The High Court of Justice in Trinidad and Tobago ruled on April 12, 2018, that the country’s laws criminalizing same-sex intimacy between consenting adults are unconstitutional, Human Rights Watch said today. It is a resounding win for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) activists in the country and in particular for Jason Jones, the claimant in the case.

Section 13 of Trinidad and Tobago’s Sexual Offenses Act punishes “buggery,” or anal intercourse, punishable by sentences of up to 25 years in prison. Section 16 of the same act, on “serious indecency,” stipulates that a person who is sexually intimate with a person of the same sex without having intercourse is liable to imprisonment for up to five years.

“The High Court in Trinidad and Tobago, with this ruling, made a powerful statement that the legal sanctions on same-sex intimacy impinge on basic rights, ranging from privacy and family life to freedom of thought and expression,” said Boris Dittrich, LGBT rights advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “This is a major step forward in a region where the rights of LGBT people are restricted.” Read more via Human Rights Watch