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Gay Iranian Teen Wins Right to Asylum in Britain

Great Britain said Tuesday that it is granting asylum to a gay Iranian teenager who fears that he could face execution if forced to return to his homeland. Britain's Border Agency said it would allow asylum for Mehdi Kazemi, who traveled in 2005 to London to study English and, while there, learned that his lover in Iran had been charged with sodomy and hanged.


Britain said Tuesday that it is granting asylum to a gay Iranian teenager who fears that he could face execution if forced to return to his homeland.

Britain's Border Agency said it would allow asylum for Mehdi Kazemi, who traveled in 2005 to London to study English and, while there, learned that his lover in Iran had been charged with sodomy and hanged.

Kazemi, 19, then sought asylum in Britain, but it was rejected. He then went to the Netherlands, where its highest court rejected his claim in March, ruling that Britain was responsible for the case under European Union law because it was there that Kazemi first applied for asylum.

Britain's home secretary, Jacqui Smith, then decided to reconsider the case, and there were appeals in the House of Lords that he be allowed to remain due to fears that his life could be at risk in Iran.

Some human rights groups claim gay people are executed in Iran because of their sexuality.

The case has drawn attention in both countries to the plight of homosexuals in Iran, and the differences in the way various EU countries deal with asylum seekers. (AP)

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Reader Comments
  • Name: John
    Date posted: 5/21/2008 9:23:00 PM
    Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts

    Comment:

    "Some human rights groups claim gay people are executed in Iran because of their sexuality." Is The Advocate suggesting that there's some other reason that they execute gays in Iran? Or are you suggesting they aren't executing gays?

  • Name: Jonboy
    Date posted: 5/21/2008 2:43:00 PM
    Hometown: Winner, SD

    Comment:

    I first heard of this on the Glen Beck show of all places. The interviewee gave out an e-mail address to a Muslim 'gay' House of Lord member. I wrote him and sent my petition to all my gay friends to contact him. Waheed (Lord Alli) dud write back to me in March of this year expressing his own surprise and irritation on this matter. He was actively working on it. I was just going to write him on the status of this student and saw this posted. I am very happy that this has a somewhat happy turnout. Now, we in the United States need to work on our own politicans to treat foreign gays in the a similar fashion without the frustration and fear this poor soul suffered. "All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing." Quoted by Edmund Burke another British statesman from the 1700's.



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