Cyprus has granted Resident status to a gay Iranian asylum seeker following challenges. Labour, Lib Dem and Tory MEPs, among others, had questioned whether EU directives were breached in Cyprus’ previous refusal of Abbas Bagherian’s claim of asylum on the basis of sexual orientation.
MEP for London, Baroness Ludford was one of the first to welcome the decision allowing Abbas’ asylum claim. The MEP for London is also the Liberal Democrat’s spokeswoman for Human Rights.
The applicant’s return to Iran may have resulted in the death penalty, for being gay. At very least, the applicant would have been at risk of a prison sentence, and there is a high chance he may have been tortured due to his sexual orientation. Many hope the case marks a new chapter in the EU’s acceptance of asylum claims, where applicants are vulnerable to persecution on the basis of the sexual preferences.
In the UK the treatment of homosexual people became a subject of a campaign by MPs, House of Lords members, MEPs, The Independent newspaper, and gay rights groups to grant Asylum Mehdi Kazemi, a gay man from Iran. Medhi’s request for asylum was initially turned down by UK authorities. Subsequently, Mehdi fled the UK, only to be returned by Dutch authorities.
The campaign resulted in the Home Secretary granting asylum to Mehdi. At the age of 20, Mehdi arrived in the UK to continue his studies. After living in the UK on a student visa for 2 years, Mehdi became aware of the arrest of his boyfriend by the Iranian authorities. The authorities killed Mehdi’s boyfriend.
There remain many other gay people facing deportation to Iran.
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