Australian Refugee Tribunal Tells Gay Egyptian Man He's Not Gay

July 25, 2007

REFUGEE TRIBUNAL: YOU'RE NOT GAY
by Harley Dennett

The Refugee Review Tribunal believes Mike and Brad's second anniversary commitment ceremony is a fake.

Despite a High Court rebuke and assurances to the Senate, immigration authorities are still finding ways to ignore pleas for protection on the basis of anti-gay persecution.

Egyptian-born Mohamed (Mike) Sarhan is the latest in a string of cases where bigoted assumptions by the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) and the Immigration Department are putting gay people at risk of torture.

Sarhan and his Australian partner Brad Calderon celebrated their second anniversary last week with rings and a ceremony at Sydney Town Hall, but the RRT accused them of faking homosexuality.

“How on earth can you prove that you are gay or not? I told her everything during the interview but she threw it out,” Sarhan said.

Continued...