Greece gives refuge to gay Iranian

A 40-year-old gay Iranian has been given refuge in Greece following a campaign by local gay activists.

Two separate applications to remain in Greece had been rejected.

The Greek Homosexual Community (GHC-EOK), which led a campaign on his behalf, said:

We are happy to announce that the gay Iranian refugee, known as 'Alex,' was finally granted asylum following the reconsideration of his case.

EOK wishes to express its gratitude to all within Greece and abroad involved with enthusiasm and who helped the positive outcome.

Special acknowledgments go to the party of SYRIZA who, immediately after becoming aware of the case, helped to achieve the positive outcome and to the Deputy Minister Mr Chenofotis, who responded by acknowledging the just cause in Alex's case."

GHC-EOK say that Alex is a member of a rich Iranian family who was visited in 1999 at his workplace by an ex-schoolmate who knew Alex was gay and who was probably a member of the government party.

After that visit, Alex was arrested by the religious police and kept in the Jankal jail at the Iranian town of Rast for 45 days. Alex was tortured at Jankal. He was beaten systematically with lashing straps in his back and kidneys. Beaten several times in the face, he lost three teeth as a result. He had his testicles twisted, was submitted to bastinado (beating the soles of the feet) and had salt poured on his open wounds. He was put twice in mock execution.

After spending forty-five days in jail, his family paid to get him out so that he could attend the funeral of his mother. The police took him to the funeral in women's clothes. While out of jail, Alex managed to escape. A few days later, he arrived to Greece by way of Turkey in a terrible condition.

He went to the General Administration office of the police and applied for political asylum based on the torture he had been submitted to in Iran. The application was rejected.

In 2003, Alex submitted a second application for political asylum stating that he was homosexual and had a relationship with a Greek man, Phoebos (not his real name), who also testified that he was Alex's partner. Alex and Phoebos are still together. However, this application was also rejected.

Source: PinkNews

The issue is torture

By Scott Long, Director, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Program, Human Rights Watch, published in Guardian Unlimited

Anyone who has spent, as I have, long hours over two years listening to Iranian tales of torture would know just how the controversy over Mehdi Kazemi's asylum claim misses the point.

George Galloway says gays are not executed in Iran, just rapists. Peter Tatchell says Galloway spouts "Iranian propaganda". Neither gets at the gist of Mehdi's case, or of Britain's broken obligations with regard to torture under international law.

Let's start with the facts.

Homosexual conduct in Iran can get you the death penalty. Penetrative sex acts between men can bring death on the first conviction; non-penetrative activity, up to 100 lashes. Women earn floggings on the first three convictions; four strikes and you die.

Iran's penal code requires four reiterated confessions, or the eyewitness testimony of four "righteous men", to prove lavat, or sodomy. Yet judges are allowed to guess and infer. Moreover, police helpfully provide the witnesses: raiding a party in Isfahan in May 2007, they brought along four men, presumably righteous, to watch.

Torturing and killing gays is legal in Iran: you don't need to view the bodies to prove it. International law bars Britain from returning people to the risk of torture. Britain must give gay Iranians asylum.

Yet despite this clarity, confusion hangs over the situation in Iran. Some activists, trying sincerely to help Mehdi, are helping the British government off the hook.

Peter Tatchell is wrong to assert, without real evidence, that gay men are routinely hanged in public; that mass "pogroms" have led to mass executions in recent years; or that fake rape charges are regularly tacked on to charges of consensual homosexual acts. Nor should anyone's asylum case hinge on such claims. The last documented death sentences for consensual homosexual conduct in Iran were handed down in March 2005. It is not known whether they were carried out. Ramping up the allegations means accepting the government's exaggerated standards of proof. And it can backfire - against people in Iran.

Europe and the US have seen a public campaign in recent years to identify executions - often random ones - in Iran as killings of gay men. Pictures of the horrific public hanging in Mashhad in 2005 of Ayaz Marhoni and Mahmoud Asgari - convicted, in all likelihood, of the rape of a 13-year-old boy while both were minors - spread virally round the world like a postmodern Pieta. Monstrous, yes: but there is no conclusive evidence that they were gay or that consensual homosexual acts had anything to do with their judicial killing.

In the months after that, campaigners in the US and Europe repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that hangings for rape in Iran were actually a "pogrom" against gay men. One US paper claimed four men were hanged for "being gay". They turned out to have been convicted of the rape of a woman and three girls - 10, 7, and 8 years old.

Such mistakes can have dire consequences. In November 2007 in Kermanshah, Makwan Mouloudzadeh, 20, faced the death penalty on false charges of raping several boys seven years before. His accusers retracted their claims. No evidence suggested he had committed any crime under Iranian law.

However, European activists wildly seized on him as another "gay" victim. They organised a mass petition to Ahmadinejad for mercy for "the young Iranian gay". Their pleas sent an inadvertent message: Makwan was innocent of one capital crime, but Europe believed him guilty of another. On December 5, Makwan Mouloudzadeh, probably neither gay nor a rapist, went to the gallows.

Why so much confusion? Why the need to find "gay" victims, even when it endangers a man already on death row?

Emotion makes discussion difficult. People asking what the evidence really is are likely to be called "apologists for Iran". Britain's slammed asylum door indeed breeds desperation. It's crucial to remember, though, that the reason asylum authorities seek pretexts to reject gay Muslims isn't "Iranian propaganda": it's home-grown propaganda stoking fears of Muslim immigration. Activists must combat racism in Britain, not just repression in Iran.

The most cogent answer, though, shows the failure at the heart of Britain's policies on asylum - and torture. Home Office minister Lord West said of Mehdi: "We are not aware of any individual who has been executed in Iran in recent years solely on the grounds of homosexuality. And we don't consider there was systematic persecution of gay men in Iran."

In other words: no execution, no persecution. If you aren't dead, you're OK. This is a disastrous evasion of the UK's responsibilities under international law.

Human Rights Watch has shown how Britain tries to redefine its obligations on torture, so it can send people back to states where they face grave risk. Usually it happens in the context of counterterrorism. But with gay Iranians, too, the government aims to change the rules, denying that legal torture is "persecution".

The UK should recognise - as the Netherlands has done - that with a law prescribing death or torture for gay Iranians, they need not demonstrate the details of past persecution. Lift the burden of proof from Mehdi and his gay compatriots. End the threat of deportation.

Activists, though, must avoid playing the government's torturous game. Don't let the Home Office define torture down till a corpse on a gallows is the only proof that counts. Hold Britain to its real obligations. Otherwise, it will remain complicit in persecution.

• More about Human Rights Watch's work on Iran

MPs from all parties support Mehdi

MPs from all three main political parties have joined peers to call for a moratorium on the deportation of asylum-seekers to Iran.

A letter signed by seven MPs, including Chris Huhne (Liberal Democrat), Andrew Dismore (Labour) and John Bercow (Conservative), says ministers have a moral duty to halt the deportation of any Iranian fearing persecution if returned to the state.

Simon Hughes organised the Commons letter.

The Lords' letter about the Mehdi Kazemi case shows growing awareness that sending asylum-seekers back to countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia and Zimbabwe is unacceptable because of the risk to their safety and the abhorrent behaviour of those regimes.

Diane Abbott has tabled an early day motion in support of Kazemi.

It is not sufficient to implement laws to protect oppressed groups without giving protection to asylum-seekers in the same groups from different countries."

