Press Release:  May 27, 1993

EUROPEAN COURT RULES AGAINST
CYPRUS' ANTI-SODOMY LAW

On April 22, 1993, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that
Cyprus' anti-sodomy law violated the right to privacy guaranteed
under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.  The
case, known as Modinos v. Cyprus, marks the third instance in
which the European Court has ruled against a member states' laws
criminalizing homosexuality, following the 1981 Dudgeon v. United
Kingdom ruling (against Northern Ireland's anti-sodomy law) and
the 1988 Norris v. Ireland ruling.

Alex Modinos, President of the Homosexual Liberation Movement in
Cyprus, filed the complaint on May 25, 1989 and it was finally
heard by the court in October of 1992.  "I'm very pleased, it's a
fair decision," responded Modinos, "I now hope the government will
abolish the unjust, anti-gay legislation and that homosexuals in
Cyprus will find their rightful place in society."

The European Court ruled 8 to 1 in favor of Modinos' complaint.
The dissenting vote came from the Cypriot justice.  The majority
opinion declared, "The existence of the prohibition [against
homosexuality] continuously and directly affects the applicant's
private life.  There is thus an interference."  As the European
Convention supersedes Cypriot law, Cyprus is now obliged to amend
the applicable sections of the criminal code (Sections 171 and
173) so that homosexual relations between consenting adults in
private will no longer be considered a criminal offence.

"It is encouraging that international courts are proving to be
successful forums for challenging discriminatory laws against
sexual minorities," said Julie Dorf, Executive Director of the
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission.  "However,
the battle doesn't end with a court ruling.  Bringing about
compliance has proven to be difficult in the case of Ireland,
which is only recently moving towards repeal of their anti-gay law
after over four years."

For more information contact:  Julie Dorf, IGLHRC, tele: 415/
255-8680 or  Alex Modinos (Nicosia, Cyprus) tele: +357-2-448433,
fax: +357-2-467266