A Spanish court has sided with a man who was sued by his ex-wife for the supposed crime of hiding his "homosexuality" from her during their marriage.

Javier Vilalta had been divorced for almost a decade when his ex-wife sued him for compensation and annulling their marriage. Vilalta is a human rights lawyer.

The Spanish woman claimed that her former husband had concealed his sexuality before and during their three years together, The Times reported.

She also alleged that her former husband had used her "as a social refuge" to hide his homosexuality. The Spanish woman added that she would never have married Vilalta if she had known about his "true sexuality."

She decided to pursue legal action after a mutual friend told her during a dinner in 2019 that they knew Javier Vilalta had "always been homosexual" and had gay relationships. The couple amicably parted in 2009.

Last year, a lower court in Valencia, Spain sided with the Spanish woman and ruled against Vilalta. The court ordered Vilalta to pay emotional and economic damages to his ex-wife. But Vilalta has appealed against the ruling.

Javier Vilalta told The Times that he had experimented during his adolescence, and he also had many relationships with women before getting married. He noted that he was not gay at that time and only had a "brief homosexual experience."

Vilalta said he started a relationship with another man five years after divorcing his wife. He noted that he even introduced his partner to his ex-wife. However, his relationship with the Spanish woman turned in a different direction after a friend claimed he had always been gay.

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The Ruling of Valencia's High Court in Spain

This week, Valencia's high court in Spain has reversed the judge's earlier ruling against Javier Vilalta. The high court argued that it was discriminatory and infringed Vilalta's privacy. 

It added that no person should have to declare their sexual orientation in court. The Spanish man said he did not only appeal the initial ruling for himself but also for others, hoping that the judgment would bring change to Spain's "backward, conservative" laws.

Vilalta's lawyer said even if they admit that he was in a relationship with a man in the past, there is no reason why a bisexual person cannot have a happy marriage, Pink News reported.

Vilalta said the trial has been shameful, and the sentence was a slap in the face when the initial ruling ordered him to pay his ex-wife €1,000 for each year that they were married.

He was also concerned about the fact that the trial was held, and it showed that there is neither freedom nor sexual equality and that homosexuality or bisexuality could be penalized.

Countries Criminalizing Homosexuality

According to a BBC report, there are still 69 countries with laws that criminalize homosexuality, and almost half of these are in Africa.

In February, Angola's President Joao Lourenco signed a revised penal code to allow same-sex relationships and ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Mozambique and Seychelles have also removed anti-homosexuality laws in the earlier years.

In 2018, Trinidad and Tobago had ruled that laws banning gay sex were unconstitutional. However, in May 2019, the high court in Kenya had upheld laws criminalizing homosexual acts.

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This article is owned by Latin Post

 Written by: Mary Webber

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