Euro MP slams anti-lgbtq+ crackdown in Senegal

A prominent French Member of the European Parliament has voiced strong opposition to the escalating repression of LGBTQ+ individuals in Senegal, urging immediate action from Paris to safeguard those at risk.

French politician condemns Senegal’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws

Manon Aubry, a French Member of the European Parliament from La France Insoumise and leader of the European United Left–Nordic Green Left group, has sharply criticized Senegal’s legal stance toward homosexuality. In a widely shared statement on social media, she condemned what she describes as a systematic persecution of LGBTQ+ individuals, highlighting recent cases involving prosecutions for alleged “unnatural acts” and intentional HIV transmission.

“No one should be criminalized for who they love,” Aubry declared. “Senegal’s harsh anti-LGBTQ+ legislation now imposes severe penalties—up to a decade behind bars—simply for being in a same-sex relationship. This is not justice; it is state-sanctioned oppression.”

Call for international intervention and asylum support

The French politician extended her solidarity to a French national currently detained in Senegal under these charges, calling on the French government to take decisive diplomatic and humanitarian action. “The arrest of a French citizen for their sexual orientation is unacceptable,” she stated. “France must secure their immediate release and honor asylum requests from vulnerable Senegalese LGBTQ+ individuals fleeing persecution.”

Her remarks have intensified calls for European leadership in addressing human rights violations on the African continent, particularly in countries where LGBTQ+ communities face systemic discrimination and legal peril.