Disgraceful sexual persecution

Independent Editorial

It is good news that Mehdi Kazemi, who faces the death penalty in Iran merely for being gay, has finally been granted asylum in the UK. But the news is not good enough. Mr Kazemi came to London to study in 2005, but the following year learned that his former boyfriend had been executed for sodomy – and that before he was hanged, he named Mr Kazemi as his partner. Then began his long struggle to find sanctuary.

His application for asylum was rejected by the UK on the grounds that, while it was conceded that Iran executes homosexuals, there was no "systematic" repression of gay men and lesbians.
But when Mr Kazemi fled to the Netherlands to seek asylum there, his application was rejected on the same grounds; no one, he was told, was executed "solely" because they were gay; he would be safe in Iran if he was discreet about his sexuality. This was a disgraceful judgment. Homosexuality is illegal in many Muslim countries, but in Iran the punishments for same-sex relations between consenting adults in private are particularly brutal.

On the testimony of "four righteous men", homosexuals are slowly strangled by being hanged in public from cranes in the street. Human rights groups estimate that some 4,000 gay men and lesbians, some as young as the age of 15, have been executed in the past 30 years. Many more have been given beatings, 100 lashes. In Iran no public discussion of homosexuality is allowed, gay groups are banned and any political party that supports gay rights has its candidates removed from the ballot paper. It is true that the regime often adds sodomy to the list of crimes of which it accuses political dissidents but that does not lessen Iran's offence, rather it increases it.

The idea that Britain will be swamped with bogus asylum-seekers from Iran falsely claiming to be gay is risible.

Mehdi Kazemi, and others like him whose only crime is their sexuality, should not be forced to depend upon individual acts of compassion by the Home Secretary. This country needs something more systematic. That should begin with a moratorium on the deportation of asylum-seekers to Iran.

This is one aspect of asylum policy which does not need prevarication posing as a government review.

Action should be taken immediately to declare that those fleeing Iran, and certain other countries, on grounds of sexual persecution will not be forced to return to their homelands. Not to do so would be tantamount to Britain endorsing state-sanctioned murder on grounds of sexuality. The Government should announce a change in the application of the rules at once.

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.

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.

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.

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

Now Iranian lesbian who fled to Britain faces deportation

Independent

Now Iranian lesbian who fled to Britain faces deportation
By Robert Verkaik, Law Editor

An Iranian lesbian who fled to Britain after her girlfriend was arrested and sentenced to death faces being forcibly returned after losing the latest round in her battle to be granted asylum.

The case of Pegah Emambakhsh, 40, comes a day after The Independent reported on the growing public outcry over the plight of a gay Iranian teenager who fears he will be executed if he is deported to Iran.

Both cases have provoked international protests against Britain and led to calls for an immediate moratorium on the deportation of gay and lesbian asylum-seekers who fear they will be persecuted in Iran.

More than 60 MEPs have signed a petition asking Gordon Brown to reverse the decision on Mehdi Kazemi, 19, who escaped to the Netherlands after the Home Office refused him asylum last year. His case is still before Dutch judges who will decide this month whether he should return to Britain where he faces deportation to a country which has already executed his boyfriend.

Gay rights group claim there are dozens more cases of gay and lesbian asylum-seekers living in Britain in fear of persecution and facing harsh punishments if forced to return to Iran.

Ms Emambakhsh came to the UK in 2005 fearing for her life after her partner had been arrested by Tehran police. Iranian gay rights groups have reported that that partner is in custody under sentence of death by stoning. Speaking through her asylum representative in Sheffield yesterday, Ms Emambakhsh said: "I will never, never go back. If I do I know I will die."

Under the Iranian Islamic Punishment Act, lesbians found guilty of sexual relations can be sentenced to 100 lashes. But, for a third offence, the punishment is execution.

Ms Emambakhsh narrowly avoided deportation in August last year but only after her local MP, Richard Caborn, and other parliamentarians persuaded the Government to allow her to stay while further legal avenues of appeal were explored. She says she was already on the way to Heathrow when she learnt of her last-minute reprieve. But last month the Court of Appeal turned down her application for permission for a full hearing. Ms Emambakhsh said yesterday that she was "very disappointed" by the ruling but planned to apply for a judicialreview at the High Court. The Home Office has also agreed to consider fresh legal representations on her behalf.

The Liberal Democrat MEP Baroness Ludford has written to the Home Secretary to request her urgently to review the case of Mehdi Kazemi. Lady Ludford, the party's European justice spokesperson and a member of the European Parliament's Gay and Lesbian Rights Intergroup, said: "Jacqui Smith must recognise and act on the real threat of persecution and even execution which Mr Kazemi would face if he was to be deported to Iran."

