Malaysia,” said Numan Afifi, the founder of LGBT+ rights group Pelangi Campaign, which was not involved in the lawsuit.The Muslim man in his 30s – whose name has been withheld by his lawyer to protect him – filed the lawsuit after he was arrested in the central Selangor state in 2018 for attempting gay sex, an allegation he denies.Same-sex acts are illegal in Malaysia, although convictions are rare.
The country, which has 13 states, has a dual-track legal system, with Islamic criminal and family laws applicable to Muslims running alongside civil laws.LGBT+ advocates say Islamic laws have been increasingly used to target the south-east Asian country’s gay community, with a rise in arrests and punishments ranging from caning to jailing.Numan.