OutNews Global is supporting Jason Jones, a “Tringlish” LGBT rights defender taking his home country’s government to court in historic attempt to overturn outdated laws
A message from Jason Jones:
“In my home country of Trinidad and Tobago, I can be arrested and imprisoned for up to 25 years for having consensual sex with my male partner.
“Any sexual intimacy between couples of the same sex is a crime (including sex between women). My government calls these acts “serious indecency”. They can imprison us for up to 25 years for penetrative sex and for 5 years for any other act of sexual intimacy.
“There are around 100,000 LGBT people on my islands, many living a hidden and fearful life. Gay and bi men, lesbian and bi women, trans people, all live with the threat of this criminal law hanging over them.
“We inherited these laws from Britain (did you know that 74 million LGBT people in the Commonwealth are criminalised?) but my own Government extended the law from only gay men to lesbians after we gained our independence. This is Trinidad and Tobago in the year 2017. An oil-rich, tropical, Caribbean paradise?
To pledge your support to Jason Jones click here
The brave @trinijayjay is taking the government of Trinidad and Tobago to court to overturn their outdated and cruel laws against gays. Read his story here https://t.co/ZlWQcxEFGR and please do donate to his crowfund to fight the case here https://t.co/e5nH9rQawn
— Stephen Fry (@stephenfry) December 12, 2017
“My name is Jason Jones. I am a human rights defender challenging my Government in the High Court to change this situation. I am asking the Court to declare that these laws are unconstitutional! That they violate my human rights, and encourage homophobia and hatred from my fellow citizens against the LGBT community, and therefore they MUST be removed!
“My Government is defending this case, saying that these laws must stay in place! Since filing my legal challenge in February of this year, I have received over 5 dozen death threats, and hundreds of messages of hate on my social media pages. I live in fear for my safety and have become completely isolated from friends and family because I don’t want anything to happen to them back home.
“Over the last two years, I have planned my case with a brilliant legal team made up of lawyers from both Trinidad and Britain. They have worked for free, giving me hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of free work! I am so very grateful to them all!
“My day in Court is nearly here. Now, I need YOUR help”
To pledge your support to Jason Jones click here
