Ms. Smith: Do the right thing

By Omar Kuddas

If Babi was from a religious minority and being persecuted he would give asylum straight away as the British Home Office seems to think that persecution of the religiously inclined is considered grounds for asylum.

However in the case of persecution of homosexuals the British Home office has shown time and time again that it is often those very same religiously inclined people who are doing the persecuting, and the last thing that they want to do is upset the Religious fraternity.

When are they going to learn and understand that persecution is persecution, and it does not matter if it's for being gay or for being Jewish, Muslim Christian, or whatever.

The world's LGBT community has to unite and make itself heard and demand that sexual preference is just as much a fundamental right as any other and should be respected, by the mere fact that we are all born human and equal.

Asylum was designed and introduced to protect the basic fundamental rights of the week and venerable from harm, persecution and torture.

Unfortunately the world and especially the British Home Office seems to have forgotten this very principal and their broken stereo record of typical reasoning for refusal for asylum and expecting gay asylum seekers to be “discreet” in their home countries is ludicrous.

For it would be no different than saying that if the British were not so British (“discreet”) before World War II Hitler would not have invaded /had any problems with Britain.

Just how many more innocent lives and blood have to be spilt before the British Home Office realises that we refuse to remain silent and have injustices carried out in our name.

Please Ms Smith, the world has shown its disgust and made its feelings clear when you tried to deport Madhi Kamazi back to Iran and you have proved before that you are capable of compassion.

Do the right thing again, and put the Great back into Britain, before the world again shows its condemnation and protest at your actions.

omar kuddus 2008/9/17

Jacqui Smith on sexual orientation

By Omar Kuddas

Last Wednesday night, home secretary Jacqui Smith said:

'In the 21st century, no one should ever feel under threat of verbal or physical violence just because of their sexual orientation.'

She added: she would ask a ministerial action group to tackle the issue.

Does this imply that only those who are British, European or born in the free west are entitled to live without fear, or does this also extend to all asylum seekers who fear for their lives due to their own governments stand on Homosexuality?

If NO ONE should ever feel under treat of violence, Britain and herself must take the stand as other European nations have done that homosexuals fleeing persecution, torture and execution should be grated asylum, Carte Blanche, and not have to prove their personal “threat of verbal or physical violence just because of their sexual orientation.'

gayasylumuk wants more to sign petition to Gordon Brown

MEDIA RELEASE
15TH June

FOR IMMEDIATE USE

gayasylumuk wants more to sign petition to Gordon Brown

The campaigning group gayaylumuk today called on all those moved by the plight of the 19-yo Iranian Mehdi Kazemi to support other lesbian and gay asylum seekers at risk of return to torture and possible death.

The group is calling on all British people outraged by government policy to sign the petition to Gordon Brown (at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Stopdeportinggay/).

This petition, established by Durham Methodist minister Walter Attwood, says: 'we the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to stop deporting gays and lesbians to countries where they may be imprisoned, tortured or executed because of their sexuality'.

The petition has almost 3000 signatures but needs many more to achieve significance in the Number Ten petitions system, established by Downing Street to affect and inform policy.

The group has also established an international petition to support Prossy Kakooza, 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. Her application has been refused with Prossy being told she can return and 'be discrete' when this is not an option in Uganda.

International petition for Prossy http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/ProssyKakooza/

We are also highlighting the cases of:

* Pegah Emambakhsh, an Iranian lesbian threatened by the British government with deportation to torture and possible death by stoning.
* Gay Syrian refugee JoJo Jako Yakob, who fled his homeland two years ago after being arrested, shot and beaten.
* Babakhan 'Babi' Badalov, a target of repression and persecution as an openly gay radical artist and poet in Azerbaijan.

Their claims for asylum has all been dismissed.

Spokesperson Paul Canning said, "LGBT refugees fleeing torture and possible murder are routinely being refused asylum because of UK government policy. This is at the same time as British embassy's abroad are flying the rainbow flag — it's hypocritical."

"Many other countries, such as Holland, the United States and Sweden do not treat LGBT asylum seekers this way and the evidence shows that there is no 'flood' if you adopt humane policies. The government needs to change its shameful attitude and we are calling on British people to tell them it is, indeed, shaming."

gayasylumuk is a campaign group established by Omar Kuddas. It has supporters in the UK, USA, Europe and around the world.

Further information about Prossy, Pegah, JoJo and Babi can be found on 'LGBT asylum news (formally Save Mehdi Kazemi)', the campaign's website http://www.medhikazemi.com

Further information on Rev. Walter Attwood http://www.durhamdeernessmethodist.org.uk/ministers.shtml

-- ENDS --

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

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.

About GayAsylumUK

Gay Asylum UK is a voluntary organisation that receives no public funding and has its own independent views. Our aim is to assist and help gay asylum seekers in the UK, despite their country of origin or current legal status. However our special interest and expertise is in the persecution, torture and execution of homosexuals in and by the Islamic republic of Iran.

Omar Kuddus of GayAsylumUK personally took on the British Government itself, to establish the law, of Misfeasance in Public Office, in the House of Lords and strip away the ability for government authorities and its employees to hide behind “crown Protection”.

Capital Punishment is an inhuman retribution and contributes to the vain circle of violence and retaliation within society. Especially when totalitarian regimes use execution as a legitimate means to oppress, diminish and murder their minority groups. On the other hand, psychological side-effects of executions, in short and long terms, are damaging to the victims’ survivors as well as to the executers of the punishments. Add to this the fact that execution reduces society’s sensitivity against violence and violent behaviour.

For the foundations of a civil society, for democracy and establishment of human rights, to respect the rights and the safety of alternative and freethinkers and to promote a non-violence culture, the omission of capital punishment is the first and foremost step.

We may have different political, social and cultural believes and objectives, but we all have come to agree on one point, and that is, the importance of abolishment of capital punishment for the sake of Iranian society.

We urge everyone to get involved actively in a wide spread war against capital punishment in Iran and help achieve this national goal through joined efforts of all especially the Homosexual community.

Sexuality is as important a fundamental right as all others and should be respected.