EDM 1180

MEHDI KAZEMI AND THE TREATMENT OF HOMOSEXUALITY IN IRAN
12.03.2008
Abbott, Diane

That this House is concerned by the case of Iranian teenager Mehdi Kazemi who is currently living in Holland; notes reports that Mr Kazemi's boyfriend was forced by Iranian authorities to denounce other gay men, including Mr Kazemi himself; is appalled at reports that Mr Kazemi's boyfriend was then hanged for the offence of homosexuality; believes that Mr Kazemi's life is in serious danger if he were returned to Iran; further notes that the Dutch authorities have rejected Mr Kazemi's appeal for asylum in Holland and are likely to deport him to the UK; believes that the Home Office view that Iran is safe for homosexuals as long as they hide their sexuality is contrary to human rights standards on sexual freedom; and calls on the Government to uphold its asserted position as a supporter of human rights by refraining from sending Mr Kazemi back to Iran and near-certain human rights abuses.

Liverpool Echo backs Mehdi

A columnist in the Liverpool Echo, that city's major newspaper, has called for 'Justice for Mahdi'

OCCASIONALLY we need to make a noise. Life isn’t just about the party. Our lifestyle choices, the people we choose to love, can seem unimportant in a society with laws to protect us.

But life for gays in Iran is very different. Homosexual acts are illegal in the Islamic republic. This attitude has led to executions of gay men

Three years on and gay Iranian Mahdi Kazemi, 19, is fighting deportation to Iran from the UK.

Last week the ECHO reported that Mahdi was granted a reprieve by home secretary Jacqui Smith. Now it’s up to the UK government to decide whether Madhi will be deported.

Have your say, via petition and protest. For more information visit www.madhikazemi.com

Peers support for Mehdi

Writing in The Independent the Peer who has led the campaign in the House of Lords in support of Mehdi, Lord Roberts of Llandudno, writes:

This is a matter of avoiding a breach of international law but, more than that, it is a matter of not sending a 19-year-old man, who has hurt nobody, to his death.

There is only one ethical course of action for the British government to take. A moratorium on removals to Iran for all those who fear execution. Indeed, the Home Office has gone some way to acknowledge such a principle. In its own guidance, its says that where anyone demonstrates their homosexual acts have brought them to the attention of the authorities so they face persecution they should be granted refugee status.

The Government will be aware that, since the ayatollahs came to reign in Iran, humanitarian organisations tell us that 4,000 lesbians and gay men have been executed in that country. What representations have Her Majesty's Government made and what representations do they continue to make about that policy? Can ministers assure us on behalf of the Government that no one, gay or otherwise, will be deported to any country where they will be persecuted, tortured or executed?

In a letter to the Independent, 17 members of the House of Lords, including the film director David Puttnam, the former Commons speaker Betty Boothroyd, and the human rights barrister Helena Kennedy QC, say the case of Mr Kazemi demonstrates a change of policy is now the "only moral course" for the Government to follow.

We welcome the decision of the Home Secretary to look again at Mr Kazemi's case and to reconsider the original decision to refuse him asylum in the United Kingdom. The Home Office have acted appropriately in this, as indeed they have acted within the law throughout this case.

However, this is not simply a legal matter but a moral one too... when we are making decisions of life or death, we must be aware of the human consequences of the cold letter of the law.

The Independent quotes a response to an earlier letter by 70 peers from Home Secretary Jacqui Smith:

I can assure you the Government is committed to providing protection for those individuals found to be genuinely in need in accordance with our commitments under international law.

The Home Office Country of Origin Information Service closely monitors the human rights situation in all the countries that generate asylum-seekers to the UK, including Iran. It provides accurate, objective, sourced and up-to-date information.

The published Country Reports are updated on a rolling basis and are compiled from a wide range of external information sources including the United Nations High Commission for Refugees World Health Organisation, human rights organisations, news media and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The current Home Office Iran Country Report was published on 31 January 2008 and includes a specific section on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Persons.

A report into Britain's immigration system published yesterday has described the treatment of refugees as "shameful."

Published by the Independent Asylum Commission, led by a former senior judge, it said the immigration policy denied sanctuary to some refugees who were in genuine need of help.

Human Rights Watch: Authorities Escalate Arbitrary Arrests, Harassment

Iran: Private Homes Raided for ‘Immorality’
Authorities Escalate Arbitrary Arrests, Harassment

(New York, March 28, 2008) – The arrest of more than 30 men attending a party in a private home in the city of Esfahan signals renewed efforts by Iranian authorities to enforce “morality” codes, and highlights the fragility of basic rights in a country where police powers routinely undermine privacy, Human Rights Watch said today.

It urged Iranian authorities to release the men reportedly arrested in late February, and to drop charges against people accused of consensual homosexual conduct, drinking alcohol, and other related “morals” offenses.

“When police routinely break down doors to enforce a brand of morality, it means a line has been crossed to invade people’s privacy at any time,” said Joe Stork, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Iran’s repressive system of controlling people’s dress, behavior, and personal lives violates fundamental rights.”

Sources inside Iran report to Human Rights Watch that on February 28-29, police in Esfahan raided a private home and arrested 30 or more men attending a party. They have been jailed for almost four weeks without access to lawyers and without charge. Police reportedly referred them to a forensic medical examiner to look for “evidence” that they have engaged in homosexual conduct.

In May 2007, during a nationwide crackdown to enforce dress codes and conduct, police raided another private party in an apartment building in Esfahan. They arrested 87 persons, including four women and at least eight people whom they accused of wearing the clothing of the opposite sex. Victims told Human Rights Watch that police stripped many of them to the waist in the street, and beat them until their backs or faces were bloody. Several reportedly had bones broken.

Of those arrested, 24 men were tried for “facilitating immorality and sexual misconduct,” as well as possessing and drinking alcohol. In June 2007, an Esfahan court found all of them guilty of various combinations of these charges. Most were sentenced to up to 80 lashes and to fines of 10 million to 50 million riyals (US$1,000-5,000). The verdicts are under appeal and have not yet been enforced.

Sources in Iran have told Human Rights Watch that since the May 2007 arrests, police have intensified surveillance, harassment, and abuse against people connected to the 87 arrested men, or otherwise suspected of homosexual conduct. Several described being detained by police and interrogated to reveal contacts.

According to one man’s account, police “poured water over me. … They threatened me, they said ‘cooperate with us.’ … They are after everyone, they said, ‘You are completing your gang, you are creating new members, where do you gather?’” They told me, ‘Go out and meet people.’ In essence, I should spy for them.”

Human Rights Watch learned that in December 2007 at another private gathering in Esfahan, police arrested 16 more people, subjecting them to forensic examinations. Authorities released them after four days in detention.

Other reports indicate that in March 2008, Esfahan police entrapped several men over the internet by answering personal advertisements, and interrogated them to reveal the names of friends and contacts. Police found erotic pictures of men on another man’s mobile phone after arresting him, and a court reportedly sentenced him to three years of imprisonment.

Iranian law provides punishments up to death for penetrative same-sex sexual activity between men on the first conviction, and punishes non-penetrative activity with up to 100 lashes. Homosexual conduct between women is punishable with death on the fourth conviction. Iran’s Penal Code requires four reiterated confessions, or the testimony of four “righteous men” as eyewitnesses, to prove lavat, or sodomy. However, judges are permitted to accept circumstantial evidence or inference. At the May 2007 raid in Esfahan, police reportedly brought four civilian witnesses to prove that “immorality” was taking place.

