Britain grants asylum to Iranian gay teenager
Washington, May 21 (IranVNC)—Britain announced today that is has granted asylum to a gay Iranian who says he would face execution if forced to return to Iran, where homosexuality is illegal and punishable by hanging.
By: IranVNC
Published: Wednesday, May 21, 2008
14:01GMT—10:01AM/EST
BRITAIN-GAY-IRAN
Washington, May 21 (IranVNC)—Britain announced today that is has granted asylum to a gay Iranian who says he would face execution if forced to return to Iran, where homosexuality is illegal and punishable by hanging.
Mehdi Kazemi, 19, went to London to study English in 2005. While there, he learned that his lover in Iran had been arrested and hanged on charges of sodomy. Kazemi then sought asylum in Britain, but lost his plea. The Netherlands also rejected his request, saying that under European Union law, the UK was responsible for his case since Kazemi first applied for asylum in that country.
In March 2008, more than 60 members of Britain’s House of Lords, the upper chamber of Parliament, sent a letter to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, asking her to reconsider the case and grant Kazemi asylum, AP reported. The UK Borders Agency then revived his case and allowed him asylum.
The case has drawn attention to the plight of gays in Iran and differences in asylum policies among EU countries, AP says.
Sources: Associated Press, Agence France-Presse
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