove board members, disallow political participation, foreign funding, and allow the registration to be rescinded at will. Further, Article 35 allows any Board decision to be suspended “if it deems it to be against the law, the public order or morals”. This legal framework appears to pose severe barriers to the formal registration and the operation of an organisation working on sexual and gender diversity issues.
Federal Law	Yes	No
Sources	https://apnews.com/article/syria-assad-sweida-daraa-homs-hts-qatar-7f65823bbf0a7bd331109e8dff419430	https://database.ilga.org/syria-lgbti https://coar-global.org/2021/06/22/lgbtq-syria-experiences-challenges-and-priorities-for-the-aid-sector/
Sources	Show Difference https://apnews.com/article/syria-assad-sweida-daraa-homs-hts-qatar-7f65823bbf0a7bd331109e8dff419430 https://database.ilga.org/syria-lgbti https://coar-global.org/2021/06/22/lgbtq-syria-experiences-challenges-and-priorities-for-the-aid-sector/

Dec 23, 2024

edited by Syrwatch. Government change, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham hasn't expressed any opinions about this topic so far

Helpful?

	Old Value	New Value
Value	State-enforced	(REMOVED)
Special Status	State-enforced	Ambiguous
Start Date	1949	Dec 8, 2024
Description	Article 208 of the Penal Code (1949) prohibits "offensive public utterances" in writing, graphics, images, and other forms of expression. Before the civil war, it was reported that films with LGBT content were censored. In June 2022, it was reported that Syria's Directorate of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection confiscated around 600 rainbow kites as their designs were similar to the pride flag and therefore "indicating homosexuality". Various articles of Law No. 93 (1958) allow the Ministry to appoint or remove board members, disallow political participation, foreign funding, and allow the registration to be rescinded at will. Further, Article 35 allows any Board decision to be suspended “if it deems it to be against the law, the public order or morals”. This legal framework appears to pose severe barriers to the formal registration and the operation of an organisation working on sexual and gender diversity issues.	Syrian law is being re-written with the new government after the Bashar Al-Assad Regime fell on December 8th, 2024.
Description	Show Difference Article 208 of the Penal Code (1949) prohibits "offensive public utterances" in writing, graphics, images, and other forms of expression. Before the civil war, it was reported that films with LGBT content were censored. In June 2022, it was reported that Syria's Directorate of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection confiscated around 600 rainbow kites as their designs were similar to the pride flag and therefore "indicating homosexuality". Various articles of Law No. 93 (1958) allow the Ministry to appoint or remove board members, disallow political participation, foreign funding, and allow the registration to be rescinded at will. Further, Article 35 allows any Board decision to be suspended “if it deems it to be against the law, the public order or morals”. This legal framework appears to pose severe barriers to the formal registration and the operation of an organisation working on sexual and gender diversity issues. Syrian law is being re-written with the new government after the Bashar Al-Assad Regime fell on December 8th, 2024.
Federal Law	No	Yes
Sources	https://database.ilga.org/syria-lgbti https://coar-global.org/2021/06/22/lgbtq-syria-experiences-challenges-and-priorities-for-the-aid-sector/	https://apnews.com/article/syria-assad-sweida-daraa-homs-hts-qatar-7f65823bbf0a7bd331109e8dff419430
Sources	Show Difference https://database.ilga.org/syria-lgbti https://coar-global.org/2021/06/22/lgbtq-syria-experiences-challenges-and-priorities-for-the-aid-sector/ https://apnews.com/article/syria-assad-sweida-daraa-homs-hts-qatar-7f65823bbf0a7bd331109e8dff419430

Dec 23, 2024

edited by qcksws. Reverting to revision #41487: laws have not been changed, please do not change fhem

Helpful?