The last documented death sentences for consensual homosexual conduct in Iran were handed down in March 2005. It is not known whether they were carried out. In extensive interviews with men and women inside and outside Iran, Human Rights Watch has documented widespread patterns of arbitrary arrest and torture based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Western sources have suggested that charges of consensual homosexual conduct are converted to charges of rape in the Iranian judicial system, but Human Rights Watch has found no evidence of this.

“In Iran, for some people, the spy at the bedroom window or the knock at the door can mean the threat of a death sentence,” said Stork. “Privacy, freedom from arbitrary arrest, and freedom from torture are human rights. Police and judges must respect them.”

Michael Cashman MEP speaks on Mehdi Kazemi

UK's asylum system 'marred by inhumanity'

Guardian

The UK's asylum system is "marred by inhumanity" and "not yet fit for purpose", the most comprehensive study ever conducted into its workings has found.

A report published today by the Independent Asylum Commission found the treatment of asylum seekers coming to this country fell "seriously below" the standards of a civilised society.

The year-long study of the work of the Border and Immigration Agency, led by former appeal court judge Sir John Waite, said the system denied sanctuary to some in need and failed to remove others who should go.

It called the treatment of some asylum seekers a "blemish" on the UK's international reputation.
The Border and Immigration Agency has refuted the report, claiming it operated a "firm but humane" system.

The commission was established in 2006 after the then home secretary John Reid branded the immigration system "unfit for purpose".

It took testimonies from every sector of society, including former home secretaries, policy makers, charities, asylum seekers, police, local authorities, and citizens.

The findings highlighted three particular areas of concern: the use of detention centres, especially to hold children, pregnant women and torture victims; the often brutal handling of removals; and the use of destitution as a tool to drive claimants out of the country.

Waite said: "The overuse of detention, the scale of destitution and the severity of removals are all areas which need attention before the system can be described as fit for purpose".

Commenting on the common practice of locking up refugees, the report said: "The detention of asylum seekers is overused, oppressive and an unnecessary burden on the taxpayer," and branded the detention of children "wholly unjustified".

"The system still denies sanctuary to some who genuinely need it and ought to be entitled to it, is not firm enough in returning those whose claims are refused and is marred by inhumanity in its treatment of the vulnerable."

Waite went on to call for "a thorough re-examination" of the detention and bail system, which treated asylum seekers as criminals.

"The justification for such a system is the fear of absconding, and that fear is, in our opinion, grossly exaggerated," he said.

Border officials, the report found, did not give enough consideration to factors such as post-traumatic stress in initial interviews.

"Some of those seeking sanctuary, particularly women, children and torture survivors, have additional vulnerabilities that are not being appropriately addressed," it said.

Other issues highlighted in the report included the fact that many genuine claims were being overlooked because of cuts in the legal aid budget which have made it more difficult to find lawyers for complex cases.

And some private security firms were described by the commission as carrying out removals with "unnecessary violence and carelessness".

Government figures reveal there were 23,430 asylum applications in 2007, the lowest for 14 years, and a quarter of the record set in 2002.

Today's report presented the commission's interim findings. Further reports will be published in May, June and July, including recommendations on reform of the system.

Donna Covey, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: "This is an important set of findings from an independent commission, which presents overwhelming evidence that the asylum system is still not fit for purpose.

"We must treat people with basic decency, and the system must get asylum decisions right – they are a matter of life and death."

Responding to the report, Lin Homer, head of the Border and Immigration Agency, said: "The claims made in this report are not based on any thorough knowledge. I totally refute any suggestion that we treat asylum applicants without care and compassion.

"We have a proud tradition in Britain of offering sanctuary to those who truly need our protection and anyone seeking asylum can have their case reviewed by an independent judge.

"We operate a firm but humane system, supporting those who are vulnerable with accommodation and assistance.

"But we expect those that a court says have no genuine need for asylum to return home voluntarily, saving taxpayers the expense of enforcing their return.

"We will enforce the removal of those who refuse to comply, always ensuring first that it is safe to do so."

• IAC: INTERIM FINDINGS - Fit for Purpose Yet? (PDF)
• Independent: British guards 'assault and racially abuse' deportees
  

News update

Canada's Jawa report carries a report comparing the situations of gay asylum seekers there and in other countries:

Being homosexual is a lot easier than proving your homosexuality in public in a civilized manner. As a result, refugees are often relegated to simply pleading before the board "I'm gay! I'm gay! Can't you see I'm gay?" because no genuine, verifiable proof is available.

Peter Tatchell eviscerates George Galloway's recitation of vicious Iranian anti-gay propaganda in the Guardian and reports that Galloway added to this with the following at an anti-war demonstration in London:

At the antiwar protest in London on March 15, which I supported and attended, Galloway repeated these claims in his keynote speech. He said the "khaki war machine now has its pink contingent". He went on to imply that people who support gay rights in Iran are "useful idiots" and said their aim is to "bamboozle the public to go along with mass murder in Iran".

Says Tatchell:

Misguided, untruthful attacks on Iranian gay people, the queer rights movement and the pink community do not strengthen the antiwar movement and the struggle against US imperialism. On the contrary, they play straight into the hands of the tyrants in Tehran and their mirror opposites in Washington. They betray all Iranians who are yearning and striving for democracy, human rights, social justice and the self-rule of Iran's oppressed minority nations.

Sierra Leone: lesbian immigrant Florence saved

Image via Wikipedia

Source: The Lesbian and Gay Foundation

The tireless fighting efforts of staff and volunteers from Manchester's Lesbian Community Project have successfully paid off after the government’s decision to extradite lesbian immigrant Florence and her son Michael from this country was overturned.

The decision which has just been announced is the result of months of fundraising, hours of petition signing, letter writing and lobbying by the groups team, as well as the continued input from hundreds of supporters.

Florence came to the UK in 2006 seeking asylum for herself and her young son, after fleeing from her home in Sierra Leone because she was suffering physical abuse from her family including beatings by her parents and rape by her cousin, who she had also been forced to marry. The Lesbian Community Project have been working with her since August 2006.

Karen McCarthy from the Lesbian Community Project told Pink Paper: “When Florence turned to the police for help they turned her away, saying it was a family matter. She tried to find a safe place to stay but could not and was forced to return home to face more abuse and violence including being threatened with female genital mutilation to 'cure' her.”

Lisa Buklovskis, also from the Lesbian Community Project commented: “Florence came to us with her story and as a member of our community, we wanted to support her in whatever way we could.

”When the news came that Florence and Michael had been granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK, we were absolutely elated!

“All the hard work and tireless campaigning had finally paid off. It means that Florence and Michael can now look forward to a future free from fear of persecution. In a country like Sierra Leone, where it is illegal to be gay, the persecution that Florence would have faced had she have been deported, is difficult for us to contemplate here in the UK where our relative freedoms as lesbians and gay men are a world apart.”

Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association support

Following last week's comments in the Lords by Home Office Minister Lord West:

We are not aware of any individual having been executed solely on the grounds of homosexuality in Iran.

We do not consider that there is systematic persecution of gay men in Iran.

The Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association (GALHA) has demanded that the Government clarify its approach to the deportation of gay people to Iran. GALHA spokesman Jim Herrick said:

It is quite extraordinary that the Minister can claim that there is no evidence of gays being executed in Iran. He seems more inclined to believe the propaganda of the Iranian authorities than the independent reports of organisations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch which testify to the risk of execution faced by gay Iranians.

Downing street protest

There is still no word on when Mehdi will be transferred to the UK or from the Rotterdam detention centre. He has again passed on his thanks to everyone who has supported him.

A protest was held opposite Downing Street yesterday by around 150 people.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - 22.03.08. Peter Tatchell, the human rights campaigner and member of OutRage! speaks in support of the gay Iranian asylum seeker Mehdi Kazemi opposite 10 Downing Street, London, England on 22nd March 2008. Mehdi Kazemi 19, who lost his asylum claim in Britain even though his former boyfriend had been arrested by the Iranian state police and executed for sodomy. The Home Secretary has halted the planned deportation and agreed to reconsider the case. (Photo by Marc Vallée/marcvallee.co.uk) (c) Marc Vallée, 2008.

More photos from Mark

Speaking for the gay activist group OutRage! Peter Tatchell highlighted the five failings of the Home Office with regard to LGBT refugees:

• No training on sexual orientation issues for asylum staff and adjudicators
• No explicit official policy supporting the right of refugees to claim asylum on the grounds of sexual orientation
• No action to stamp out the abuse of LGBT refugees in UK asylum detention camps
• No accurate, up-to-date information on the victimisation of LGBT people in violently homophobic countries
• No access to adequate legal representation for LGBT asylum applicants
  

The protest also highlighted the cases of Pegah Emambakhsh - an Iranian lesbian woman - and Jojo Yakob - a Syrian gay man - also under threat of deportation.

Many protesters came from outside London, including groups of students from Edinburgh, Leeds and Manchester.

Slideshow produced by Jason Alvey:

Happy [Iranian] New Year

The Iranian Queer Organisation (IRQO) has issued the following Happy [Iranian] New Year to all Iranian Queers.

Home Office statements in the Lords

6,242 signatures on the iPetition
2,012 signatures on the Downing Street petition

From the Lords today:

Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat)
asked Her Majesty's Government:
What their policy is on removals to Iran.
Lord West of Spithead (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Security and Counter-terrorism), Home Office):
My Lords, we recognise that there are individuals from Iran who are able to demonstrate a need for international protection, and it is only right that we provide protection to those in genuine fear of persecution. However, enforcing the return of those who have no right to remain here is a key part of upholding a robust and fair asylum system.
Lord Roberts:
My Lords, I am not sure whether or not I thank the Minister for that reply. I thank the 80 Members of this House who last week joined me in the appeal on behalf of the young Iranian whose deportation has been delayed. I thank the Home Secretary for her response.
When people are forcibly removed from the UK, what mechanism is there to monitor the treatment they receive in their homeland? How do we keep an eye on that? And is it not time, in spite of the Minister's Answer, that we joined other countries in having a moratorium on forced return not only to Iran but to other places where folk are persecuted, tortured and possibly even executed?
Lord West:
My Lords, it is worth saying that we are not aware of any individual who has been executed in Iran in recent years solely on the grounds of homosexuality, and we do not consider that there is systematic persecution of gay men in Iran. However, we have said in our most recent operational guidance note that if a claimant can demonstrate that their homosexual acts have brought them to the attention of the authorities to the extent that they will face a real risk of punishment that will be harsh and will amount to persecution, they should be granted refugee status as a member of a particular social group. In addition, gay rights activists who have come to the attention of the authorities face a real risk of persecution, and they should be granted asylum as well.
Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench):
My Lords, is the Minister aware that in the past 30 years some 120,000 members of the Iranian Resistance have been executed, including women and children? Is he further aware that in this week's elections more than 1,000 reformist candidates were prevented from standing, their newspapers were closed down and they were refused permission to hold public meetings? Given those circumstances and the need to encourage democracy and change in Iran, how can the Government justify the continued decision to proscribe the Iranian Resistance, a decision that our own judges have described as, to use their word, perverse?
Lord West:
My Lords, that is a bit beyond the Question being asked. On the issue of the returning of gay people to Iran, we have concerns about the treatment of gays in that country. The FCO and NGOs monitor what is happening in Iran, and we are not aware of any individual having been executed solely on the grounds of homosexuality.
Lord Corbett of Castle Vale:
My Lords, can the Minister confirm that there have been 57 critical reports in the United Nations about the repressive nature of the mullahs' regime in Iran? The abuses of human rights include the amputation of limbs without anaesthetics, the gouging out of eyes, the hanging of convicted minors from the ends of cranes in public and the death penalty for those convicted of homosexuality. Will the Minister take the opportunity to speak to any one of 200 Members of your Lordships' House who share my views on this vile regime if he needs any other evidence that it is unsafe to return asylum seekers to that regime?
Lord West:
My Lords, I return to what I said: we are not aware of any individual having been executed solely on the grounds of homosexuality in Iran, and we are not aware of any that we have returned having been executed.
Baroness Warsi (Conservative):
My Lords, is the Minister aware of discrepancies between in-country information provided in briefs by the Foreign Office and reports produced by Amnesty and Human Rights Watch about the situation in Iran? If the Minister accepts that there are such discrepancies and that our information is not entirely correct, how can our decisions possibly be correct?
Lord West:
My Lords, I am going by the information provided, I admit, by the Foreign Office in conjunction with some NGOs. We have no evidence of anyone we have sent back being executed, and we would never send someone back who we felt was in danger of being executed. That is our position with any country in the world; we just do not do that.
Lord Avebury (Liberal Democrat) :
My Lords, further to the point raised by the noble Baroness, is the Minister aware that the Country of Origin Information Service report on Iran, published by the Home Office, is deficient in many respects? Does he know that it omits quite a few public domain references to the persecution of gays in Iran, including in particular the execution of Makwan Mouloudzadeh, a teenager who was executed for a homosexual offence allegedly committed when he was 13? Will the noble Lord make sure that the Home Office Country of Origin Information Service updates its report and that, in particular, it looks at material in the public domain such as that which one can find on Wikipedia?
Lord West:
My Lords, I can assure the noble Lord that we will look at that. It is worth repeating that we have concerns about the treatment of gays within Iran. However, in the one case that we looked into, because it was shown on television, we found that two young males were hanged because they were found guilty of raping a 13 year-old boy. They were hanged for the offence of rape. Nevertheless, we certainly will look at the point that the noble Lord raises, as we need to do so.
Lord Wedderburn of Charlton (Crossbench) :
My Lords, can my noble friend explain how the Foreign Office has performed the miracle of having Nelson still alive in its offices with his telescope stuck to his blind eye?
Lord West:
My Lords, as a naval person I should be able to answer that. All I can say is that I will talk to my colleagues in the Foreign Office to try to ensure that we are getting the best flavour of exactly what is happening in Iran.

Sounds fairly clear that the Home Office won't give an inch until absolutely forced to - by the rest of us and when told to by the PM because the embarrassment via the media is just too great. And restating the 'rape' claims is beyond belief. Shameless. Lord Spit and Gorgeous George Galloway have much in common.

