Red Hands Campaign: Save the young homosexual Alvin Gahimbaze

Rome, January 26th, 2011. “Alvin Gahimbaze, a young gay man from Burundi, is facing imminent deportation from the United Kingdom. With the ruling of the Appellate Court for immigration and asylum in Newport, dated January 6th, 2011, his request for asylum was turned down.”

The case has been taken up again by EveryOne Group. Alvin phoned Everyone Group from Horfield prison in Bristol. The boy is in a state of severe depression.

“Ten years ago Alvin fled from Burundi with his sister, after his family was massacred during ethnic clashes,” say the activists, “The sister was granted asylum but Alvin's application was turned down, despite the fact that he is gay and Burundi is well-known for its persecution of homosexuals”.

Following the request for asylum made by Alvin, EveryOne Group sent both the government and the Courts of the United Kingdom a dossier on human rights in Burundi. The file contains the documented policy against homosexuals and the homophobic culture that currently characterizes the African state.

The red hands sent by EveryOne’s co-presidents Roberto Malini, Matteo Pegoraro e Dario Picciau

The court, however, has chosen to ignore this fact and claims Alvin has produced insufficient evidence of his homosexuality. The magistrate also refuses to acknowledge the persecution in Burundi that affects homosexuals, though it can be easily certified by international human rights organizations. Alvin is about to be transferred to the expulsion centre. He will be forced to board a plane that will take him back to Burundi. We would like to remind everyone that in 2009 the President of Burundi, Nkurunziza, passed a law that punishes the “crime” of homosexuality with imprisonment and a fine.”

The activists are calling on and pleading to the United Kingdom and the international community to ensure that Alvin is released and granted asylum in the United Kingdom, where his sister already lives. The request is based on the laws set out by the Geneva Convention and international laws on human rights.

To prevent Alvin's deportation and his future persecution in Burundi, EveryOne Group has launched the “Red Hands Campaign”. This humanitarian action calls to all friends of human rights to send a letter to the principal institutions of the United Kingdom. This letter asking the UK to save Alvin's life, will be marked with a red hand print. With Red Hands, civil society pleads with the United Kingdom not to spill the blood of persecuted refugees, but instead, to accept them under the law. The European Union, the United Nations and all democratic countries are also invited to appeal to the United Kingdom to save Alvin's life and respect the fundamental rights of persecuted refugees.

These are the addresses, faxes and e-mails you can send the letters, with red hand prints (you can also use the image below), to: