Venezuela annuls article that punished homosexual military personnel with prison sentences

Venezuela’s Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) annulled on Thursday, 16, the passage of an article of the Organic Code of Military Justice that imposed prison sentences on military personnel who engage in homosexual relations after several requests made by the country’s LGBTQIA+ population.

At the request of the people’s advocate Alfredo Ruiz, the court’s Constitutional Chamber annulled the section “for lacking clarity and legal precision with regard to the conduct that was intended to be punished,” the TSJ said in a press release.

The statement also said that the law sentenced one to three years in prison for military personnel who committed “unnatural sexual acts” without defining what was to be understood by “natural acts.”

Constitutional principles require that the description of crimes be clear and precise to avoid investigations and sanctions “outside of what the legislator intended to punish.”

“Even if sexual acts against nature were understood as those not intended for reproduction, such an interpretation, in light of current scientific, social, and legal conceptions, is not compatible with the Constitution or with international or validly signed instruments,” it added.

The TSJ added that this norm contradicts the fundamental postulate of progressivity in guaranteeing human rights.

On February 14, LGBTQIA+ activists in Venezuela demanded that the Supreme give a definitive answer to demands such as marriage equality, the recognition of gender identity, and the annulment of this article.

With information from EFE

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