Video of the Lords session

blog post about Lord West's staemenst

Question Time

LibDem MP Greg Mulholland also obliquely raised the issue in Prime Minister's questions

Gordon Brown said:

I think that we do face up to our human rights responsibilities, and when there is a proven case on which we can act, we will take action. I do not know about the individual case [nb: this was an Iranian Christian), but it is important to ensure that the system is used fairly and that decisions are made in the right way at all times.

European Parliament votes for Mehdi + Pegah

Video of the debate in the EU Parliament is now online, this covers the cases of Afghan journalist Perwiz Kambakhsh as well as Mehdi Kazemi.

It includes a very impassioned contribution by London Conservative MEP John Bowis.

The debate speakers on Mehdi were:

• Jean Lambert (UK Greens),
• Marco Cappato (Italian Lista Emma Bonino)
• Eva-Britt Svensson (Swedish Green Left)
• Raül Romeva i Rueda (Spanish Green)
• Sophia in 't Veld (Netherlands Democrats 66.)
• Bernd Posselt (German CDU), speaking for the Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats - they initially opposed and then abstained.
• John Bowis (UK Conservative)
  
• Mauro Mario (Italian from Forza Italia), he dissents from the Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats line.
• and Eu Commissioner Louis Michel, who expresses strong agreement with Bowis.
  

The vote:

Swiss may deport gay teen to Cameroon

Image via Wikipedia

Source: PinkNews.co.uk

Switzerland is due to return a Cameroonian teenager to his home country, where he could face imprisonment and physical punishment.

Anatole Zali arrived in Switzerland from Cameroon on 3rd February 2008 and claimed asylum on the grounds that he had been threatened because he is gay.

In Cameroon, Zali, who is 18, claims to have received threats from the police, where he stayed with his cousin for protection.

His cousin was later arrested by the police on suspicion of being gay, and an arrest warrant on the same grounds was issued for Mr Zali.

In the wake of the warrant, he fled to Switzerland to escape arrest.

His claim for asylum was rejected on 14th February 2008 and under current asylum legislation in Switzerland asylum-seekers are not granted state-funded legal assistance.

Consequently, Anatole Zali had to submit his own appeal against the rejection of his asylum claim without legal representation.

He was given five days from the initial decision in which to submit his appeal, in accordance with Swiss asylum procedures. His appeal was rejected.

Amnesty International argue that Switzerland has obligations under international law, including the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, to give asylum-seekers access to a fair and satisfactory asylum procedure, and not to return anyone to a country where they would be at risk of serious human rights violations.

Those detained or imprisoned in Cameroon because of their alleged sexual orientation have been targeted for ill-treatment in custody.

They are often subjected to verbal and physical threats from other inmates.

Organisers of the campaign to stop Mr Zali’s deportation have suggested a number of actions that could help him to stay in Switzerland.

These include urging the Swiss authorities not to forcibly return Anatole Zali to Cameroon, as he is likely to face arrest because of his sexual orientation.

• For more information

More Galloway

'Gorgeous' George Galloway has followed up his anti-gay / pro-Iranian regime statements on Matthew Wright's Channel Five morning show on Thursday with even more. If you can stand it, Harry's Place has the details and video. I couldn't. I've heard this sort of crap from his type of the so-called left too many times. I am sure he will be shunned by practically all lesbians and gays.

As an aside, according to Harry's Place, he has been commissioned to do a 13 part show for Iranian television channel, PressTV, which is wholly funded by the Iranian Government.

News update

The Independent carries an interview with Madhi today:

I know what Jacqui Smith has said about my case and that of course is a good thing. But I know what this government can do to me. They tried to take me at Christmas time two years ago when everyone was away, even my lawyer.

I can not be confident they won't try this again, perhaps in the Easter holiday. These things have happened to me before. What they haven't done is promise me I won't go back to Iran.

If I am allowed to stay in this country I want to continue with my English studies. I like it in England, I felt safe and much freer. If I go back to Iran it will be most certainly death for me.

Madhi says he was told that he would be safe in Iran if he was discreet about his sexuality. For gay people in Iran it was "like a genocide no one will talk about".

I miss my mother and my little sister a lot, but by father wants to kill me [not a euphemism], he does not accept me.

Speaking through his Uncle, Madhi, told UKGayNews:

I am very thankful for everyone’s concern and help.

UKGayNews also reported his uncle saying that it would be in the best interests of his nephew if he were to be returned to the UK where he speaks the language and has family — But only if the possibility of his deportation was removed.

Having lived in the UK for more than 30 years, Saeed said that he had first met Mehdi in 2001 when he visited Iran. And Mehedi had “come out” to his uncle in early 2006 while studying in the UK.

A few months later, Mehdi was a ‘face in the crowd’ when, in Brighton, he took part in his first – and only – Gay Pride.

CNN Headline News last night carried the following exchange in which the host, Glenn Beck, compared the situation of Iranian gays seeking asylum to those of Jews fleeing Nazi Germany. He cited the SS St. Louis, which was turned back by America in 1939.

Beck spoke with Irshad Manji, senior fellow of the European Foundation for Democracy, and author of The Trouble with Islam Today. She said that what really lies at the heart of the experience of gay asylum seekers is "incompetence".

Sarah Ludford MEP, interview about the campaign for Dutch radio (MPEG3, audio). Translated to English Article. Dutch.

[The Home Office might think] for other people 'we could quietly ship them back'. This is not the only gay Iranian at risk, not only of their liberty but their life by being returned.

He has gone through the process, but I think there is something wrong with the Home Office guidelines which are the basis for the assessment of an asylum claim.

Press release by Ludford, quoting her colleagues Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert (VVD, Netherlands):

It is absurd that Kazemi has to demonstrate that he risks persecution if you look at the whole record of Iran's repression of gay people by detention, torture and execution. It would be outrageous if Kazemi would be sent back to Iran.

And Marco Cappato (Radical Party, Italy)

The European Union should be a community that protects people, instead of acting as a cold machine with common rules creating a 'lowest common denominator' of asylum seekers protection. It is high time leaders of the EU show compassion instead of hiding behind bureaucratic rules.

News update

The Independent, who have spearheaded the UK press coverage, headline today: Victory for Kazemi as Home Secretary halts deportation to Iran

The Government's surprise intervention yesterday follows an international outcry.

Emma Ginn, of the National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns:

This is, finally, a good decision. There are many flaws in the UK's so-called 'fair and efficient' asylum determination process that others, not so fortunate to attract such global news coverage, are subjected to. The whole thing seems like not much more than a lottery.

The MP who has been leading for Madhi, Simon Hughes, said that arrangements are already in place for an urgent meeting with him, his family, specialist lawyers and Hughes to prepare a new application to the Home Office.

An MEP who helped get yesterday's European parliament resolution passed, Sarah Ludford, said:

It should have come voluntarily and without the need for so much pressure. But we must not forget other gay Iranians fearing for not only their liberty but their lives, such as Pegah Emambakhsh. They deserve justice, too.

Read about Pegah's case, she is planning to apply for a judicial review at the High Court. Pegah is one of at least another 29 other lesbian or gay refugees at risk of deportation from the UK to persecution.

PinkNews points out that there are many similar cases which are being overlooked by the government.

Quoting Peter Tatchell:

The review of this case is welcome, but there are still many more which need to be reconsidered, including Pegah Emambakhsh and many other individuals who are fleeing violently homophobic countries such as Uganda, Nigeria, Iraq, Zimbabwe and Palestine.

