A case where a 22-year-old student was sentenced to a year’s jail after his same-sex relationship was uncovered as part of a murder investigation has prompted Tunisian Justice Minister Mohamed Salah Ben Aissa to comment on the future of the country’s anti-sodomy law.

The student was arrested after his number was found on the body of a man he had been sleeping with. He denied any involvement in the killing but confessed his relationship with the deceased. Authorities believed his story after subjecting him to a medical examination but handed him over to prosecutors as a result of his confession.

The case provoked outcry by human rights groups both inside and outside Tunisia. Reacting on a non-state owned radio station, Justice Minister Mohamed Salah Ben Aissa addressed the issue, saying he was personally in favor of scrapping the law: ‘My problem is Article 230 … Nothing can justify infringement on private life.’ Read More via TVC News