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Downing Street Protest Against Gay Asylum Seekers

Over 120 protesters braved hail and rain on Saturday to demand gay Iranian asylum seeker, Mehdi Kazemi, be granted refuge in the UK.

They also urged asylum for the Iranian lesbian refugee, Pegah Emambakhsh, and an estimated 12 other gay Iranians who are at risk of deportation back to Tehran.

There were also calls for a “fundamental reform” of the way the Home Office treats LGBTI asylum applicants.

The demonstration took place opposite 10 Downing Street in central London.

“The British government had ordered Mr Kazemi to be deported back to Iran,” said protest speaker Peter Tatchell, spokesperson for the LGBTI human rights group OutRage!.

“Following worldwide protests, the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith MP, has agreed to review Mehdi’s case."

"While there is no guarantee that this review will result in him being allowed to stay, we are hopeful that he will be permitted to lodge a fresh asylum claim and that this will result in Mehdi being given refugee status in the UK," he added.

Saturday’s protest was sponsored by Middle East Workers' Solidarity and the National Union of Students LGBT campaign, with the support of OutRage!

The protest’s three main demands were not to send Mehdi Kazemi back to Iran, that Iran's homophobic laws violate human rights and to give the victims of homophobic persecution the right to settle in the UK.

Tatchell told the rally: "There needs to be a fundamental reform of the way the Home Office processes LGBTI asylum applications."

“The government is currently failing LGBTI refugees," he said.

”The government refuses to explicitly rule that homophobic and transphobic persecution are legitimate grounds for granting asylum. This signals to asylum staff and judges that claims by LGBTI people are not as worthy as those based on persecution because of a person’s ethnicity, gender, politics or faith."

”The Home Office reports on homophobic and transphobic persecution are often partial, inaccurate and misleading. They consistently downplay the severity of victimisation suffered by LGBTI people in violently homophobic countries like Iran, Nigeria, Iraq, Uganda, Palestine, Algeria and Jamaica."

”Cuts in the funding of legal aid for asylum claims means that most asylum applicants - gay and straight – are unable to prepare an adequate submission at their asylum hearing," said Tatchell.

"Most solicitors don’t get paid enough to procure the necessary witness statements, medical reports and other vital corroborative evidence."

“The Home Office has failed to take action to stamp out anti-gay abuse, threats and violence in UK asylum detention centres. Some LGBTI detainees report suffering homophobic or transphobic victimisation, and say they have failed to receive adequate protection or support from detention centre staff,” said Mr Tatchell.

Author: Joanne Oatts

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