ASTANA (Reuters) -The lower house of Kazakhstan’s parliament passed a law on Wednesday banning “LGBT propaganda” online or in the media, mandating fines for violators and up to 10 days in jail for repeat offenders.

The legislation resembles laws passed in countries including Russia, Georgia and Hungary. It will now be sent to the Kazakh senate, where it is likely to pass.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, whose signature is necessary for the bill to become law, has in recent months repeatedly stressed the need to uphold what he calls “traditional values”.

Lawmakers in parliament, which is controlled by parties loyal to Tokayev, voted unanimously in favour of the ban.

Rights groups had warned against passing the bill. The Belgium-based International Partnership for Human Rights sa

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