Gay rights in Albania

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Albania was one of the last countries to decriminalized homosexuality in 1995. The country is dominated by strong conservative customs and any advance on gay rights will be minimal if ever.

[edit] Protection based on sexual orientation in law

In the summer of 1994 the Government of Albania put forward a draft penal code under which homosexuality would have remained illegal, but with the maximum sentence reduced to three years. A campaign by the Gay Albania Society within Albania, and international pressure orchestrated by ILGA, in which the Council of Europe played an important role, led to the withdrawal of this draft law.

On January 20, 1995 the Albanian Parliament finally legalized homosexual relations in Albania. Article 137 of the old Penal Code promulgated under the communist dictatorship, which foresaw up to ten years of prison for simply "being homosexual" has thus been done away with completely.

[edit] Recognition of same sex couples

No recognition with respect to gay marriage or civil unions is currently legal.

[edit] Gay life in the country

The country has been marred by human rights violations including that of homosexuals. For example the 'Albanian Human Rights Group', claimed that police targeted the country's homosexual community. According to the General Secretary of Gay Albania, the police often arbitrarily arrested homosexuals and then physically and verbally abused them while they were in detention. In October, the General Secretary of Gay Albania claimed that he was refused citizenship because he was homosexual [1].