By Martin Hellicar
AMNESTY International yesterday called on the government to revise a recently approved bill decriminalising homosexuality, fearing that gays could still face discrimination.
“The organisation is concerned that the new legislative provisions could still result in the imprisonment of people solely for their homosexuality, including for private sexual relations between consenting adults,” the human rights group stated in a press release.
The controversial decriminalisation of sex between consenting adult males was passed last month after last-minute adjustments were made to provisions to dampen the objections of the Church and many deputies. The long-delayed bill was approved just eight days ahead of a Council of Europe (CoE) deadline for Cyprus to comply with a 1993 European Court of Human Rights ruling to decriminalise homosexual relations.
Amnesty noted that the new legislation was “clearly discriminatory as it defines the age of consent for sexual activity between males at 18, while the age of consent for heterosexual activity is 16.”
Amnesty added that restrictions on privacy applied only to sexual activity between males.
“In particular, the application of the revised article 171, which carries a sentence of up to five years imprisonment for ‘unnatural acts between males performed in public or which involve one of the persons being aged under 18’, and which includes in its definition of acts performed ‘in public’ those which take place ‘between more than two people or in the presence of a third party’, could continue to lead to the imprisonment of male adults solely for engaging in consensual homosexual relations in private,” Amnesty stated.
Another article providing for a year’s imprisonment for “indecent behaviour or invitation or provocation or advertisement aimed at performing unnatural acts between males” could also lead to discrimination, Amnesty stated. “It could lead to the imprisonment of individuals solely for having exercised their right to freedom of expression and to freedom of assembly and association,” the organisation said.
“Amnesty International urges the Cypriot authorities to amend the legislation to bring it into line with international standards,” the human rights group stated.
The organisation warned that for as long as the law remained as it stood, Amnesty would adopt as prisoners of conscience any individuals jailed “for engaging in sexual relations with one or more adults, while having taken reasonable precautions not to be seen or heard by others.”
