LGBTQ rights took a big leap forward in Lebanon on Thursday after a top court ruled that homosexuality is legal under the country’s criminal code.

Gay sex is punishable by up to a year in prison under Article 534 of the Lebanese Penal Code. A holdover from French occupation, the colonial-era law claims that same-sex relationships “contradict the laws of nature.” Although defenders claim it is rarely enforced, nine people challenged the law in court after being targeted under the law.

In last week’s ruling, the Penal Appeal Court in Mount Lebanon claimed authorities “had not intended to criminalize homosexuality but rather offense to public morals.”

The appeals court decision served to uphold a lower court ruling dismissing charges against the petitioners. Last January, Metn Judge Rabih Maalouf claimed that queer and trans people are guaranteed “a practice of their fundamental rights” under Article 183, which states that actions “undertaken in exercise of a right without abuse shall not be regarded as an offense.”

Three other Lebanon courts have ruled in favor of LGBTQ rights in recent years.

Back in 2011, Judge Mounir Soliman paved the way for the appeals court’s decision by ruling that gay sex should not be considered “unnatural” under the vaguely worded penal code. Five years later, Jdeide Court Judge Naji El Dahdah tossed out charges against a transgender woman prosecuted for having sex with a man.

A legal shift in how the Lebanon court system regards LGBTQ rights could have a huge impact on the country’s queer and trans population, who have long been persecuted via Article 534. Police frequently use the law as a pretext to search the phones of gay men, looking for incriminating texts and photos or the presence of hookup apps.Read more via INTO