Capital punishment as a criminal punishment for homosexuality has been implemented by a number of countries in their history. It is a legal punishment in several countries and regions, all of which have Islamic-based criminal laws, except for Uganda.
Gay people also face extrajudicial killings by state and non-state actors in some regions of the world. Locations where this is known to occur include Iraq, Nigeria, Egypt, Turkmenistan, Uganda, and Chechnya.
Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality.
Notably, as of January 2025, 38 countries recognize same-sex marriage. By contrast, not counting non-state actors and extrajudicial killings, only two countries are believed to impose the death penalty on consensual same-sex sexual acts: Iran and Afghanistan. The death penalty is officially law, but generally not practiced, in Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Somalia (in the autonomous state of Jubaland) and the United Arab Emirates. LGBTQ people also face extrajudicial killings in the Russian region of Chechnya. Sudan rescinded its unenforced death penalty for anal sex (hetero- or homosexual) in 2020. Fifteen countries have stoning on the books as a penalty for adultery, which (in light of the illegality of gay marriage in those countries) would by default include gay sex, but this is enforced by the legal authorities in Iran and Nigeria (in the northern third of the country).
Laws governing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights are complex in Asia, and acceptance of LGBTQ people varies. Same-sex behavior is illegal in 21 Asian countries. The behavior is punishable by death in Afghanistan, Brunei, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Same-sex behavior is also punishable by imprisonment in 14 other Asian countries, such as Iraq, Kuwait, Malaysia, Oman and Syria. In addition, LGBT people also face extrajudicial executions from non-state actors such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. While egalitarian relationships have become more frequent in recent years, they remain rare.
Historical discrimination towards homosexuality in much of the region include the ban on homosexual acts enforced by Genghis Khan in the Mongol Empire, which made male homosexuality punishable by death. The Fatawa-e-Alamgiri of the Mughal Empire (descended from the Mongol Empire) mandated a common set of punishments for homosexuality, which could include 50 lashes for a slave, 100 for a free infidel, or death by stoning for a Muslim, whereas the Yuan Dynasty (descended from the Mongol Empire) implemented a crackdown on homosexuality in China that was continued by the Ming Dynasty.