The German government has approved a law according to which gay and lesbians who have been discharged from the German army, who have been discriminated against because of their orientation, will be paid monetary compensation, and they will also be able to undergo rehabilitation. Deutsche Welle became aware of this.
The German Defense Ministry bill was adopted on November 25.
According to the newspaper, each victim will be paid 3,000 euros (about 269 thousand rubles). The innovation concerns not only the servicemen of the Bundeswehr (the army of the Federal Republic of Germany), but also those who were enlisted in the ranks of the National People's Army of the GDR.
About a thousand people who were once subjected to forced sexual contact in the army will rely on rehabilitation and monetary compensation, the newspaper writes with reference to the Ministry of Defense of Germany.
Formally, all sentences of the tribunal, passed under article 175 of the Criminal Code of Germany on homosexual intercourse by mutual consent, will be canceled. It is noted that the punishments were canceled back in 1994, but orders in the FRG army continued to operate until the 2000s, which deprived homosexuals of career prospects.
According to the deputy official representative of the FRG government Martina Fitz, it was previously believed that non-traditional orientations “pose a threat to the maintenance of army discipline.” “From today's perspective, this kind of discrimination is contrary to fundamental human rights,” she said.
