UK Supreme Court: Government cannot deport gay asylum seekers
From a news item in today's Guardian newspaper:
Gay and lesbian asylum seekers have won the right not to be deported from the UK if they would be persecuted in their home countries.
The supreme court unanimously allowed appeals from two men, from Cameroon and Iran, whose claims had earlier been turned down because officials said they could hide their sexuality by behaving discreetly.
The BBC also reported the ruling, and quoted from the judgement:
To compel a homosexual person to pretend that his sexuality does not exist or suppress the behaviour by which to manifest itself is to deny his fundamental right to be who he is.
Homosexuals are as much entitled to freedom of association with others who are of the same sexual orientation as people who are straight.
Gay and lesbian asylum seekers have won the right not to be deported from the UK if they would be persecuted in their home countries.
The supreme court unanimously allowed appeals from two men, from Cameroon and Iran, whose claims had earlier been turned down because officials said they could hide their sexuality by behaving discreetly.
The BBC also reported the ruling, and quoted from the judgement:
To compel a homosexual person to pretend that his sexuality does not exist or suppress the behaviour by which to manifest itself is to deny his fundamental right to be who he is.
Homosexuals are as much entitled to freedom of association with others who are of the same sexual orientation as people who are straight.