Mali’s de facto parliament has passed a law criminalising same-sex acts in the junta-led country, the latest in Africa to adopt legislation targeting LGBTQ rights. Until now no criminal sanctions for LGBTQ relationships had been in force in Mali, a largely Muslim Sahel nation where traditional values hold sway. The bill still has to be signed off by the country’s military leaders, who took over in a coup in 2020. But from now on, “there are provisions in our laws that prohibit homosexuality in Mali,” declared Justice and Human Rights Minister Mamadou Kassogue. “Anyone who indulges in this practice, or promotes or condones it, will be prosecuted.”