Out in the World: LGBTQ news from Europe, Asia, and Oceania
SWITZERLAND The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Switzerland cannot deport a gay Iranian refugee claimant, finding that the state’s argument that he’d be safe as long as he’s discreet is not reasonable.
The decision, which was delivered Nov. 12, applies to all 46 members of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Swiss government acknowledged that the refugee claimant, known in the case as M.I., was a gay man and that gay men face persecution from state and non-state actors in his country of origin, Iran.
But Switzerland had denied M.I.’s asylum claim, arguing that he could avoid persecution by using discretion and restraint in expressing his sexuality and that it was unlikely his sexual orientation would become known to Iranian authorities otherwise.
The court found this reasoning wrong, noting that M.I.’s sexual orientation could be discovered if he were deported to Iran, and the state had not addressed whether Iranian authorities would provide him with protection against ill-treatment.
