In what has been described as a huge leap forward for LGBTQ+ rights in the region, a Malaysian man has successfully won his court appeal against an Islamic gay sex ban.

The man, who has chosen to remain anonymous, was arrested in 2018 in the central Selangor state for “attempting to have “intercourse against the order of nature”. He was among 11 men arrested on suspicion of the same charge during a raid on a private residence. Five of the group since then have pleaded guilty and were sentenced to jail, caning and fines.

Same-sex acts are illegal in Malaysia, where Islamic laws applicable to Muslims run alongside Syariah laws set by individual states under a dual-track legal system. Malaysia has 13 states and the man at the centre of this case had argued that central Selangor state, where he was arrested in 2018, has no power to enforce an Islamic ban on gay sex when it is already a crime under civil laws at the national level.

In a unanimous decision, the top court ruled that the provision in Selangor was unconstitutional, and therefore the law could not be enacted.

Numan Afifi, an activist and founder of the queer rights group, Pelangi Campaign, stated, “This is historic. This is monumental for LGBT+ rights in Malaysia.” Afifi continued, “We want to live in dignity without fear of prosecution. Of course Section 377 is still there — it’s not the end but this is a beginning.”

Section 377 is a British colonial-era law that bans gay sex, men found guilty of breaking it can face up to 20 years in prison.

Human Rights Watch recently shared a report that Malaysian authorities were stepping up attacks on LGBTQ+ people, alongside the gay sex ban. In July last year, a religious affairs minister posted on social media that Federal Territory Islamic Department were given “full licence” to arrest trans people and “counsel or educate” then so they would return to the right path.