11th March 2008 18:10
PinkNews.co.uk staff writer
A gay member of the House of Lords has demanded the government take action to stop a gay teenager being deported back to Iran where he could face the death penalty.
Today it was revealed that 19-year-old Mehdi Kazemi, who was refused asylum in Britain and fled to Holland, will be deported back to the UK.
He had unsuccessfully applied for asylum in the United Kingdom following the execution of his partner by Iranian authorities after being found guilty of sodomy.
Lord Alli is one of only two openly gay peers.
Today he asked minister Lord Bassam to explain the policy of returning gay people to a country where homosexual acts are punishable by execution.
"This young man's partner was hung at an early age for simply being gay," he said in the Lords today.
"The Home Office's position is that gay people can return to Iran safely providing they are 'discreet.' Heavens knows what that means.
"What action will you take if that advice proves wrong and this man is executed for being gay.
"Because if that was me, or any member of this House, in that position, I would hope you would have a good answer."
Lord Bassam replied:
"We do not believe that it is right to make returns when it is not safe to do so.
"We are extremely cautious in the way we operate returns.
"The Border and Immigration Agency only enforces the return of Iranian gay men when we are satisfied they are not in need of protection and we do not seek to enforce returns to Iran unless our decision making processes and the independent courts are satisfied that it is entirely safe to do so."
Ben Summerskill, chief executive of Stonewall, said the organisation is "deeply disturbed" about his case.
"There is incontrovertible evidence that lesbian and gay people face danger in Iran and we will be raising this once again with the Home Secretary."
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
JK Rowling: Homophobia is a fear of people loving
11th March 2008 15:15
PinkNews.co.uk staff writer
The author of the best-selling Harry Potter novels has given a wide-ranging interview to a student newspaper in which she defends her gay character Albus Dumbledore.
JK Rowling also spoke out against fundamentalist Christians in the United States who are trying to ban her work.
Speaking to Edinburgh University's Student newspaper Rowling, whose successful series of novels have made her the richest women in Britain, defended her decision to out Dumbledore last year.
"Homophobia is a fear of people loving, more than it is of the sexual act," she said.
"There seems to be an innate distaste for the love involved, which I find absolutely extraordinary.
"The issue is love. It's not about sex. So that's what I knew about Dumbledore.
"And it's relevant only in so much as he fell in love and was made an utter fool of by love.
"He lost his moral compass completely when he fell in love and I think subsequently became very mistrusting of his own judgment in those matters so became quite asexual.
"He led a celibate and bookish life."
Rowling explained that: "from the outset obviously I knew he had this big, hidden secret, and that he flirted with the idea of exactly what Voldemort goes on to do, he flirted with the idea of racial domination, that he was going to subjugate the Muggles. So that was Dumbledore's big secret."
The 42-year-old, whose seven-series saga about the boy wizard has made her an estimated £545m, sent shockwaves round the world in October when she told an audience of fans in New York that the headmaster of wizarding school Hogwarts was gay.
She revealed Dumbledore's homosexuality at a book reading when asked by a fan if he had ever found love.
Dumbledore, played in the Harry Potter films initially by the late Richard Harris and later by Michael Gambon, is killed in the sixth book in the series.
He makes a ghostly appearance in the seventh, where it is revealed that he fell under the spell of a charismatic but evil wizard, Gellert Grindelwald.
The relvelations about Dumbledore have given evangelical Christians new reason to call for her works to be banned. The author told the Student:
"Fundamentalism is, 'I will not open my mind to look on your side of the argument at all. I won't read it, I won't look at it, I'm too frightened.'
"That's what's dangerous about it, whether it be politically extreme, religiously extreme.
"In fact, fundamentalists across all the major religions, if you put them in a room, they'd have bags in common! They hate all the same things, it's such an ironic thing."
PinkNews.co.uk staff writer
The author of the best-selling Harry Potter novels has given a wide-ranging interview to a student newspaper in which she defends her gay character Albus Dumbledore.
JK Rowling also spoke out against fundamentalist Christians in the United States who are trying to ban her work.
Speaking to Edinburgh University's Student newspaper Rowling, whose successful series of novels have made her the richest women in Britain, defended her decision to out Dumbledore last year.
"Homophobia is a fear of people loving, more than it is of the sexual act," she said.
"There seems to be an innate distaste for the love involved, which I find absolutely extraordinary.
"The issue is love. It's not about sex. So that's what I knew about Dumbledore.
"And it's relevant only in so much as he fell in love and was made an utter fool of by love.
"He lost his moral compass completely when he fell in love and I think subsequently became very mistrusting of his own judgment in those matters so became quite asexual.
"He led a celibate and bookish life."