	Old Value	New Value
Value	(REMOVED)	State-enforced
Special Status	Ambiguous	State-enforced
Start Date	Dec 8, 2024	1949
Description	Syrian law is being re-written with the new government after the Bashar Al-Assad Regime fell on December 8th 2024	Article 208 of the Penal Code (1949) prohibits "offensive public utterances" in writing, graphics, images, and other forms of expression. Before the civil war, it was reported that films with LGBT content were censored. In June 2022, it was reported that Syria's Directorate of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection confiscated around 600 rainbow kites as their designs were similar to the pride flag and therefore "indicating homosexuality". Various articles of Law No. 93 (1958) allow the Ministry to appoint or remove board members, disallow political participation, foreign funding, and allow the registration to be rescinded at will. Further, Article 35 allows any Board decision to be suspended “if it deems it to be against the law, the public order or morals”. This legal framework appears to pose severe barriers to the formal registration and the operation of an organisation working on sexual and gender diversity issues.
Description	Show Difference Syrian law is being re-written with the new government after the Bashar Al-Assad Regime fell on December 8th 2024 Article 208 of the Penal Code (1949) prohibits "offensive public utterances" in writing, graphics, images, and other forms of expression. Before the civil war, it was reported that films with LGBT content were censored. In June 2022, it was reported that Syria's Directorate of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection confiscated around 600 rainbow kites as their designs were similar to the pride flag and therefore "indicating homosexuality". Various articles of Law No. 93 (1958) allow the Ministry to appoint or remove board members, disallow political participation, foreign funding, and allow the registration to be rescinded at will. Further, Article 35 allows any Board decision to be suspended “if it deems it to be against the law, the public order or morals”. This legal framework appears to pose severe barriers to the formal registration and the operation of an organisation working on sexual and gender diversity issues.
Federal Law	Yes	No
Sources	https://apnews.com/article/syria-assad-sweida-daraa-homs-hts-qatar-7f65823bbf0a7bd331109e8dff419430	https://database.ilga.org/syria-lgbti https://coar-global.org/2021/06/22/lgbtq-syria-experiences-challenges-and-priorities-for-the-aid-sector/
Sources	Show Difference https://apnews.com/article/syria-assad-sweida-daraa-homs-hts-qatar-7f65823bbf0a7bd331109e8dff419430 https://database.ilga.org/syria-lgbti https://coar-global.org/2021/06/22/lgbtq-syria-experiences-challenges-and-priorities-for-the-aid-sector/

Dec 22, 2024

edited by levantMENA. Government change, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham hasn't expressed any opinions about this topic so far

Helpful?

	Old Value	New Value
Value	State-enforced	(REMOVED)
Special Status	State-enforced	Ambiguous
Start Date	1949	Dec 8, 2024
Description	Syrian law is being re-written with the new government after the Bashar Al-Assad Regime fell on December 8th 2024.	Syrian law is being re-written with the new government after the Bashar Al-Assad Regime fell on December 8th 2024
Description	Show Difference Syrian law is being re-written with the new government after the Bashar Al-Assad Regime fell on December 8th 2024.

Dec 22, 2024

edited by Syrwatch. Government change, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham hasn't expressed any opinions about this topic so far

Helpful?

	Old Value	New Value
Description	Article 208 of the Penal Code (1949) prohibits "offensive public utterances" in writing, graphics, images, and other forms of expression. Before the civil war, it was reported that films with LGBT content were censored. In June 2022, it was reported that Syria's Directorate of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection confiscated around 600 rainbow kites as their designs were similar to the pride flag and therefore "indicating homosexuality". Various articles of Law No. 93 (1958) allow the Ministry to appoint or remove board members, disallow political participation, foreign funding, and allow the registration to be rescinded at will. Further, Article 35 allows any Board decision to be suspended “if it deems it to be against the law, the public order or morals”. This legal framework appears to pose severe barriers to the formal registration and the operation of an organisation working on sexual and gender diversity issues.	Syrian law is being re-written with the new government after the Bashar Al-Assad Regime fell on December 8th 2024.
Description	Show Difference Article 208 of the Penal Code (1949) prohibits "offensive public utterances" in writing, graphics, images, and other forms of expression. Before the civil war, it was reported that films with LGBT content were censored. In June 2022, it was reported that Syria's Directorate of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection confiscated around 600 rainbow kites as their designs were similar to the pride flag and therefore "indicating homosexuality". Various articles of Law No. 93 (1958) allow the Ministry to appoint or remove board members, disallow political participation, foreign funding, and allow the registration to be rescinded at will. Further, Article 35 allows any Board decision to be suspended “if it deems it to be against the law, the public order or morals”. This legal framework appears to pose severe barriers to the formal registration and the operation of an organisation working on sexual and gender diversity issues. Syrian law is being re-written with the new government after the Bashar Al-Assad Regime fell on December 8th 2024.
Federal Law	No	Yes
Sources	https://database.ilga.org/syria-lgbti https://coar-global.org/2021/06/22/lgbtq-syria-experiences-challenges-and-priorities-for-the-aid-sector/	https://apnews.com/article/syria-assad-sweida-daraa-homs-hts-qatar-7f65823bbf0a7bd331109e8dff419430
Sources	Show Difference https://database.ilga.org/syria-lgbti https://coar-global.org/2021/06/22/lgbtq-syria-experiences-challenges-and-priorities-for-the-aid-sector/ https://apnews.com/article/syria-assad-sweida-daraa-homs-hts-qatar-7f65823bbf0a7bd331109e8dff419430

Oct 15, 2023

edited by Nathan. Correction

Helpful?

