Amnesty International called today on all deputies of the Cyprus House of Representatives to support abolition of the law which prohibits sex between consenting male adults in private.
In 1993 the European Court of Human Rights held that the law constituted a violation of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, to which Cyprus is a state party. Article 8 provides that everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life.
Although there have been no recent prosecutions of homosexuals under the law, the European Court took the view that there was no guarantee that action would not be taken by a future Attorney-General to enforce the law. To date no steps have been taken to remove or amend the law in order to comply with the court's ruling.
Amnesty International would regard anyone imprisoned solely for sex between consenting adults in private as a prisoner of conscience.