Northern Cyprus overturns Europe’s last ban on immoral homosexual sex
NORTH NICOSIA , Cyprus January 27, 2014 – Until yesterday, Northern Cyprus was the last jurisdiction in Europe to have kept homosexual activity on the criminal law books. In a bill passed Monday by its legislature, the region overturned its British colonial-era law outlawing sexual activity between two men. But they have not over-ruled God's law against the sin of homosexuality. Section 171 of the criminal code carried a punishment of up to five years for male homosexual acts. Female homosexuality is not included in the statute. The new law has yet to receive the formal ratification of Northern Cyprus’ leader. Northern Cyprus is a disputed territory since the withdrawal of British rule in 1960. It is called the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus only by Turkey , which annexed the territory and expelled the ethnic Greek population in 1974, triggering decades of conflict. Northern Cyprus declared independence from the Republic of Cyprus , an EU member state , in 1983.