Date: Fri, Mar 7, 2008 at 8:10 AM
Mehdi must stay – No deportation to Iran
The Home Office bid to deport an Iranian gay asylum seeker will put
him at risk of arrest, imprisonment, torture and execution
London – 7 March 2008
Gay Iranian asylum applicant Mehdi Kazemi is in detention in the
Netherlands. He is fighting attempts by the Dutch government to return
him to the UK.
Mehdi fled Britain and sought asylum in the Netherlands because the
British government wants to deport him back to Iran.
The gay human rights group OutRage! campaigns on asylum issues and
supports Mehdi Kazemi's claim for refugee status.
OutRage! spokesperson Peter Tatchell said:
"The Home Office decision to deport Mehdi back to Iran is shameful and
reckless.
"If returned to Tehran, he will be at risk of imprisonment, torture
and execution.
"Gay men in Iran are hanged from public cranes using the barbaric
method of slow strangulation, which is deliberately designed to cause
maximum suffering.
"This deportation order borders on a criminal decision. It violates
the government's legal obligations under the Refugee Convention.
"The Home Office country report on Iran ignores the true scale of
homophobic repression, in order to justify the deportation of lesbian
and gay Iranians.
"I have been tipped off by a senior Home Office official that
government orders are to cut asylum numbers at almost any price.
"Staff are encouraged to assume that all asylum applicants are bogus
and to play down the merits of individual cases, such as Medhi's,"
said Mr Tatchell.
Background
Here is the Everyone organisation's link about Medhi's case. Please
scroll down to read Mehdi's own statement, as given to the Iranian
Queer Rights Organisation:
http://www.everyonegroup.com/EveryOne/MainPage/Entries/2008/2/25_Iranian_gay_refugee_risks_deportation_from_the_United_Kingdom._Urgent_appeal_to_Europe.html
Need to reform the handling of LGBT asylum claims
"The Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith MP, must urgently remedy her
department's five failings with regard to the treatment of LGBT asylum
claimants," added Mr Tatchell.
"Currently, the Home Office stands accused of:
- 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
"These are systemic failings by a callous and indifferent government
that is more interested in cutting asylum numbers than in ensuring a
fair, just and compassionate asylum system," concluded Mr Tatchell.
ENDS
--
Peter Tatchell is the Green Party parliamentary candidate for Oxford East
http://www.greenoxford.com/ and www.petertatchell.net
Mehdi must stay – No deportation to Iran
The Home Office bid to deport an Iranian gay asylum seeker will put
him at risk of arrest, imprisonment, torture and execution
London – 7 March 2008
Gay Iranian asylum applicant Mehdi Kazemi is in detention in the
Netherlands. He is fighting attempts by the Dutch government to return
him to the UK.
Mehdi fled Britain and sought asylum in the Netherlands because the
British government wants to deport him back to Iran.
The gay human rights group OutRage! campaigns on asylum issues and
supports Mehdi Kazemi's claim for refugee status.
OutRage! spokesperson Peter Tatchell said:
"The Home Office decision to deport Mehdi back to Iran is shameful and
reckless.
"If returned to Tehran, he will be at risk of imprisonment, torture
and execution.
"Gay men in Iran are hanged from public cranes using the barbaric
method of slow strangulation, which is deliberately designed to cause
maximum suffering.
"This deportation order borders on a criminal decision. It violates
the government's legal obligations under the Refugee Convention.
"The Home Office country report on Iran ignores the true scale of
homophobic repression, in order to justify the deportation of lesbian
and gay Iranians.
"I have been tipped off by a senior Home Office official that
government orders are to cut asylum numbers at almost any price.
"Staff are encouraged to assume that all asylum applicants are bogus
and to play down the merits of individual cases, such as Medhi's,"
said Mr Tatchell.
Background
Here is the Everyone organisation's link about Medhi's case. Please
scroll down to read Mehdi's own statement, as given to the Iranian
Queer Rights Organisation:
http://www.everyonegroup.com/EveryOne/MainPage/Entries/2008/2/25_Iranian_gay_refugee_risks_deportation_from_the_United_Kingdom._Urgent_appeal_to_Europe.html
Need to reform the handling of LGBT asylum claims
"The Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith MP, must urgently remedy her
department's five failings with regard to the treatment of LGBT asylum
claimants," added Mr Tatchell.
"Currently, the Home Office stands accused of:
- 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
"These are systemic failings by a callous and indifferent government
that is more interested in cutting asylum numbers than in ensuring a
fair, just and compassionate asylum system," concluded Mr Tatchell.
ENDS
--
Peter Tatchell is the Green Party parliamentary candidate for Oxford East
http://www.greenoxford.com/ and www.petertatchell.net
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