Tuesday, 10 November 2009

UNHCR accepts three gay Iranian refugees

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee in Ankara has accepted three Iranian gay refugees into their resettlement program. This means they will find a new safe home, most likely in Canada which is home to Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees (IRQR), the Canadian based group which made the announcement.

IRQR supports the many Iranian gay refugees who flee to Turkey.

The three are Ali, 31 years-old, Ahmad, 30 years-old, and Farhad, 25 years-old.

Interview: Arsham Parsi of Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees

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This website was established to campaign for Mehdi Kazemi. We won 'leave to remain' for him but if Jacqui Smith can save Mehdi her replacement, Alan Johnson, can also save these other lesbians and gays from what would have been Mehdi's fate. You can help by telling him this.

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Prossy Kakooza is a 26-year-old lesbian woman seeking asylum in the UK. She fled Uganda after suffering vicious sexual, physical and verbal attacks due to her sexual orientation.

Prossy has been saved! This is because we all worked to help her — let's help others!

~ Visit the campaign website to find out more
~ Prossy articles on this website

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Pegah Emambakhsh is an Iranian lesbian who was threatened by the British government with deportation to torture and possible death by stoning.

"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 am 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."

Pegah has been saved! This is because we all worked to help her — let's help others!

~ Interview with Pegah Emambakhsh from Radio 4 Today (NB: RealAudio)
~ Pegah articles on this website

photo from protest for Mehdi outside Downing Street

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Answering government spin*

We are extremely cautious about the way in which we treat these cases
They have shown no evidence of caution. For a number of years they have consistently refused asylum to gays and lesbians and transgender people who would suffer persecution if returned, because that is their policy. Some of these people have committed suicide rather than be returned. There is a mass of evidence, including from the Foreign Office, that Iran and other countries like Jamaica and Uganda are a 'deathzone'.
We give detailed consideration to these cases
They do not consider the stated opinion of their own colleagues in the Foreign Office and never have. They misrepresent evidence of torture and systematic harassment by Human Rights Watch and other NGOs.
They go through a rigorous appeals and court process
There is a Home Office policy that gays and lesbians can be returned if they are 'discreet'. Further, there is a history of the Home Office accepting bland assurances from the Iranian and other governments. Further, there is a lot of evidence of homophobic attitudes within the Appeals Court process.
Obviously we have to follow and respect the integrity of that process
Not if it is biased. Not if the outcome is guaranteed because of their (unstated) policy. There is no integrity to this process for gays and lesbians.

* as restated in the Medhi Kazemi case in the House of Lords by a Home Office Minister, Lord West

He said:

"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."

Human Rights Watch: Iran: Private Homes Raided for ‘Immorality’; Authorities Escalate Arbitrary Arrests, Harassment

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Conservative MEP John Bowis made the following powerful speech in the European Parliament in favour of the successful European Parliament resolution supporting Mehdi and Pegah Emambakhsh.

More about European Union support for Mehdi and gay and lesbian refugees

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Tuesday, 10 November 2009

UNHCR accepts three gay Iranian refugees

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Human Rights Watch: Iran: Private Homes Raided for ‘Immorality’; Authorities Escalate Arbitrary Arrests, Harassment

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