Why is this even a question?  From this story it seems pretty clear that going back to Iran is a death sentence.

"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."

How did the Iranian authorities find out?  During the interrogation of his boyfriend... just before the Iranians executed the boyfriend by hanging him.  Whether you agree with homosexuality or not, granting him asylum should be a no-brainer.

The kid is now in the Netherlands because his asylum request was already refused once by UK authorities.  He's trying to keep from being sent back to the UK because he fears they will deport him to Iran for execution.  I hope the Netherlands and/or the UK do the right thing here.

*UPDATE*  The Netherlands is sending him back to Britain on a technicality.

Upholding a ruling by the Dutch government, the Council of State said Britain is responsible for Kazemi's case because he applied for asylum there first. European Union rules say the member state where an asylum seeker first enters the bloc is responsible for processing that person's claim.

The good news is that a British official seems to be hinting that the asylum will be granted.

However, Britain's Border and Immigration Agency has issued a statement that could give Kazemi hope: "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."

I hope so.  I also hope Britain tells the Iranians they thought there weren't any homosexuals in Iran.  Isn't that what Ahmadinejad said?

Posted by: Stashiu3 at 16:33:11 | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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