Top UK appeals court overturns centuries-old Trinidad and Tobago law criminalising homosexuality

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The ruling ended a nearly 10-year battle for gay rights in the twin-island nation and cannot be appealed, in a major victory for LGBTQ+ activists. | World News

A final court of appeals in England struck down a centuries-old gay sex ban in Trinidad and Tobago in a ruling on Tuesday that activists around the world celebrated.

The ruling ended a nearly 10-year battle for gay rights in the twin-island nation and cannot be appealed.

“Those laws cannot be regarded as reasonably justifiable in a society that has a proper respect for the rights and freedom of the individual,” said Judge Philip James Sales of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

In February 2017, Jason Jones filed the case, arguing that so-called “buggery” laws dating from when Trinidad and Tobago was a British colony are unconstitutional. The laws that call for up to five years in prison have not been enforced in recent history, but critics say they still send a message.

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In an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday, Jones said he was celebrating what he called a “stunning victory.”

He described himself as “a very angry gay man” and said he used that anger to power himself through the case as it made its way through the courts for almost a decade.

“Society has treated me worse than a criminal,” he said. “There is a real sense of vindication with this judgment. Finally, the courts are seeing that they need to step up because our politicians are so toothless.”

Jones, who has been openly gay since age 16, left Trinidad and Tobago in 1996 because of what he described as homophobic violence and discrimination. He said he was a singer in church as well as an actor and a dancer.

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