	Old Value	New Value
Value	No censorship	State-enforced
Start Date	(unknown)	1949
Description	No Official censorship	Article 208 of the Penal Code (1949) prohibits "offensive public utterances" in writing, graphics, images, and other forms of expression. Before the civil war, it was reported that films with LGBT content were censored. In June 2022, it was reported that Syria's Directorate of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection confiscated around 600 rainbow kites as their designs were similar to the pride flag and therefore "indicating homosexuality". Various articles of Law No. 93 (1958) allow the Ministry to appoint or remove board members, disallow political participation, foreign funding, and allow the registration to be rescinded at will. Further, Article 35 allows any Board decision to be suspended “if it deems it to be against the law, the public order or morals”. This legal framework appears to pose severe barriers to the formal registration and the operation of an organisation working on sexual and gender diversity issues.
Description	Show Difference No Official censorship Article 208 of the Penal Code (1949) prohibits "offensive public utterances" in writing, graphics, images, and other forms of expression. Before the civil war, it was reported that films with LGBT content were censored. In June 2022, it was reported that Syria's Directorate of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection confiscated around 600 rainbow kites as their designs were similar to the pride flag and therefore "indicating homosexuality". Various articles of Law No. 93 (1958) allow the Ministry to appoint or remove board members, disallow political participation, foreign funding, and allow the registration to be rescinded at will. Further, Article 35 allows any Board decision to be suspended “if it deems it to be against the law, the public order or morals”. This legal framework appears to pose severe barriers to the formal registration and the operation of an organisation working on sexual and gender diversity issues.
Sources	https://coar-global.org/2021/06/22/lgbtq-syria-experiences-challenges-and-priorities-for-the-aid-sector/	https://database.ilga.org/syria-lgbti https://coar-global.org/2021/06/22/lgbtq-syria-experiences-challenges-and-priorities-for-the-aid-sector/
Sources	Show Difference https://coar-global.org/2021/06/22/lgbtq-syria-experiences-challenges-and-priorities-for-the-aid-sector/ https://database.ilga.org/syria-lgbti https://coar-global.org/2021/06/22/lgbtq-syria-experiences-challenges-and-priorities-for-the-aid-sector/

Oct 14, 2023

edited by Canadianstudent03. Previous status highly incorrect

Helpful?

	Old Value	New Value

Oct 14, 2023

edited by Canadianstudent03. Previous status highly incorrect

Helpful?

	Old Value	New Value
Value	(REMOVED)	No censorship
Description	Censorship of LGBT-related content is common, and there are limited spaces for public discussion or advocacy for LGBT rights. LGBT individuals often kept their identities hidden to avoid persecution or harm.	No Official censorship
Description	Show Difference Censorship of LGBT-related content is common, and there are limited spaces for public discussion or advocacy for LGBT rights. LGBT individuals often kept their identities hidden to avoid persecution or harm. No Official censorship

Sep 19, 2023

edited by GeorgieTheOrgie. Update

Helpful?

	Old Value	New Value
Value	State-enforced	(REMOVED)
Description	Censorship of LGBT-related content is common, and there are limited spaces for public discussion or advocacy for LGBT rights. LGBT individuals often kept their identities hidden to avoid persecution or harm.	Censorship of LGBT-related content is common, and there are limited spaces for public discussion or advocacy for LGBT rights. LGBT individuals often kept their identities hidden to avoid persecution or harm.
Description	Show Difference Censorship of LGBT-related content is common, and there are limited spaces for public discussion or advocacy for LGBT rights. LGBT individuals often kept their identities hidden to avoid persecution or harm. Censorship of LGBT-related content is common, and there are limited spaces for public discussion or advocacy for LGBT rights. LGBT individuals often kept their identities hidden to avoid persecution or harm.

Jul 18, 2023

edited by Canadianstudent03. As according to the current information

Helpful?

