Background Information on Mehdi Kazemi, Gay Iranian Facing Deportation from the Netherlands

Some background information on Mehdi's case:

'A gay teenager from Iran who fled the UK for the Netherlands last
year after his appeal for asylum was refused is expected to be
returned to the UK today by Dutch authorities.

London Liberal Democrat MEP Baroness Sarah Ludford has written to the
Home Secretary to request her to urgently review the case of
19-year-old Medhi Kazemi, who faces possible execution by stoning if
he returns to Iran.

Baroness Ludford, who is the Liberal Democrat 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.

"As with Ms Pegah Emambakhsh, an Iranian lesbian who was granted a
reassessment of her own asylum case after I and other parliamentarians
intervened, we need the Home Office to accept the facts and genuinely
consider the risks of deportation.

"We cannot on the one hand claim that we live in a modern and liberal
society if on the other hand we are willing to send asylum seekers
back to face stoning purely because of their sexuality."

At the end of last year a court in the Netherlands ruled Medhi must be
returned back to the UK.

He fled England last spring after his visa ran out and a Home Office
tribunal dismissed his appeal against deportation.

It is feared that if Medhi is ordered to be deported back to Iran he
may face execution for being gay.

Medhi left Iran in 2004 to travel to England on a student visa and
continue his education.

While he was in the UK he learned that Iranian authorities had
arrested his boyfriend Parham back in Iran, and that his boyfriend had
been forced to name Medhi as someone with whom he had had a
relationship.

Medhi's father had then received a visit from the Tehran police, with
an arrest warrant for his son as they wanted to put him on trial.

In late April, Medhi's uncle told him Parham had been put to death.

The Canada-based Iranian Queer Organisation, said:

"The European governments claim to be the champions of human rights
and democracy and condemn Iran frequently for its violation of human
rights; and yet they willingly pave the road for the government of
Iran to go ahead with its human rights abuses, and
arrest and execute an identified Iranian gay.

"Today, they sentence Medhi to torture and possible death by deporting
him to Iran, and tomorrow they issue statements commending this
violent and unlawful act of execution."

Human rights group EveryOne has started a campaign to save Medhi.

"We are asking the European Union to adopt a tough stance and overrule
the decision taken by Gordon Brown's Government," the group in a
statement.

"The United Kingdom is continuing undaunted to violate the
international conventions on human rights and the rights of refugees,
as well as the European directives and laws which determine the
requests for political asylum.

"They did it with the Iranian lesbian Pegah Emambakhsh, when they
refused her refugee status, claiming she was unable to prove her
homosexuality."

EveryOne is making an official appeal to the European Union and the UN
High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, to put an immediate
stop to the deportation and ensure Medhi is given refugee status.

On January 31st the European Commission said:

"Member states cannot expel or refuse refugee status to homosexual
persons without taking into account their sexual preferences, the
information relevant to the situation in their country of origin,
including the laws and ways in which they are applied."

Medhi will have to be repatriated to his country of origin because
according to the British government, he does not run any risk there.

Medhi fled in secret from England, intending to take refuge in Canada,
but was blocked by the German border police.

After hearing his story, he was sent to Holland, a country known for
granting refugee status to Iranian homosexuals, and again handed over
to the police.

However, the United Kingdom sent a formal request to Holland asking
for Medhi's return to Britain, in order to proceed with his
deportation to Iran.'

Bangladeshi Man Granted Refugee Status in Australia

GAY REFUGEE CELEBRATES VISA VICTORY by Harley Dennett

From the Sydney Star Observer - Sept. 6, 2007

Bangladeshi gay activist Motahar Hussein appears set to receive an Australian protection visa after the Refugee Review Tribunal accepted he was homosexual and faced persecution in his home country.

The hearing last Friday came after almost three years of fighting for asylum, including two previous tribunal hearings and a federal court appeal.

“On the whole the tribunal is homophobic, but on this instance they accepted I was homosexual and I would face persecution if sent back,” Hussein told SSO.

An openly gay activist, Hussein came to Australia on a student visa in 2001 with the intention of seeking asylum. He came to the attention of immigration officials after failing to pay his university fees.

He told SSO he feared jail time under the Bangladesh legal code, which prohibits “unnatural acts” including advocacy of gay rights.

Hussein remains on a bridging visa and cannot work until the ruling is finalised, but he and his supporters celebrated at the weekend after what they called a clear victory for queer refugees.

Greens MLC Sylvia Hale gave evidence on Hussein’s behalf and housed him over the last few months after he was granted the bridging visa earlier this year.

“I was happy to do so. He’s an asset to the community because he’s prepared to be involved in movements like gay rights,” Hale said.

“He doesn’t have an overtly gay relationship, which could cast doubt on his bona fides, but I am aware of the pressure that detention had had on him.

“It’s difficult enough for people to come out in a relatively open society such as Australia, let alone under the pressures of a Muslim or Islamic community.”

Hale said there was considerable evidence of Hussein’s activism that would be difficult to hide. Recently two former Bangladeshi leaders were jailed for political activity.

A number of supporters from Community Action Against Homophobia also gave evidence at last Friday’s hearing.

“It’s a pity the RRT rulings don’t create legal precedence because this would help all the queer refugees,” CAAH spokeswoman Rachel Evans said.

CAAH is also campaigning for queer refugee applicant Ali Humayun to be released from mandatory detention until his case against the Immigration Department is heard in the Supreme Court later this month.

Egyptian-born Mike Sarhan and his Australian partner Brad Calderon are still waiting to hear from the RRT on Sarhan’s refugee application on the basis of homosexual persecution.

This category of refugee claim was first established in 2003 after the High Court ruled in favour of a Bangladeshi gay couple.

The Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby is developing sexuality awareness training material for the RRT. A spokeswoman for the RRT said the training sessions would be conducted in the coming months.