Gays have right to asylum, UK SC rules

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Young women jump over a campfire on Ivan Kupala Day, an ancient night-long celebration to mark the Summer Solstice

The UK Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld appeal of two homosexual men who had been refused asylum on basis on their sexuality. The court ruled that they have right to asylum in the UK on basis of their sexuality.
The two men, one from Iran and the other from Cameroon, had been refused asylum in the UK on the grounds that they could avoid ill-treatment by keeping their sexuality secret or by behaving discreetly.
Forty-year-old Iranian, identified as HJ, had arrived in the UK in December 2001 and claimed asylum. Thirty-six-year-old Cameroon citizen, called HJ, was arrested at Gatwick Airport in January 2007 and had claimed asylum. Both the men had contended that they would be persecuted in their home countries because of their homosexuality if they were forced to return there.
The five-judge bench of Supreme Court ruled in a judgment on Tuesday that it was not acceptable to refuse asylum to an individual on the basis that they can hide their sexuality to avoid persecution. The top court sent back their cases to the Court of Appeal for reassessment as it ruled that the refusal to grant the two men asylum was against the Convention on the Status of Refugees. The home office welcomed the judgment and said it “vindicated the position of the coalition government.”
“We have already promised to stop the removal of asylum seekers who have had to leave particular countries because their sexual orientation or gender identification puts them at proven risk of imprisonment, torture or execution. I do not believe it is acceptable to send people home and expect them to hide their sexuality to avoid persecution. From today, asylum decisions will be considered under the new rules and the judgment gives an immediate legal basis for us to reframe our guidance for assessing claims based on sexuality, taking into account relevant country guidance and the merits of each individual case,” home secretary Theresa May said after the ruling.
The Refugee Council too welcomed the verdict. “It is hugely encouraging that the Supreme Court has today ruled in favour of gay asylum seekers, and rejected the ludicrous ruling that they should ‘hide’ their sexuality on return to their home country as a means of protecting themselves. It is about time refugees fleeing their countries because of persecution over their sexuality are acknowledged as being legitimately in need of safety here, in line with those fleeing other human rights abuses,” council’s chief executive Donna Covey said.