The underlying problem is the government's whole asylum system and the way it is rigged to fail as many applicants as possible, combined with the homophobic biases of the asylum process. Asylum staff and adjudicators are given no training on sexual orientation and there is no explicit official policy supporting the right of refugees to claim asylum on the grounds of sexual orientation.

The news about Madhi is reported in at least 300 media outlets around the world:

• New York Times International News brief
• CNN, which reminded viewers that

In a written statement earlier this month, Britain's Home Office said that even though homosexuality was illegal in Iran and homosexuals did experience discrimination, it did not believe that homosexuals were routinely persecuted purely on the basis of their sexuality

• International Herald Tribune
• Washington Post
  

The Times quotes Madhi's Dutch lawyer:

He is very much afraid of being allowed to stay in Britain but without being granted official permission. That would then put him in a no man’s land. He would be very unhappy in the long term.

And Madhi's uncle:

It has been a long time coming and a very long struggle. What I do not understand is why the Government got itself into this mess in the first place. It should always have recognised that gay people are killed for being themselves in Iran.

The Times also said that Madhi's case will be re-examined by Home Office officials who will base their decision on guidance issued last year — after his 2006 application was turned down.

It states: “Where an individual claimant demonstrates that their homosexual acts have brought them to the attention of the authorities to the extent that on return to Iran they will face a real risk of punishment, which will be so harsh as to amount to persecution, s/he should be granted refugee status as a member of a particular social group."

“In addition gay rights activists that have come to the attention of the authorities face a real risk of persecution and should be granted asylum as a result of their political opinion”.

And carries a scathing editorial, which notes:

As with other repressive regimes, Iran's criminalisation of homosexuality is often a convenient way of punishing political opponents.

The Government is not only right to provide refuge to Mr Kazemi, but is to be applauded for sending an unequivocal message to Tehran.

House of Commons questions

Labour MP Keith Vaz asked in the Commons today:

May we have a debate or a statement on the Government's policy on removal of individuals to Iran following the case of Mehdi Kazemi? He was refused asylum in this country; his application for asylum has now been refused in Holland; and he says that he will go to his death because of his sexual orientation. Surely discretion should be exercised in such cases. May we have a debate on such issues, which directly affect the lives of individuals?

Harriet Harman responded for the government:

My right hon. Friend is, of course, Chair of the Home Affairs Committee. It is possible for him and other hon. Members to make representations on that or any other individual case, but meanwhile he should be assured of our total opposition to the death penalty in any country in the world. We are in favour of the full human rights of all people, regardless of their sexual orientation. No doubt the case that he has raised will be examined carefully in the light of representations and evidence.

Conservative MP Nigel Evans asked Harman:

Following on from what the Leader of the House just said about Mehdi Kazemi, may we have a debate on early-day motion (EDM) 1180?

Last year, an Iranian MP told me that if gays practise in private, nobody knows, but that if they do not, they face torture. I reminded him that they face not torture but execution—perhaps with torture prior to that. Since the ayatollahs took control in Iran, more than 4,000 gay men and women have been executed, some of them publicly. Surely we are not even thinking of sending a gay Iranian back to Iran, where he would face humiliation, torture and execution?

Harman:

No one will be deported to face execution or violation of their human rights. Such matters are addressed on a case-by-case basis taking account of the individual concerned and the circumstances in their country of origin.

Evans and Peter Bottomley are the two Conservative MPs who signed the EDM in support of Madhi

EU resolution support Mehdi and Pegah

The European parliament passed a resolution for Madhi and for Pegah Emambakhsh this afternoon.

.. the EU and its Member States cannot apply European and national laws and procedures in a way which results in the expulsion of persons to a third country where they would risk persecution, torture and death, as this would amount to a violation of European and international human rights obligations.

It asked that the EU President

Forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the Member States, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and Mehdi Kazemi.

Home Office statement

Mid afternoon the Home Secretary made the following statement (my highlight):

Following representations made on behalf of Mehdi Kazemi, and in the light of new circumstances since the original decision was made, I have decided that Mr Kazemi's case should be reconsidered on his return to the UK from the Netherlands.

The only 'new circumstances' is the campaign. Pressure works. Please keep it up as Madhi is not yet safe.

News update

Last night's BBC News 24 Report (also on News At Ten):

Following the ABC Nightly News Report, the story has now hit the right-wing blogosphere in the United States. Atlas Shrugs covers it this morning, using it as an anti-European left example:

This is where the head spins ... The left in America and Europe can't stop sucking Ahmadi-nijad, his rod and his staff.

And MTV, which will flow on to its affiliates around the world. Apart from the international gay media, it is also been reported in the past couple of days across America, in Fiji, India, France, South Africa, Austria, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany Australia, New Zealand — and Iran.

An American gay newspaper, Out In Jersey, has sent the following to Jacqui Smith:

It gives me nothing but pain to inform you that, in the event Mehdi is sent back to Iran, this publication will have no alternative but to call, loudly and frequently, for a boycott of travel to the United Kingdom. I cannot see how, in conscience, we can do otherwise.

The Independent reports that:

63 peers have signed a letter to the Home Secretary urging the Government to halt the deportation.

Among those pressing the Government to help Mr Kazemi are Lord Woolf, the former lord chief justice; Betty Boothroyd, the former speaker of the House of Commons; and Shirley Williams, Julia Neuberger, Paddy Ashdown, David Steel, Lord Lester QC and the Bishop of Liverpool, as well as a number of senior Labour peers.

It is understood that some government ministers privately support the peers' intervention, but for constitutional reasons are unable to put their names to the document.

The author of the letter, the LibDem peer and Methodist Minister, Lord Roberts of Llandudno, is seeking an urgent meeting with a Home Office minister.

Baroness Scott comments that:

Roger Roberts, was collecting signatures in the Lords yesterday petitioning for Mehdi to stay in the UK. Whilst I was only too pleased to add my name, I was disappointed, to say the least, not a single Conservative could be persuaded to do so.

Madhi's Uncle, Saeed, is also quoted by the Indie:

After losing his case he is so afraid now of what might happen to him. He is living a nightmare which no young man should ever have to experience. I have been told that there is an arrest warrant in his name issued by the Iranian government police. If he goes back, his life will be in danger. I urge Ms Smith to please reconsider his case.

As is Simon Hughes MP:

As Mehdi's British MP, and someone who has been supporting him and his family since December 2006, I am prepared for Mehdi's return to the UK. As soon as Mehdi is back in the UK, I will meet him and his family and make official representations through the proper channels, with the help of the best legal support. The Home Office has assured me that they will then reconsider Mehdi's case.

Independent Opinion piece by Phillip Henshaw: There is no logic to our treatment of Mehdi Kazemi

But we're not talking about thousands of potential asylum seekers, or a situation that hasn't taken shape yet. We are talking, unfortunately, about one tragic and terrifying case, and about one 19-year-old who we are seriously proposing to send back to Iran, where he may very well be executed.

Is it entirely impossible that Mr Kazemi's case has been dealt with by officials who regard a 19-year-old homosexual, and the state of homosexuality itself, with frank distaste? It seems more than likely.

Mr Kazemi is not, by now, a case or a precedent. He is a human being in a situation that we can thank God few of us will ever face.

Dutch Radio reports that:

The European Parliament is demanding that an Iranian homosexual, currently detained in an immigration centre in the Netherlands, receive protection.

