PETALING JAYA: The European Union has called for the five Malaysian men who were sentenced by the Syariah Court to jail and caning for attempting to have same-sex relations to be released immediately.

The European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy spokesman Maja Kocijancic said the human rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons are protected under existing international human rights law and relevant international conventions.

"The principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights applies to all human beings without distinction of any kind," she said in a statement Monday (Nov 11).

On Nov 7, AFP reported that the Selangor Syariah Court sentenced four of the men to six months in jail and six strokes of the cane as well as fines of RM4,800.

Another man was sentenced to seven months' jail, six strokes of the cane and a RM4,900 fine.

The group were said to have been caught in an apartment outside Kuala Lumpur in November last year.

They were reportedly convicted of attempting to have intercourse against the order of nature, a crime under Islamic laws.

Kocijancic said that caning, which is a form of corporal punishment, constitutes a breach of the men's human rights, adding that it was a "cruel, inhumane and degrading practice" as well as "a form of torture".

"The European Union expects the five men to be released immediately and for the human rights of all LGBTI persons to be guaranteed and protected according to Malaysia's international obligations," she said.