Gay Iranian Teen Granted Reprieve

A least a temporary reprieve has been granted the gay Iranian 19 year old I mentioned yesterday.

Britain halted deportation proceedings Thursday against a gay Iranian teenager who has said he would probably be hanged because of his sexual orientation if he is returned to Iran.

Mehdi Kazemi, 19, moved to Britain in 2005 to study and has said he then learned that his boyfriend in Iran had been hanged after being convicted of sodomy. Homosexuality is a severe crime under Iranian law, and Kazemi's case has drawn concern from gay rights groups around the world.

An initial appeal for asylum was turned down here. But Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, Britain's top law enforcement figure, said Thursday that "in light of new circumstances" Kazemi's appeal would be reconsidered, handing him a temporary reprieve that his supporters hope will ultimately lead to his being granted the right to stay in Britain.

When the government first rejected his appeal, Kazemi fled to the Netherlands, where lawmakers took up his cause. He remains there but is expected to return to Britain within days. A Dutch court this week refused to grant Kazemi asylum on the grounds that he had initiated proceedings in Britain and needed to return there to continue them.

Save Madhi Kazemi

There's a new website in support of Madhi Kazemi, the gay Iranian teen facing deportation back to Iran after the UK ruled denied his asylum request on the grounds that Iran doesn't persecute homosexuals. We all know the truth about that.

Kazemi has the support of world-famous gay activist Peter Tatchell. Kazemi is presently in Holland and is set to be returned to the UK before being returned to Iran. From the Kazemi support site:

The British government can no longer hide behind its stance that Homosexuals are free in Iran as long as they are discreet, for they, via our own MP's and published in The Times, have been told by a senior Iranian Minister that all homosexuals will be executed.

However, Britain's Home Office told CNN in a written statement that it does not believe that homosexuals are routinely persecuted purely on the basis of their sexuality.

His sexuality has never been in doubt and the Home Office stance that homosexuals are safe in Iran is no different than to say that Ann Franks was safe from the Nazis as long as she hid in the attic, during WWII.