European MPs are worried that Mr Kazemi will receive the death penalty if he is sent back to Iran. They say that he must not become the victim of European bureaucracy.

The Daily Mail covers Madhi today. It quotes the Dutch Democrat MP Boris van der Ham Kamervragen, who has taken up Kazemi's case. He has tabled questions in Parliament asking the junior minister for immigration, Nebahat Albayrak, to lobby British authorities on Kazemi's behalf.

There should be some political leadership. I hope in Britain they will do it and otherwise we should take the boy.

The Mail says that Madhi is not expected to be deported before Albayrak has answered Van der Ham's questions.

This is a sample comment on the story by a Daily Mail reader:

Would either country care to have the label 'murderer' hanging over their head?

George Galloway has defended the Iranian Government and made despicable remarks concerning Madhi. Speaking on the Channel 5 TV talk show The Wright Stuff this morning

TRANSCRIPT
GG: The Independent has a story about Peers calling upon the Home Secretary to halt the deportation of a gay Iranian. In part this is being used as part of the on-going propaganda against Iran. All the papers seem to imply that you get executed in Iran for being gay. That's not true.
MW: His boyfriend was hung though, wasn't he?
GG: Yes, but nor being gay. For uh, committing sex crimes, uh, against young men.
MW: Right...
GG: I mean, I'm against execution for any reason in any place, but it is important to avoid that propaganda.
MW: So you're saying that his guy they want to deport should be deported because there is no risk of his sexuality.. or he shouldn't be deported because there is at risk?
GG: He should not be deported not least because after all this Iranian propaganda he will be accused of being the source, or one of the sources. It would be ridiculous to deport him, and I don't think he will be deported now.

Video. Galloway is contactable here.

Victory #1!

British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced a temporary stay on Madhi's deportation."Following representations made on behalf of Mahdi Kazemi, and in the light of new circumstances since the original decision was made, I have decided that Mr Kazemi's case should be reconsidered on his return to the UK from the Netherlands."

The "new circumstances" is the campaign for Madhi but he is not safe yet. Please continue to make your feelings known, British government policy which allows this has not changed.

"To say that homosexuals are safe as long as they are discreet and live their lives in private, is to say that Ann Frank was safe from the Nazis in WWII as long as she hid in her attic."

"The British Government has for once done the right thing and given this young man a chance and hope for his future. For sexuality is as much a fundamental right as any other."

"I am grateful that Madhi can now make his case and establish the true dangers awaiting him in Iran."

Omar Kuddus, gayasylumuk

More American support for Mehdi

Illinois State Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago, wrote a letter March 12 to Gordon Brown.

Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

I am writing regarding the case of Mehdi Kazemi, a 19-year-old youth who may be deported back to Great Britain for consideration of a request for asylum. While I am not a British citizen, I feel compelled to write, and plead for your consideration of this young man's case, as his return to Iran means his almost certain execution simply for being gay.

I understand that your government has already denied his asylum request once. As an elected official myself, I understand that there are policy implications of every decision, but I am hopeful that the recent statement of the Border and Immigration Agency indicates a willingness to grant Mr. Kazemi's request and spare him from the same fate as his partner, who Iran has already been executed.

Each of us in elected office face decisions of public policy, but regardless of political and policy decisions, I hope you can see your way clear to protect this youth from torture and execution simply by allowing him to remain in your country and continuing with his studies.

I am very grateful for your time and consideration of this matter.

Very truly yours,

Gregory S. Harris
Representative, 13th District

News update

Two other major US TV Channels have now covered Mehdi, CBS, using the Associated Press story, and ABC on their main evening bulletin. As has a Malaysian newspaper.

ABC Nightly News

Statement by European Greens

The Independent reports that Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, has written to Jacqui Smith to urge the Government to end the return of all gay asylum-seekers to Iran.

"It seems absolutely clear that any gay or lesbian person sent back to Iran is at risk of their lives. Such returns must be stopped."

The Indie also got the following quote out of the Home Office:

A Home Office spokeswoman confirmed Mr Kazemi had exhausted all his domestic avenues of appeal and could expect to be detained pending his deportation. But she added: "Any further representations will be considered on their merits taking into account all the circumstances."

The Times reminds people that:

[We] uncovered Foreign and Commonwealth Office papers in November that showed that the British Government regularly challenges Iran about its gay hangings.

2,691 signatures on the online petition by this morning.

Both Mehdi and Pegah's cases are being picked up by the international blogosphere. A few (English language) headlines, all from blogs with real and some big audiences:

Britain Sentences Lesbian to Iranian Death; Something for the multi-culti crowd to chew on; Miserable Lie; Gay teenager is facing gallows as his asylum; Iranian Teen faces deportation and death; Gays in Britain, 2008; Read These Now or Hangings Will Continue; Netherlands and UK Turning Their Backs; Now we know why there aren’t any homosexuals in Iran; A New Dark Age Is Dawning; Britain To Send Man Back To Iran To Be Hanged; Don't Ask, Don't Tell ... Do Die; A life or death decision; British don't give a fuck if Iranians kill you; UK Will Send Teenager to be Executed in Iran;

None of which will please either the British Council or the FCO, I would imagine ...

Interview with Peter Tatchell

Gayasylumuk Media Statement

GAY ASYLUM UK MEDIA STATEMENT

- MADHI KAZEMI -

12 March 2008

Our hearts, with those of thousands across the globe, go out to Madhi Kazemi.

The Judge has ruled that the Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) can honour the British government's request for his return to the UK, under the Dublin Treaty and all we can now do is await his arrival back to the UK within a few days. We still hope that the British government will not deport Madhi back to Iran but reconsider his case and grant him Asylum based on

* his sexuality and on
* Iran's stance on the subject and proven record of violating human rights by torture, persecution and execution of known homosexuals.

The British government can no longer hide behind its stance that Homosexuals are free in Iran as long as they are discreet, for they, via our own MP's and published in The Times, have been told by a senior Iranian Minister that all homosexuals will be executed.

However, Britain's Home Office told CNN in a written statement that it does not believe that homosexuals are routinely persecuted purely on the basis of their sexuality.

His sexuality has never been in doubt and the Home Office stance that homosexuals are safe in Iran is no different than to say that Ann Franks was safe from the Nazis as long as she hid in the attic, during WWII.

The Iranian president himself said and confirmed that Iran has no homosexuals.

If necessary a legal challenge shall be instigated in the UK and the European Court of Human Rights to prevent Madhi's deportation.

If Britain claims to be the champions of democracy and compassion, this is a time to prove that these are not just ideal words.

The challenge and fight to save Madhis life has only just begun and must be pursued for the sake of decency and humanity.

Just how many more gay Iranians are meant to die before the British government takes action and shows to the world that this genocide must be stopped?

OMAR KUDDUS
GAYASYLUM.

Mehdi loses in Netherlands court

BBC: Mehdi has lost his case in the Netherlands and the Dutch are refusing to reconsider. I understand that he will be returned within three days. An appeal to the European Court is being drawn up. The United Kingdom sent a formal request to Holland asking for Mehdi's return to Britain, in order to proceed with his deportation to Iran.

