A final court of appeals in England struck down a centuries-old gay sex ban in Trinidad and Tobago in a ruling 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.
Prior to this historic decision, Trinidad and Tobago was one of some 34 Commonwealth countries continuing to criminalise homosexuality based on colonial-era British laws.
Under these laws, consensual same-sex intimacy is punishable by imprisonment, and in some cases carries the death penalty.
LGBTQ+ people were criminals under that law, but that message ends today.
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