The Supreme Court of the East African country of Mauritius decriminalized same-sex sexual relations Wednesday when it declared the country’s British colonial era anti-sodomy laws relations were unconstitutional.

The decision was handed down in a judgment in the case of Ah Seek v. State of Mauritius. In the case, activist Abdool Ridwan Firaas and the advocacy group Collectif-Arc-en-Ciel, sued the stating saying section 250(1) of the Mauritian Criminal Code 1838 which outlaws anal sex between two men violated the constitutional protections based upon a person’s sex. Collectif-Arc-en-Ciel is the largest LGBTQ+ human rights advocacy group in Mauritius. The plaintiffs were aided by the advocacy group Human Dignity Trust.

The Court agreed with the plaintiffs and found section 250(1) unconstitutional because it “criminalizes the only natural way for him [the plaintiff] and other homosexual men to have sexual intercourse whereas heterosexual men are permitted the right to have sexual intercourse in a way which is natural to them.”

The Court further specified that “consensual acts of sodomy between consenting male adults in private” should not be considered illegal.

“Receiving this judgment in my favor is an enormous relief. From today, as a citizen and a human being, I am now free to love whoever I want to without fear,” Abdool Ridwan (Ryan) Firaas Ah Seek, plaintiff and president of the Collectif Arc-en-Ciel, said in a statement after the decision was announced. “Above all, it also means that the next generations can fully and freely embrace their sexuality without fear of being arrested. This victory is undoubtedly a major step towards the full inclusion of our community in Mauritian society,”

read more: https://www.advocate.com/law/mauritius-descriminalizes-gay-sex

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