Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people in Saudi Arabia face repression and discrimination. Both male and female same-sex behavior is punishable by death within the country. Therefore, there are no protections for LGBTQ people in Saudi Arabia.

The law of Saudi Arabia is uncodified; a Wahhabist interpretation of sharia, derived from the Quran and the Sunnah, is the basis of the law and justice system. In particular, the Quranic account of the prophet Lut and certain teachings of Muhammad in the Sunnah, inform the legal treatment of same-sex sexual activity and nonconforming-gender presentation. Homosexuality and transgender status or gender non-conformity are widely seen as immoral and indecent, and the law allows penalties for acts of homosexuality of capital punishment, prison sentences of indeterminate length (the maximum term is unknown), fines, flogging, and deportation for foreigners. During investigations and detentions, mistreatment of suspects and detainees, including beatings and torture, have occurred. Community violence against LGBTQ persons occurs.

In May 2023, the Saudi Tourism Authority website updated its FAQ page stating that all visitors, including LGBTQ visitors, were welcome to visit the country. Though homosexuality remains illegal, enforcement of the laws is not universal. The move follows a series of social and economic changes, including the abandonment of the enforcement of wearing the hijab in public, and the opening of the first public beach in Saudi Arabia where women can wear bikinis. The decision to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup within Saudi Arabia received strong criticism from the LGBTQ community.

Legality

Criminal laws

Saudi Arabia has no criminal code. The primary source of law in Saudi Arabia is the Sharia (Islamic law), which is derived from the Quran. Specifically, prohibition of same-sex sexual acts is based on the Quranic story of the prophet Lut and traditions of the teachings of Muhammad contained in the Sunnah. , or scholarly consensus on the meaning of the Quran and the Sunnah, developed after Muhammad's death. , or analogical reasoning applied to the principles of the Quran, Sunnah and is used: Judges apply their personal interpretation of sharia to any particular case (ijtihad) and are not bound by any previous decisions, sometimes resulting in divergent judgements even in apparently identical cases. In addition, royal decrees and government regulations have been issued. Reformers have often called for codified laws to be instituted, and there appears to be a trend in the country to codify, publish and even translate some Saudi criminal and civil laws. However, the traditional interpretation of Sharia is that it prohibits homosexual acts (as zina or unlawful sexual intercourse) and, specifically, or sodomy, though there is a difference of opinion on the punishment ranging from none at all (Hanafi) to the death penalty.

In 1928, the Saudi judicial board advised Islamic judges to look for guidance in two books by the Hanbalite jurist Marʿī ibn Yūsuf al-Karmī al-Maqdisī (died 1033/1624). (sodomy) is to be:

Sodomy is proven either by the perpetrator confessing four times or by the testimony of four trustworthy Muslim men, who were eyewitnesses to the act. If there are fewer than four witnesses, or if one is not upstanding, then they are all to be chastised with 80 lashes for slander. These safeguards contained in Sharia for capital crimes are not complied with, according to the ILGA. It considers that Saudi Arabia has

In the 1980s, Saudi King Khaled issued numerous royal decrees designed to secure support among religious fundamentalists in the aftermath of an uprising of religious extremists in 1979, known as the Grand Mosque seizure.

The "Rules of Apprehension, Temporary Custody & Precautionary Detention Regulation" codified the criminal code on homosexuality by listing it among the crimes that warranted arrest and detention. In addition to law enforcement, a second royal decree formally established the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (CPVPV) and gave this committee the power to arrest and detain people who violate the traditional teachings of Islam, including acts of homosexuality and cross-dressing.

Combating homosexuality remains one of the major goals of the CPVPV, along with its campaign against the consumption of alcohol and the practice of magic.

In September 2013, it was announced that all Gulf Cooperative Countries had agreed to discuss a proposal to establish some form of, yet unknown, testing in order to ban gay foreigners from entering any of the countries. However, it has been suggested that concern regarding the hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup by Qatar, and fears for the inevitable worldwide controversy if it is decided that football fans will have to be screened for homosexuality, made officials backtrack the plans and insist that it was a mere proposal.

According to a transcript published by Saudi state media in March 2022, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, stated in an interview with The Atlantic magazine that the death penalty has been abolished in the country, except for instances of murder or when an individual poses a threat to many people.

In 2019, to coincide with the introduction of tourist visas to the country, the Saudi government decreed a code to regulate the behavior of Saudi citizens and foreigners in public places. The new Public Decency Law contains nineteen regulations, violations of which are subject to fines. Proscribed practices include public displays of affection, wearing immodest clothing, using profanity, and displaying immoral advertising. Some behaviors unrelated to sexual or gender expression are also covered; for example, littering, taking photographs and videos of people without permission, and queue jumping. The authority of the religious police to intervene in such matters has been reduced, with the general police force being the "sole authority responsible for monitoring offenses and imposing fines".

