Ghost Empire: Cyprus

This is the first film in the Ghost Empire project series, which looks at British colonial laws dating from the 19th and early 20th century, which continue to criminalize homosexuality in over 40 countries worldwide. There have been numerous recent arrests of gay men in Northern Turkish occupied Cyprus, including even the former Finance Minister of the Republic of Cyprus, under a British colonial law which dates from 1889. The film looks at the internationally unrecognized North of Cyprus, the last divided capital of Europe and also the last place in Europe to criminalize homosexuality. Now, thanks to a case lodged in the European Court of Human Rights, the law is due to be repealed before the end of 2013.