Rowling explained that: "from the outset obviously I knew he had this big, hidden secret, and that he flirted with the idea of exactly what Voldemort goes on to do, he flirted with the idea of racial domination, that he was going to subjugate the Muggles. So that was Dumbledore's big secret."
The 42-year-old, whose seven-series saga about the boy wizard has made her an estimated £545m, sent shockwaves round the world in October when she told an audience of fans in New York that the headmaster of wizarding school Hogwarts was gay.
She revealed Dumbledore's homosexuality at a book reading when asked by a fan if he had ever found love.
Dumbledore, played in the Harry Potter films initially by the late Richard Harris and later by Michael Gambon, is killed in the sixth book in the series.
He makes a ghostly appearance in the seventh, where it is revealed that he fell under the spell of a charismatic but evil wizard, Gellert Grindelwald.
The relvelations about Dumbledore have given evangelical Christians new reason to call for her works to be banned. The author told the Student:
"Fundamentalism is, 'I will not open my mind to look on your side of the argument at all. I won't read it, I won't look at it, I'm too frightened.'
"That's what's dangerous about it, whether it be politically extreme, religiously extreme.
"In fact, fundamentalists across all the major religions, if you put them in a room, they'd have bags in common! They hate all the same things, it's such an ironic thing."
Simon Hughes: No gay person should be sent back to Iran
The Home Office will confirm that more inquiries are sent about immigration and asylum from my office than from any other MP. Every case is important but some people cause particular concern and Mehdi Kazemi has, from December 2006, been one of them.
This young Iranian lived in Rotherhithe with his family when he first came to the UK and he and his family have kept in touch with me ever since. Originally, they came because the Home Office was to deport Mehdi back to Iran on Boxing Day 2006. I contacted the Home Office to ask for action to be held off until I had reviewed Mehdi's case and the Home Office cancelled the deportation. Mehdi then left the UK because he was scared he would be returned to Iran.
For the past year, this young man has been in Germany and the Netherlands. We have been in contact by email and have continued to meet with his family. The Dublin Convention makes clear that, as Britain was the country where Mehdi arrived first, his case must be dealt with here. Over recent weeks I have been preparing for Mehdi's return and my staff team and I have been in touch with specialist lawyers to make sure he has the best possible legal advice.
My strong view is that, in the present political climate, no person who is lesbian or gay should be sent back to Iran. The Home Office must review its decision to refuse Mehdi asylum – even more so in the light of international campaigns and the press attention his case has received over the past year. This young man's case exposes the cruelty of the regime and the need for Britain, with the rest of the EU, to have consistent and humane policies to prevent people being sent home to be tortured – or worse.
The Home Office claims that a gay person can return to Iran and avoid persecution by being "discreet". All the advice is that in Iran, to be discreet means that you would have to deny your identity. The punishment for giving in to personal feelings might well be nothing less than torture or death. This is clearly a form of discrimination and a serious breach of his human rights. It must now be clear to the Home Office that it is wrong to send back gay and lesbian people to Iran (or any other country with similar laws and practice) where all the evidence shows they will be persecuted.
Mehdi and everybody in the same position needs to know that the EU countries will support them effectively when they turn to us for help.
This young Iranian lived in Rotherhithe with his family when he first came to the UK and he and his family have kept in touch with me ever since. Originally, they came because the Home Office was to deport Mehdi back to Iran on Boxing Day 2006. I contacted the Home Office to ask for action to be held off until I had reviewed Mehdi's case and the Home Office cancelled the deportation. Mehdi then left the UK because he was scared he would be returned to Iran.
For the past year, this young man has been in Germany and the Netherlands. We have been in contact by email and have continued to meet with his family. The Dublin Convention makes clear that, as Britain was the country where Mehdi arrived first, his case must be dealt with here. Over recent weeks I have been preparing for Mehdi's return and my staff team and I have been in touch with specialist lawyers to make sure he has the best possible legal advice.
My strong view is that, in the present political climate, no person who is lesbian or gay should be sent back to Iran. The Home Office must review its decision to refuse Mehdi asylum – even more so in the light of international campaigns and the press attention his case has received over the past year. This young man's case exposes the cruelty of the regime and the need for Britain, with the rest of the EU, to have consistent and humane policies to prevent people being sent home to be tortured – or worse.
The Home Office claims that a gay person can return to Iran and avoid persecution by being "discreet". All the advice is that in Iran, to be discreet means that you would have to deny your identity. The punishment for giving in to personal feelings might well be nothing less than torture or death. This is clearly a form of discrimination and a serious breach of his human rights. It must now be clear to the Home Office that it is wrong to send back gay and lesbian people to Iran (or any other country with similar laws and practice) where all the evidence shows they will be persecuted.