Enforcement cases

In 2000, the Saudi Government reported that it had sentenced nine Saudi men to extensive prison terms with lashing for engaging in cross-dressing and homosexual relations.

In 2001, Saudi teacher and playwright Muhammad Al-Suhaimi was charged with promoting homosexuality and after a trial was sentenced to prison. In 2006, he was given a pardon and allowed to resume teaching.

In May 2005, the government arrested 92 men for homosexuality, who were given sentences ranging from fines to prison sentences of several months and lashings. Likewise, on 7 November 2005 Riyadh police raided what the Saudi press called a "beauty contest for gay men" at Al-Qatif. What became of the five men arrested for organizing the event is not known.

Persons caught living in the kingdom illegally are often accused of other crimes, involving illegal drugs, pornography, prostitution and homosexuality. Several such police crackdowns were reported in 2004–2005. A similar raid in 2008 netted Filipino workers arrested on charges of alcohol and gay prostitution. The Arab News newspaper article on the arrests stated, "Gay rights are not recognized in the Middle East countries and the publication of any material promoting them is banned".

International protests from human rights organizations prompted some Saudi officials within the Saudi Arabian embassy in Washington, D.C., to imply that their kingdom will only use the death penalty when someone has been convicted of child molestation, rape, sexual assault, murder or engaging in anything deemed to be a form of political advocacy.

In 2010, Prince Saud bin Abdulaziz bin Nasir al Saud was found guilty at the Old Bailey in London of murdering his servant Bandar Abdulaziz in their suite at the Landmark Hotel in London. During the trial, it was alleged that the prince had received a "sexual massage" before the murder, and that he and Abdulaziz had been in a sexual relationship. According to the prosecutor, the Prince sexually and physically abused his servant as well as paid other men for sexual services. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. In March 2013, he was allowed to return to Saudi Arabia to serve the remainder of his term in a Saudi prison. According to the agreement between the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia, he must serve at least 20 years before he can be released.

In 2011–2012, the Saudi newspaper Okaz announced that the government had arrested over 260 people for the crime of homosexuality over a one-year period. According to the official report, the men were caught cross-dressing, wearing ladies' makeup and trying to pick up other men.

A gay Saudi diplomat named Ali Ahmad Asseri applied for asylum in the United States after he claimed the Saudi government discovered his sexuality and also because of dissent.

In 2014, a 24-year-old Saudi Arabian man was sentenced to three years' detention and 450 lashes after a Medina court found him guilty of "promoting the vice and practice of homosexuality", after he was caught using Twitter to arrange dates with other men.

In February 2017, 35 Pakistani transgender women were arrested at a party in Riyadh. Two were allegedly forced into sacks and beaten to death with sticks by Saudi authorities. State media reported that 35 men who were dressed as women and wearing make-up were arrested, but did not report that anyone from the event was executed, nor that any of the attendees were transgender. Reports of the deaths had circulated in Pakistani media by March, but the Saudi Interior Ministry denied that anyone was executed and claimed that the reports were false. The ministry later said that a 61-year-old Pakistani from the event died while in custody after suffering from a heart attack.

In April 2019, 37 Saudi men were beheaded on after confessing to terrorism and spying on the country for Iran. One of those executed, admitted to having sexual relationships with four of the other accused men and organizing during a trial held in 2016. He also admitted to organizing violent anti-government protests. His motive was that he opposed to the Sunni Sect of Islam due to his hatred of the state and the Saudi people.

On 13 October 2019, Saudi authorities arrested a 23-year-old national, Suhail al-Jameel, for posting a picture of himself wearing short shorts at the beach. He is a gay social media personality in Saudi Arabia, who openly documented his sexuality on Snapchat and Twitter. Al-Jameel wrote on Snapchat that he was arrested on the charges of sharing nudity online. Soon after fans started using a #freesuhail hashtag on Twitter. He was released from prison in October 2022.

In July 2022, Tala Safwan, a female Egyptian influencer living in Riyadh, posted a video chatting with a female Saudi friend. Safwan invited her friend to her house, saying that “everyone will be asleep” and that “no one will hear her scream.” Many in the country interpreted this as sexual innuendo, and Safwan was subsequently arrested.

Same-sex relationships

Saudi Arabia bans same-sex marriage, domestic partnerships, and civil unions. The country neither recognizes nor performs these types of same-sex actions. The maximum punishment for same-sex behavior in Saudi Arabia is death.

Censorship

The Saudi government censors the media. Fines, imprisonment and, for foreigners, deportation are imposed on any person possessing, importing, distributing or producing media without governmental approval. Media content, including advertising, cannot be seen as insulting the royal family or conflicting with Islamic teachings and values. Anything perceived to condone homosexuality or as support for LGBTQ rights can result in prosecution.

Homosexuality and cross-dressing are dealt with in print news through news coverage of criminal matters, the HIV/AIDS pandemic or allusions to perceived Western decadence.