(Kuala Lumpur)  Activists launched a rare legal case Tuesday aimed at fostering gay rights in Malaysia by challenging a police ban on an anti-homophobia arts festival.

The case highlights complaints about discrimination against gays at a time when international rights groups are urging authorities in Muslim-majority Malaysia to abolish laws criminalizing same-sex relations.

The acquittal this week of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on charges of sodomizing a male former aide prompted Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to criticize the Malaysian government for insisting on laws that make sodomy punishable by 20-year prison sentences.

Organizers of a “Sexual Independence” festival held annually in Malaysia since 2008 filed a petition in the High Court in hopes of overturning a ban imposed last year on the relatively low-key event, which was supposed to feature musical performances, talks on sexuality issues and a poster exhibition.

Police ordered activists to scrap the event after Muslim organizations complained it could disrupt public peace. Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin called the festival “inappropriate.”

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