Mehdi Kazemi, 19, came to London to study English in 2004 but later discovered that his boyfriend had been arrested by the Iranian police, charged with sodomy and hanged.

In a phone conversation with his father in Tehran, Mr Kazemi was told that, before the execution in April 2006, his boyfriend had been questioned about sexual relations he had with other men and under interrogation had named Mr Kazemi. Fearing for his own life if he returned to Iran, Mr Kazemi claimed asylum in Britain. Late last year, his claim was refused.

Terror-stricken at the prospect of being deported, he made a desperate attempt to evade deportation by fleeing to the Netherlands where he is being detained amid a growing outcry from campaigners.

In turning down Ms Emambakhsh and Mr Kazemi's asylum applications, the Home Office has said that, provided Iranians are discreet about their homosexuality, they will not be persecuted.

But Omar Kuddus, of Gay Asylum UK, demanded that Britain follow the example of the Netherlands and Germany in imposing a moratorium on all deportations involving gay and lesbian Iranians. He asked: "How many more young Iranians have to die before the British Government takes action?"

The chief executive of the Border and Immigration Agency, Lin Homer, said: "Our country guidance for such cases is published and is considered as amongst the best in the world. We have expert case workers who make decisions on such cases and there are further avenues through the courts. When and if a court decides that we should look at a case again we will do that."

News update

Simon Hughes writes in The Independent of his involvement with Mehdi's case:

This young Iranian lived in Rotherhithe with his family when he first came to the UK and he and his family have kept in touch with me ever since.

The Indie has also followed up yesterday's front page with a Leader titled 'Squalid priorities':

It is surely apparent to anyone who looks at the case history of Mr Kazemi and Ms Emambakhsh, that they face a real risk of persecution if they are deported. Only a government that has put internal political concerns before its international duty to shield those in genuine fear of their lives would be trying to return them to Iran.

Sadly, it seems that is exactly the squalid order of priorities our own Government has adopted.

What's interesting in reviewing board comment is the level of positive agreement. I honestly think that if the Government has the notion that most people would support them on this they're wrong — even with the anti-asylum climate people commenting seem to agree that knowingly sending people to possible execution is not a 'British value'.

The Indie has also covered Pegah Emambakhsh's case. Iranian gay rights groups have reported that her partner is in custody under sentence of death by stoning, nevertheless her latest appeal has been turned down. The article includes the news that more than 60 MEPs have signed a petition asking Gordon Brown to reverse the decision on Mehdi.

The Guardian's Hugh Muir gives Terry Evans a shout in his diary but applauds the East Midlands Tory who replied to him:

Thank God someone has been brave enough to say it. Enough of the bleeding hearts.

What the heck bravery has to do with it I don't know. To this line I would say, would you do it yourself Hugh? Watch a video of the results of these actions - torture, whipping and slow strangulation? Let's see if your heart doesn't 'bleed' then. This is not a 'British value'.

A Press Association story has been used in other newspapers, including by The Daily Express. Nothing by the BBC yet.

Press release by Green MEP Jean Lambert.

International Herald Tribune article includes the following:

Rene van Soeren of the Dutch gay rights group, COC, "if he had only applied in Holland his case would be over and he would be granted a residence permit without a hesitation."

Brief coverage on CNN

This includes a quote by US State Department Spokesman Tom Casey:

I am tempted to note that in his remarks at Columbia University, President Ahmadinejad asserted that they were no gays in Iran. Maybe he meant that he's kicked them all out of the country.

News update

Mehdi is the cover story for The Independent:

"A gay teenager who sought sanctuary in Britain when his boyfriend was executed by the Iranian authorities now faces the same fate after losing his legal battle for asylum .. "

• More ...

I was pleased to read a series of 'Have your say' comments to The Independent stating that they were, like me, 'ashamed to be British. We can change awful policy like this in the UK, of that I'm proud, but not of those like Smith who've - knowingly - let others be sent to their deaths before Mehdi. Frankly, I'd like to know how they live with themselves.

Here's another comment from the Indie (note emphasis):

I am an immigration lawyer and recently represented a young gay Iranian man in his appeal against the refusal of his asylum claim. It was agreed by all parties - including the Home Office - that my client was gay and had been sexually active in Iran. And so we were faced with a debate before the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal whether there was a "reasonable likelihood" that this man will face persecution in a country where it is accepted gay men can be and are executed. Pretty high stakes. The finer points of legal debate aside, this is a plainly ridiculous discussion. The Home Office position of course is that my client can be homosexual 'on the quiet', something very close to the persecutory values of the Iranian authorities. We wait to see what the 'independent' AIT say on the matter.

Sky News blogs have comment which is pretty positive.

Sky News report: