Sweden decided for a Gay Iranian to be deported
02/10/2006
By
ILGA-Europe
A gay Iranian is to be deported from Sweden back to his homeland, a
migration court in Stockholm decided on Friday.
Gay rights group RFSL has condemned the decision, saying that the man could
be executed on his return.
"They're choosing to send people back and just hope that things go well, and
that they're not executed," said RFSL's chairman Sören Andersson to The
Local.
The man had appealed a decision from the Swedish Board of Migration to
deport him. He told the court that he had been harassed, assaulted and
imprisoned because of his sexual orientation. He also said that he had been
arrested by Iranian police and raped at the police station.
But the court said that the man faced no concrete and individual risk if he
were to return to Iran.
The court referred to a 2005 report from the Swedish foreign ministry, which
said that Islamic law as applied in Iran prescribed "terrible penalties" for
homosexual acts. Men who are found to have had penetrative sex can face the
death penalty.
But the report also said that most gay people in Iran managed to avoid
danger by living "discrete and withdrawn" lives.
Sören Andersson said it was unreasonable for Sweden to demand that gay
people live "hidden lives."
"We are very critical of the Foreign Ministry's reporting," he said.
He also pointed to a report from the United Nations' Philip Alston, in which
he detailed a number of cases in which men were sentenced to death for
"private, consensual sexual conduct."
Alston also described a Special Protection Division, which empowers police
officers to conduct surveillance of citizens' private sexual behaviour.
"There's a certain cynicism in the foreign ministry, in the Migration Board
and in courts - they don't care whether people live or die," said Andersson.
RFSL has also raised the case of a lesbian from Pakistan, who also faces
deportation to her homeland. Andersson says she was raped by police with the
aim of "rehabilitating" her.
Asked whether people claiming asylum due to persecution on the grounds of
sexual orientation were treated less favourably than political asylum
seekers, Andersson said he was "beginning to wonder whether that is the
case."
"People who seek political asylum do seem to be seen as more important. This
is hair-raising reasoning about sexual orientation."
The Iranian's legal representative, Lars Lundin, said he would probably
appeal Friday's ruling.
"This case is of great interest on a point of principle, ad the new
migration courts lack a body of precedents," he said.
James Savage
Published: 29th September 2006 18:38 CET
The Local
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/article.php?ID=5069
migration court in Stockholm decided on Friday.
Gay rights group RFSL has condemned the decision, saying that the man could
be executed on his return.
"They're choosing to send people back and just hope that things go well, and
that they're not executed," said RFSL's chairman Sören Andersson to The
Local.
The man had appealed a decision from the Swedish Board of Migration to
deport him. He told the court that he had been harassed, assaulted and
imprisoned because of his sexual orientation. He also said that he had been
arrested by Iranian police and raped at the police station.
But the court said that the man faced no concrete and individual risk if he
were to return to Iran.
The court referred to a 2005 report from the Swedish foreign ministry, which
said that Islamic law as applied in Iran prescribed "terrible penalties" for
homosexual acts. Men who are found to have had penetrative sex can face the
death penalty.
But the report also said that most gay people in Iran managed to avoid
danger by living "discrete and withdrawn" lives.
Sören Andersson said it was unreasonable for Sweden to demand that gay
people live "hidden lives."
"We are very critical of the Foreign Ministry's reporting," he said.
He also pointed to a report from the United Nations' Philip Alston, in which
he detailed a number of cases in which men were sentenced to death for
"private, consensual sexual conduct."
Alston also described a Special Protection Division, which empowers police
officers to conduct surveillance of citizens' private sexual behaviour.
"There's a certain cynicism in the foreign ministry, in the Migration Board
and in courts - they don't care whether people live or die," said Andersson.
RFSL has also raised the case of a lesbian from Pakistan, who also faces
deportation to her homeland. Andersson says she was raped by police with the
aim of "rehabilitating" her.
Asked whether people claiming asylum due to persecution on the grounds of
sexual orientation were treated less favourably than political asylum
seekers, Andersson said he was "beginning to wonder whether that is the
case."
"People who seek political asylum do seem to be seen as more important. This
is hair-raising reasoning about sexual orientation."
The Iranian's legal representative, Lars Lundin, said he would probably
appeal Friday's ruling.
"This case is of great interest on a point of principle, ad the new
migration courts lack a body of precedents," he said.
James Savage
Published: 29th September 2006 18:38 CET
The Local
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/article.php?ID=5069
