By Martin Banks - 1st February 2012
I have so far taken him at his word
Marina Yannakoudakis
A fresh outbreak of arrests in northern Cyprus for "unnatural intercourse" have been condemned by UK deputy Marina Yannakoudakis.
The latest arrests took place on 29 January in the Central Prison in Nicosia, the capital.
Two male inmates, one a Nigerian citizen, were charged with sexual intercourse "against the order of nature".
It is the third time in the past eight months that arrests have been made based on Section 171 of the country's penal code.
The Greek-run part of the island is due to assume the rotating EU presidency in the second half of this year. The north and south have been divided since a bitter civil war in 1974 and only the south has, so far, been allowed to join the EU.
Yannakoudakis, a Conservative MEP, has been lobbying Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu to repeal the ban on homosexuality in the northern part of Cyprus – the last part of Europe where it is illegal to be gay.
In spite of assurances from Eroglu that he would sign a repeal of the ban into law, she said that arrests under the chapter 154, Section 171 of the penal code continue.
She said, "Eroglu has twice promised me that the northern part of Cyprus would repeal the ban on homosexuality. I have so far taken him at his word, but now he needs to back up these words with deeds."
She added, "There must be an immediate moratorium on arrests under Section 171 and the men arrested last month must be released without delay," said the MEP, who is a member of parliament's high level contact group for relations with the Turkish Cypriot community.
"Draft legislation submitted by the Communal Democratic Party must be fast-tracked through the assembly to ensure that there are no further miscarriages of justice and Eroglu must keep his promise to sign the repeal into law."
"I am also concerned about the manner in which these arrests were reported in 'Kibris', the leading Turkish-language newspaper in Cyprus.
"The newspaper released the names and even pictures of the two men concerned and reported the arrest in an extremely derogatory tone.
"It is important not only to change the laws in the north part of Cyprus, but to change attitudes to ensure that all Cypriot adults may engage in consensual sex - be it with the same or different gender - without fear of punishment or pillory."
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