Security
Italy: Protests in Rome against the deportation of gay Iranian refugee
Rome, 25 Feb.(AKI) - Human rights groups scheduled a protest in front of the British Embassy in Rome on Monday, aimed at drawing attention to the plight of a 19-year old Iranian gay man.
Seyed Mehdi Kazemi is scheduled to be deported back to his native Iran where he faces the death penalty on account of his sexual orientation.
Kazemi reportedly left Tehran in 2005 to study in London and was pressured to apply for asylum in Britain after the alleged discovery by Iranian authorities of his homosexual relationship with another man, known as 'Parvat' who was sentenced to death and executed in Iran, on April 2006.
"Sentenced to death for his homosexuality. We must stop the umpteenth violation of a refugee's rights by the Brown government," said campaign group EveryOne, after Kazemi's application for asylum was turned down.
According to a report by EveryOne, Kazemi later fled in secret from England, intending to take refuge in Canada, but he was blocked by German border police.
After hearing his story, he was sent to The Netherlands and again handed over to the police.
However, the United Kingdom has now sent a formal request to The Netherlands asking for Kazemi's return to Britain, in order to proceed with his deportation to Iran.
The protest was organised by EveryOne, anti-death penalty organisation Nessuno Tocchi Caino and the Italy's Radical Party.
In August 2007, EveryOne also held a protest outside the British Embassy in Rome, in support of Iranian lesbian Pegah Imambakhsh.
British authorities released Imambakhsh from a detention centre in September 2007. She had appealed against deportation to her home country.
Imambankhsh arrived in Britain in 2005 and sought asylum, having fled Iran after her married same-sex partner - was arrested and subsequently tortured and in 2005 sentenced to death by stoning for adultery.
Iran's penal code prescribes a punishment of 100 lashes for women found guilty of lesbian relations. The penalty for convicted male and female adulterers is stoning.
Seyed Mehdi Kazemi is scheduled to be deported back to his native Iran where he faces the death penalty on account of his sexual orientation.
Kazemi reportedly left Tehran in 2005 to study in London and was pressured to apply for asylum in Britain after the alleged discovery by Iranian authorities of his homosexual relationship with another man, known as 'Parvat' who was sentenced to death and executed in Iran, on April 2006.
"Sentenced to death for his homosexuality. We must stop the umpteenth violation of a refugee's rights by the Brown government," said campaign group EveryOne, after Kazemi's application for asylum was turned down.
According to a report by EveryOne, Kazemi later fled in secret from England, intending to take refuge in Canada, but he was blocked by German border police.
After hearing his story, he was sent to The Netherlands and again handed over to the police.
However, the United Kingdom has now sent a formal request to The Netherlands asking for Kazemi's return to Britain, in order to proceed with his deportation to Iran.
The protest was organised by EveryOne, anti-death penalty organisation Nessuno Tocchi Caino and the Italy's Radical Party.
In August 2007, EveryOne also held a protest outside the British Embassy in Rome, in support of Iranian lesbian Pegah Imambakhsh.
British authorities released Imambakhsh from a detention centre in September 2007. She had appealed against deportation to her home country.
Imambankhsh arrived in Britain in 2005 and sought asylum, having fled Iran after her married same-sex partner - was arrested and subsequently tortured and in 2005 sentenced to death by stoning for adultery.
Iran's penal code prescribes a punishment of 100 lashes for women found guilty of lesbian relations. The penalty for convicted male and female adulterers is stoning.
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