Report: Gay Iraqi Asylum-Seekers Returned

A new report from Amnesty International accuses several European countries of violating international law by returning asylum-seekers, including endangered gays, to Iraq despite continuing violence.

The UK Press Association reports that, "Amnesty International accused Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden of forcibly repatriating Iraqis to 'extremely dangerous' parts of the country -- in breach of United Nations guidelines."

The group says that more than 100 civilians have been killed in the first week of April, with religious and ethnic minorities, women and gay men being targeted in particular.

"Amnesty said many of those at risk had been killed -- including dozens of women murdered in Basra on 'moral' grounds, at least 25 men and boys thought to be gay who were killed in February last year, and at least eight Christians killed in Mosul in February during apparent sectarian attacks," reports the Press Association.

Uncertainty over the formation of a new government after elections last month adds to the violence. Amnesty is calling for failed asylum-seekers to be returned to Iraq only when the conditions stabilize.