Mehdi and everybody in the same position needs to know that the EU countries will support them effectively when they turn to us for help.
A life or death decision
By Robert Verkaik, Law Editor
Thursday, 6 March 2008
A gay teenager who sought sanctuary in Britain when his boyfriend was executed by the Iranian authorities now faces the same fate after losing his legal battle for asylum.
Mehdi Kazemi, 19, came to London to study English in 2004 but later discovered that his boyfriend had been arrested by the Iranian police, charged with sodomy and hanged.
In a telephone conversation with his father in Tehran, Mr Kazemi was told that before the execution in April 2006, his boyfriend had been questioned about sexual relations he had with other men and under interrogation had named Mr Kazemi as his partner.
Fearing for his own life if he returned to Iran, Mr Kazemi claimed asylum in Britain. But late in 2007 his case was refused. Terror-stricken at the prospect of deportation the young Iranian made a desperate attempt to evade deportation and fled Britain for Holland where he is now being detained amid a growing outcry from campaigners.
He appeared before a Dutch court yesterday to plead with the authorities not to return him to Britain where he is almost certain to be sent back to Iran.
In a letter to the British Government, Mr Kazemi has told the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith: "I wish to inform the Secretary of State that I did not come to the UK to claim asylum. I came here to study and return to my country. But in the past few months my situation back home has changed. The Iranian authorities have found out that I am a homosexual and they are looking for me." He added: "I cannot stop my attraction towards men. This is something that I will have to live with the rest of my life. I was born with the feeling and cannot change this fact but it is unfortunate that I cannot express my feeling in Iran. If I return to Iran I will be arrested and executed like my former boyfriend."
Mr Kazemi's future will now be decided by a Dutch appeal court, which will rule whether to grant him permission to apply for asylum in Holland, which offers special protection to gay Iranians, or whether he will be deported to Britain. His case has attracted support from leading gay rights groups across Europe who are campaigning to allow him to live in Britain.
Omar Kuddus, from Gay Asylum UK, said that Britain must do more to protect homosexual asylum-seekers such as Mr Kazemi: "The challenge and legality under question and debate in the Dutch court is if he can or should be deported back to the UK under the Dublin Treaty which compels EU states to send asylum-seekers to the first European country they claim asylum."
Peter Tatchell, of the gay rights campaign group Outrage, described the Government's policy as "outrageous and shameful". He said: "If Mehdi is sent back to Iran he will be at risk of execution because of his homosexuality. This is a flagrant violation of Britain's obligations under the refugee convention.
"It is just the latest example of the Government putting the aims of cutting asylum numbers before the merits of individual cases. The whole world knows that Iran hangs young, gay men and uses a particularly barbaric method of slow strangulation. In a bid to fulfil its target to cut asylum numbers the Government is prepared to send this young man to his possible death. It is a heartless, cruel mercenary anti-refugee policy."
Emma Ginn, of the National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns, met Mr Kazemi at the Tinsley House removal centre, near Gatwick airport, while he was being detained by the Home Office. She recalls: "Mehdi was very anxious when I visited him in Tinsley. The Home Office planned to deport him two days later to Iran where he risked being executed like his boyfriend had been. I'm not surprised he fled the UK."
According to Iranian human rights campaigners, more than 4,000 gay men and lesbians have been executed since the Ayatollahs seized power in 1979. The last reported case of the death penalty imposed against a gay man was that of Makwan Moloudzadeh, 21, who was executed in December after being convicted for sodomy, or lavat, a capital offence under Iranian law.
Last year, the Foreign Office released correspondence sent between embassies throughout the EU dating back to May 2005. They refer specifically to the case of two gay youths, Mahmoud Asqari, under 18 at the time of his execution, and Ayad Marhouni, who were hanged in public.
The Home Office's own guidance issued to immigration officers concedes that Iran executes homosexual men but, unaccountably, rejects the claim that there is a systematic repression of gay men and lesbians.
The Government has a policy of not commenting on individual cases but a Home Office spokeswoman said: "The UK Government is committed to providing protection for those individuals found to be genuinely in need, in accordance with our commitments under international law. If an application is refused, there is a right of appeal to an independent judge, and we only return those who have been found by the asylum decision-making process and the independent courts not to need international protection.
"We examine with great care each individual case before removal and we will not remove anyone who we believe is at risk on their return. However, in order to maintain the integrity of our asylum system and prevent unfounded applications it is important that we are able to enforce returns of those who do not need protection." She added: "The Dublin Regulation states that an asylum applicant should make an application for protection in the first 'safe' country they reach having left their own country. If they do not do so, the Regulation permits the return of asylum applicants to the third country where the substantive asylum claim was made."
