STRASBOURG, March 11, 2008 – Mehdi Kazemi, the 19-years-old gay Iranian has lost his fight to remain in the Netherlands, a Dutch judge ruled this afternoon.
His uncle, Saeed, was told the news by Mehdi’s lawyer, Borg Palm, on the telephone.
The court agreed that the IND, the Netherlands equivalent of the UK’s Border and Immigration Agency, can return him to the UK.
No date has been set for the return – at least 48 hours notice has to be given to Mehdi, with date and time of deportation.
Saeed said that it was Mehdi’s intention to take the matter to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Mehdi Kazemi was studying in the United Kingdom on a student visa and applied for asylum in the UK following the execution of his partner by Iranian authorities after being found guilty of sodomy. His former partner told the Iranian authorities – it is thought under torture – of the relationship.
When his asylum application was turned down Mr. Kazemi fled to Europe and after short stays in the Czech Republic and Germany, arrived in the Netherlands where is applied for asylum.
Told of today’s court decision, Michael Cashman, the president of the European Parliament’s Lesbian and Gay Intergroup and one of the MEPs sponsoring an emergency debate in the European Parliament on Thursday, said he was urging the UK government not to deport Mr. Kazemi back to Iran.
“I call on the UK Government to do all they can to ensure that this man is not returned back to Iran and face certain death,” he said in a statement.
Mr. Cashman, a Labour (PSE) MEP for the West Midlands, co-signed a motion which will be considered by Parliament as a matter of urgency.
The European Parliament will be told that if the young man is returned to the UK, he will face possible deportation to Iran.
The resolution to be considered in Strasbourg highlights that European Union asylum law has to be applied by member states on an individual case basis and that persecution for sexual orientation should be an automatic ground to grant asylum.
It also calls on the EU institutions and Member States, under their European and international human rights obligations, to take action to avoid such situations as Mehdi Kazemi’s occurring in the future.
“I believe that Mr Kazemi faces certain persecution if he returns to Iran and his life would be imperilled,” said Mr. Cashman, who co-initiated the resolution on behalf of the Socialist Group in the Parliament.
“I am glad that case will allow the European Parliament to reaffirm its commitment to protecting fundamental human rights and I urge the UK authorities to take note of the recommendations of the motion.”
■ The debate on Mehdi Kazemi is scheduled for Thursday (March 13) during the Parliament’s debates on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law at the end of this week’s session in Strasbourg. The debate is set to begin at 15:00 central European time (14:00 UK time).
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