Tag Archives: asylum

Home-Schoolers Lose US Asylum Bid

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled against a German home-schooling family who applied for asylum on the grounds of religious persecution. Home-schooling is illegal in Germany and some families have lost custody of their children over the issue. The U.S. grants safe haven to people who have a well-founded fear of persecution, but not necessarily to those under …

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At #LGBTmedia13

The fourth annual Haas Convening is underway in Philadelphia, where about 70 LGBT journalists have gathered for brainstorming and training on critical issues facing the community. Among today’s presenters are noted lawyer Lavi Soloway, who advocates for bi-national couples who face DOMA-related deportations. Other issues on today’s agenda include LGBT rights abroad and asylum rights, aging and seniors in the …

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Gay Ugandans Marry In Sweden

Sweden’s The Local reports: A couple who claim to be the first Ugandan men to be legally married face an uncertain future after recently tying the knot in a Swedish church, with one facing possible deportation that the other fears could result in his husband’s death. Last weekend, Lawrence Kaala and Jimmy Sserwadda were all smiles as they exchanged vows …

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On Gay Iranians Seeking UK Asylum

(Tipped by JMG reader Robert)

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DC Gay Center To Help Asylum Seekers

Washington DC’s LGBT Community Center has launched a program to aid asylum seekers who are escaping anti-gay persecution in their home countries. Via Washington Blade: The program, called Center Global, is aimed at providing temporary housing, financial assistance and referrals to service providers for LGBT foreigners in the D.C. area who are going through the complicated process of applying for …

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Ecuador Grants Asylum To Assange

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Netherlands Grants Asylum To LGBT Iraqis

LGBT Iraqis facing persecution at home are now eligible for asylum in The Netherlands. The situation facing gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in Iraq is so serious that they do now qualify for asylum in the Netherlands, immigration minister Gerd Leers said on Thursday. However, would-be refugees will have to prove they are from Iraq, the minister said in …

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Canada To Help LGBT Refugees

In a partnership with an LGBT group, Canada has announced a landmark asylum program to assist LGBT refugees fleeing persecution in their home countries. Through the project, Citizenship and Immigration Canada will work with the Rainbow Refugee Committee to share the cost of sponsoring gay, lesbian, transgender, transsexual and bisexual refugees overseas to Canada. The department will provide $100,000 in …

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Too Butch For Asylum

American immigration officials examining the cases of gays seeking asylum here are often denying such requests if the applicants “don’t look gay enough” to be persecuted in their home countries. “Judges and immigration officials are adding a new hurdle in gay asylum cases that an applicant’s homosexuality must be socially visible,” said Lori Adams, a lawyer at Human Rights First, …

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BRITAIN: Deportation Reprieve For Uganda’s Brenda Namiggade

Ugandan citizen Brenda Namiggade was already being escorted to London’s Heathrow airport tonight when word came that Britain’s Home Office had granted a temporary reprieve to her deportation. This comes after gay activists earlier today served UK Home Secretary Theresa May with a petition bearing over 40,000 names. According to the BBC, some in the British government doubt that Namiggade …

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BRITAIN: Activists Hold Kato Vigil Outside London’s Uganda High Commission

LGBT activists staged a vigil for David Kato outside of London’s Uganda High Commission today, after which they delivered a 40,000-name petition to UK Home Secretary Theresa May, demanding that Britain not send lesbian asylum-seeker Brenda Namigadde back to Uganda. Namigadde says she fears that she too will be murdered if forced to return. Add your name to the petition …

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EU To Czech Republic: Stop Boner Tests

The European Union is telling the Czech Republic to cease testing the homosexuality of gay asylum seekers by hooking them up to a penile tumescence monitor while they watch straight porn. According to Czech immigration officials, getting an erection while watching heterosexual porn meant the applicant was lying about escaping gay persecution in their home country. The Czech Republic is …

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Czech Republic To Gay Asylum Seekers: Let’s See If Straight Porn Gets You Hard

The Czech Republic is being criticized for its bizarre requirement that gay men seeking asylum from persecution in their home countries must first prove their gayness by submitting to a penile tumescence test while viewing straight porn. According to information provided by the Czech Ministry of the Interior, ‘phallometric testing’ for asylum seekers who claim to be gay may be …

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Gay Saudi Diplomat Seeks U.S. Asylum

Saying that his life is in danger and that if he goes back to Saudi Arabia “they will kill me openly in broad daylight,” a gay Saudi diplomat has requested asylum in the United States. The diplomat, Ali Ahmad Asseri, the first secretary of the Saudi consulate in Los Angeles, has informed U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials that Saudi …

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Quote Of The Day – Lord Rodger

“Just as male hetero­sexuals are free to enjoy themselves playing rugby, drinking beer and talking about girls with their mates, so male homosexuals are to be free to enjoy themselves going to Kylie concerts, drinking exotically-coloured cocktails and talking about boys with their straight female mates.” – British Supreme Court Judge Lord Rodger, explaining the Tuesday’s ruling that gay people …

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BRITAIN: Court Rules Gay Asylum Seekers Have A Right To Stay In The UK

Britain’s Supreme Court has ruled that gay people who fear retribution in their home countries have a right to asylum in the UK. The decision involved two men from Iran and Cameroon who say they face physical harm should they be returned to their home countries. Via Pink News: Lord Hope, who read out the judgment, said: “To compel a …

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S. Korea Gives Asylum To Gay Pakistani

A South Korean court has granted political asylum to a gay Pakistani man who says he faces persecution at home. The individual had petitioned the government for refugee status in February of last year. The Justice Ministry rejected his application four months later, however, saying his petition did not meet the criteria of a “well-founded fear of being persecuted” as …

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