Homosexuality is still illegal in Yemen in accordance to the country's Shari'ah legal system. Punishment ranges from flogging to death. Yemen is one of only seven countries to apply a death penalty for consensual sexual acts between adults of the same sex. As of 2007, there was no public or semi-public space for gays as in other countries. The official position is that there are no gays in Yemen, yet Yemeni law that stipulates severe punishment for homosexual activity acknowledges its existence.