ACTION

• PLEASE contact your MP today. The media coverage is no guarantee that Jacqui Smith will not send him back.
• (For the next three days) You can send him your support here:
  Seyed Mehdi Kazemi (OBS1)
  Airportbaan 18
  NL-3045 AN ROTTERDAM
  (The Netherlands)
• Home Secretary, The Rt Hon Jacqui Smith MP
  House of Commons, Westminster,
  London, SW1A 0AA
  By Telephone and Fax : 01527 523355
  By E mail: smithjj@parliament.uk
• Sign the petition
• Home Office email
  public.enquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
  indpublicenquiries@ind.homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

About Seyed Madhi Kazemi

Seyed Madhi Kazemi was born in Tehran and is not yet 20. On September 15th, 2005 he set off for the United Kingdom after applying for a student visa. At first he lived with his uncle in London and attended an English course. In November 2005 he moved to Brighton where he enrolled at the Embassy CES College of Hove. He renewed his student visa to November 2006, with the intention of returning to his family in Iran once the course was over.

Madhi loved a boy back in Iran called Parham, with whom he had shared a secret relationship since the age of 15. Madhi and Parham regularly wrote to each other via e-mail until December 2005, when Parham suddenly stopped writing. In late March 2006, Madhi’s uncle informed him that his father had found out about his homosexuality and his relationship with Parham: the boy had been arrested by the Iranian authorities after being caught with a peer and accused of “lavat” (sodomy).

During the interrogation he was forced to give the names of all the boys he had had relations with, including Madhi himself. Madhi’s father had then received a visit from the Tehran Police, with an arrest warrant for his son as they wanted to put him on trial. In late April, Madhi’s uncle told him Parham had been put to death.

At this point, Madhi decided to apply to the British Home Office for refugee status, as a similar fate awaited him back in Iran: a death sentence for lavat, and maybe even mohareb, followed by hanging in an Iranian prison (seeing executions are no longer being carried out in public places after the decree signed by Ayatollah Mahmoud Hasemi on January 30th, 2008). His application for asylum, however, was turned down by the Home Secretary.

Madhi, terrified at the idea of being deported back to Iran - where a death sentence awaits him – attempted to flee to Canada, but he was stopped by the German border police. After telling them his story, he was sent to Holland (a country known for granting refugee status to Iranian homosexuals) and handed over to police custody. However, the United Kingdom then sent an official request to Holland, according to the Treaty of Dublin, asking for Madhi’s return, in order to proceed with his deportation to Iran.

On February 13th, 2008, Madhi informed his uncle of his whereabouts, he was being held in Venlo police station in Holland and had been told he was soon to be transferred to Rotterdam. Madhi’s uncle says he last heard from his nephew on February 15th. Madhi was in the detention centre at Rotterdam Airport, and according to the boy, no one had told him what his fate would be, nor when he was to be returned to Britain.

On Tuesday March 11th Mehdi lost his case in the Netherlands and the Dutch are refusing to reconsider.

The United Kingdom sent a formal request to Holland asking for Mehdi's return to Britain, in order to proceed with his deportation to Iran.

Madhi is at time of writing in a precarious state of heath and suffering from deep depression.

• Statement by Madhi to UKGayNews: Don’t Leave Iranian Gays Abandoned

Video: interview with Omar Kuddus of gayasylum about Mehdi Kazemi

Interview by frictiontv with Omar Kuddus of the Uk gayasylum group about the Mehdi Kazemi case. This interview was conducted prior to the Dutch court's decision to return Mehdi to the UK.

News update

CNN obtained the following from the Home Office today (my emphasis):

In a written statement, Britain's Home Office said that even though homosexuality is illegal in Iran and homosexuals do experience discrimination, it does not believe that homosexuals are routinely persecuted purely on the basis of their sexuality

This is the first time anyone has got them to actually state this.

Dutch radio: Netherlands Democratic MP Boris Ham has asked Deputy Justice Minister Nebahat Albayrak to discuss the matter with the UK authorities to prevent Mr Kazemi being deported to Iran.

Interview by frictiontv with Omar Kuddus of the Uk gayasylum group about the Mehdi Kazemi case. This interview was conducted prior to the Dutch court's decision to return Mehdi to the UK.

Strong CNN story (link to video) today (thanks Alphonso) includes Mehdi's uncle, Simon Hughes and Peter Tatchell. It also quotes the Home Office policy.



From Saturday 8th, interview with Pegah Emambakhsh (NB: RealAudio, media may not be available for more than a week) and Lady Haleh Afshar on the Today Show (Radio 4).

Pegah transcript:

If the British government could prove to me that I would be safe in Iran and to be able to lead a normal life and to be myself I would be very happy to go back to Iran. I had to leave my old father, my ill mother and young sister. I have two lovely children which their father took away from me. i had to give this all up because my life was at risk. At the moment I was safe because I am in England but my life is very difficult. I miss my family and more than anything I am worried all the time that the police will suddenly arrest me and send me back.

Today said that the Home Office has agreed to accept new legal representation for her, despite her losing her last appeal in January.

The interviewer, Edward Stourton, asked if Iranians would pretend to be gay if Home Office policy changed. Haleh Afshar pointed out that there is an enormous social taboo against lesbians and gays.

Ben Summerskill, chief executive of Stonewall, said today that the organisation is "deeply disturbed" about his case.

"There is incontrovertible evidence that lesbian and gay people face danger in Iran and we will be raising this once again with the Home Secretary."

A question of ethics, editorial from newspaper of leading US university Rutgers.

FoxNews story.

British gay MEP Michael Cashman will raise Mehdi's case in the European Parliament later this week.

A Dutch newspaper today quotes Mehdi's Dutch lawyer B. Palm (sorry, Google translation) on what legal hopes there are:

A country may grant asylum even if someone has already made an application in another European country. The Netherlands has a different view on the situation of homosexuals in Iran than Britain. The rules assume that a person seeking asylum in any European country has an equal chance to get asylum. In this case this is not the case.

He hopes that Secretary for Justice Albayrak, who Aliens Office, the matter pull and ensure that Mehdi not returning to Iran.

She is also being lobbied by Dutch MP Boris van der Ham Kamervragen.

Writing in The Irish Times, Quentin Fottrell expresses concern that

The British government isn't the only one tightening the screws on the asylum process of late: our own is keen to clear a backlog of 9,427 asylum applications it has racked up since 2000 . . . one way or another. And, because, where the UK leads on asylum/immigration issues, we invariably follow.

Ireland doesn't give numbers on gay refugee cases, and many are unlikely to declare their sexuality for fear of being "outed" and having to go back if their case is refused, like Kazemi. On that basis, Muslims from brutal regimes are unlikely to make a "study" of gay refugee cases. It would be too hazardous if they failed. Many more have hidden their sexuality their whole life and they choose other reasons for seeking asylum.

On the upside, one Irish lawyer told me he has successfully processed 30 cases of gay refugees, helped by the fact that the 1996 Refugee Act and the new Bill cite sexual orientation under "social group" as a basis for seeking asylum. Dublin-based gay teenage group Belong2 have also worked with several gay teenage refugees. Their two most recent cases - from Albania and Kenya - are now studying in college.

However, direct provision centre staff need more intercultural training, especially on bullying. I've heard of three cases, one of a gay Romanian man who left his accommodation in Cork due to harassment, a Kenyan man in Dublin ostracised because he was damned if he was going to deny his sexuality after everything he had been through, and a Kenyan lesbian in accommodation who hides her sexuality to survive.