	Old Value	New Value
Value	No censorship	State-enforced
Description	No laws prohibiting LGBTQ issues	Censorship of LGBT-related content is common, and there are limited spaces for public discussion or advocacy for LGBT rights. LGBT individuals often kept their identities hidden to avoid persecution or harm.
Description	Show Difference No laws prohibiting LGBTQ issues Censorship of LGBT-related content is common, and there are limited spaces for public discussion or advocacy for LGBT rights. LGBT individuals often kept their identities hidden to avoid persecution or harm.

Jan 22, 2023

edited by GeorgieTheOrgie. Inaccurate Status

Helpful?

	Old Value	New Value
Value	Imprisonment as punishment	No censorship
Description	Assad’s authoritarian regime is one of the most restrictive globally	No laws prohibiting LGBTQ issues
Description	Show Difference Assad’s authoritarian regime is one of the most restrictive globally No laws prohibiting LGBTQ issues

Jan 18, 2023

edited by JohnQuebec98. Unfortunately, over 90% of Syria is now under Assad’s control

Helpful?

	Old Value	New Value
Value	(REMOVED)	Imprisonment as punishment
Description	There are no laws restricting the discussion or promotion of LGBTQ+ topics in Turkish and Kurdish held territories. There are laws restricting the discussion or promotion of LGBTQ+ topics in Regime, ISIS, Nusra and FSA territories.	Assad’s authoritarian regime is one of the most restrictive globally
Description	Show Difference There are no laws restricting the discussion or promotion of LGBTQ+ topics in Turkish and Kurdish held territories. There are laws restricting the discussion or promotion of LGBTQ+ topics in Regime, ISIS, Nusra and FSA territories. Assad’s authoritarian regime is one of the most restrictive globally

Jan 3, 2023

edited by GeorgieTheOrgie. Inaccurate Status

Helpful?

	Old Value	New Value
Value	No censorship	(REMOVED)
Description	There are no laws restricting the discussion or promotion of LGBTQ+ topics.	There are no laws restricting the discussion or promotion of LGBTQ+ topics in Turkish and Kurdish held territories. There are laws restricting the discussion or promotion of LGBTQ+ topics in Regime, ISIS, Nusra and FSA territories.
Description	Show Difference There are no laws restricting the discussion or promotion of LGBTQ+ topics. topics in Turkish and Kurdish held territories. There are laws restricting the discussion or promotion of LGBTQ+ topics in Regime, ISIS, Nusra and FSA territories.

Jan 3, 2023

edited by GeorgieTheOrgie. Inaccurate Status

Helpful?

	Old Value	New Value
Value	Imprisonment as punishment	No censorship
Description	There are laws restricting the discussion or promotion of LGBTQ+ topics.	There are no laws restricting the discussion or promotion of LGBTQ+ topics.
Description	Show Difference There are laws restricting the discussion or promotion of LGBTQ+ topics. no laws restricting the discussion or promotion of LGBTQ+ topics.

Dec 23, 2022

edited by Pizzaslices412653. Punishable by imprisonment

Helpful?

	Old Value	New Value
Value	(REMOVED)	Imprisonment as punishment

Dec 16, 2022

edited by GeorgieTheOrgie. Data only applies to certain territories

Helpful?

	Old Value	New Value
Value	Imprisonment as punishment	(REMOVED)

Nov 3, 2022

edited by JordanB3047

Helpful?

	Old Value (Original)	New Value
Value	No censorship	Imprisonment as punishment
Description	In Syria, there are no laws restricting the discussion or promotion of LGBTQ+ topics.	There are laws restricting the discussion or promotion of LGBTQ+ topics.
Description	Show Difference In Syria, there are no laws restricting the discussion or promotion of LGBTQ+ topics. There are laws restricting the discussion or promotion of LGBTQ+ topics.
Sources		https://coar-global.org/2021/06/22/lgbtq-syria-experiences-challenges-and-priorities-for-the-aid-sector/

Reports (1)
Other "Syrian Police will not bother to make an arrest due to corruption"
Nov 11, 2022

Jul 29, 2021

created by equaldex

Helpful?

	Original entry
Status	No censorship
Start Date	(unknown)
End Date	(none)
Description	In Syria, there are no laws restricting the discussion or promotion of LGBTQ+ topics.
Sources	(empty)

Reports (1)
Status is not correct 
Feb 25, 2022