Thursday, 6 March 2008
A gay teenager who sought sanctuary in Britain when his boyfriend was executed by the Iranian authorities now faces the same fate after losing his legal battle for asylum.
Mehdi Kazemi, 19, came to London to study English in 2004 but later discovered that his boyfriend had been arrested by the Iranian police, charged with sodomy and hanged.
In a telephone conversation with his father in Tehran, Mr Kazemi was told that before the execution in April 2006, his boyfriend had been questioned about sexual relations he had with other men and under interrogation had named Mr Kazemi as his partner.
Fearing for his own life if he returned to Iran, Mr Kazemi claimed asylum in Britain. But late in 2007 his case was refused. Terror-stricken at the prospect of deportation the young Iranian made a desperate attempt to evade deportation and fled Britain for Holland where he is now being detained amid a growing outcry from campaigners.
He appeared before a Dutch court yesterday to plead with the authorities not to return him to Britain where he is almost certain to be sent back to Iran.
In a letter to the British Government, Mr Kazemi has told the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith: "I wish to inform the Secretary of State that I did not come to the UK to claim asylum. I came here to study and return to my country. But in the past few months my situation back home has changed. The Iranian authorities have found out that I am a homosexual and they are looking for me." He added: "I cannot stop my attraction towards men. This is something that I will have to live with the rest of my life. I was born with the feeling and cannot change this fact but it is unfortunate that I cannot express my feeling in Iran. If I return to Iran I will be arrested and executed like my former boyfriend."
Mr Kazemi's future will now be decided by a Dutch appeal court, which will rule whether to grant him permission to apply for asylum in Holland, which offers special protection to gay Iranians, or whether he will be deported to Britain. His case has attracted support from leading gay rights groups across Europe who are campaigning to allow him to live in Britain.
Omar Kuddus, from Gay Asylum UK, said that Britain must do more to protect homosexual asylum-seekers such as Mr Kazemi: "The challenge and legality under question and debate in the Dutch court is if he can or should be deported back to the UK under the Dublin Treaty which compels EU states to send asylum-seekers to the first European country they claim asylum."
Peter Tatchell, of the gay rights campaign group Outrage, described the Government's policy as "outrageous and shameful". He said: "If Mehdi is sent back to Iran he will be at risk of execution because of his homosexuality. This is a flagrant violation of Britain's obligations under the refugee convention.
"It is just the latest example of the Government putting the aims of cutting asylum numbers before the merits of individual cases. The whole world knows that Iran hangs young, gay men and uses a particularly barbaric method of slow strangulation. In a bid to fulfil its target to cut asylum numbers the Government is prepared to send this young man to his possible death. It is a heartless, cruel mercenary anti-refugee policy."
Emma Ginn, of the National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns, met Mr Kazemi at the Tinsley House removal centre, near Gatwick airport, while he was being detained by the Home Office. She recalls: "Mehdi was very anxious when I visited him in Tinsley. The Home Office planned to deport him two days later to Iran where he risked being executed like his boyfriend had been. I'm not surprised he fled the UK."
According to Iranian human rights campaigners, more than 4,000 gay men and lesbians have been executed since the Ayatollahs seized power in 1979. The last reported case of the death penalty imposed against a gay man was that of Makwan Moloudzadeh, 21, who was executed in December after being convicted for sodomy, or lavat, a capital offence under Iranian law.
Last year, the Foreign Office released correspondence sent between embassies throughout the EU dating back to May 2005. They refer specifically to the case of two gay youths, Mahmoud Asqari, under 18 at the time of his execution, and Ayad Marhouni, who were hanged in public.
The Home Office's own guidance issued to immigration officers concedes that Iran executes homosexual men but, unaccountably, rejects the claim that there is a systematic repression of gay men and lesbians.
The Government has a policy of not commenting on individual cases but a Home Office spokeswoman said: "The UK Government is committed to providing protection for those individuals found to be genuinely in need, in accordance with our commitments under international law. If an application is refused, there is a right of appeal to an independent judge, and we only return those who have been found by the asylum decision-making process and the independent courts not to need international protection.
"We examine with great care each individual case before removal and we will not remove anyone who we believe is at risk on their return. However, in order to maintain the integrity of our asylum system and prevent unfounded applications it is important that we are able to enforce returns of those who do not need protection." She added: "The Dublin Regulation states that an asylum applicant should make an application for protection in the first 'safe' country they reach having left their own country. If they do not do so, the Regulation permits the return of asylum applicants to the third country where the substantive asylum claim was made."
Gay Iranian Teen Loses Appeal in Netherlands Court - To Be Returned to UK
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).
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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