A court in the
Netherlands has ruled that a gay 19-year-old Iranian must
return to the United Kingdom, where he faces
deportation back to Iran, according to a report in the
UK Gay News.
A court in the
Netherlands has ruled that a gay 19-year-old Iranian must
return to the United Kingdom, where he faces
deportation back to Iran, according to a report in the
UK Gay News.
“I was
refused the right to appeal of asylum in the Netherlands
because of the Dublin Treaty,” Medhi told the
UK Gay News by telephone Wednesday
afternoon. “Obviously, I am very disappointed
at judge’s decision." Medhi's lawyer is making a
final appeal to the Netherlands High Court.
The ruling was
based on the Dublin Treaty, a European Union law that
prevents asylum seekers from applying in multiple E.U.
states.
Mehdi says he's
worried that the early decision from the court -- the
decision wasn't expected until the new year -- meant he'd be
deported to the U.K. over the holidays.
“My main
fear at the moment is that the U.K. Home Office would
disregard appeals and send me back to Iran before any
offices reopened after the holiday,” he said.
While studying in
England, Medhi learned that Parham, his former
boyfriend in Iran, had been arrested by authorities. Before
being executed, Parham had revealed Medhi’s
name to interrogators. Medhi fled to the Netherlands
from England last spring when a tribunal
dismissed his appeal against deportation. According to
Medhi's uncle, the appeal for asylum failed because
the tribunal judge found that dates on Iranian
paperwork did not match the young man's story. However,
the uncle told UK Gay News the Iranian calendar is
different from that observed in the West. (The
Advocate)
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