The court, therefore, has invited the young homosexual not to publicly express his sexual orientation once he is deported: thus, according to the judges, he will avoid any form of persecution."Norway has had a commendable past in the field of human rights," say Roberto Malini, Matteo Pegoraro and Dario Piccciau, co-presidents of EveryOne Group, "but for some years the Scandinavian nation has been committing serious violations against LGBT people seeking political asylum after fleeing from countries where gays and lesbians are persecuted and often killed.
The Norwegian Government and the judiciary have justified the deportations by saying that if a gay person acts with discretion the risks are avoided. This, however, is not true, because whilst it is true that the Iraqi government has decriminalized homosexuality, gays are still being persecuted according to Islamic laws, and they are often arrested following complaints from relatives or neighbours, despite not publicly manifesting their sexual orientation". EveryOne Group demonstrates the severe persecution of gays underway in Iraq, citing the reports from Iraqi LGBT, a human rights organization for gays and lesbians based in London, which document assaults, cases of torture and murders of gay men that have occurred both in the Kurdish and Sunni communities.
"At least 600 homosexuals have been attacked and murdered since 2003," says EveryOne, "often after cruel torture, such as one practice that foresees that a gay man's anus is glued up with a powerful glue. After this he is given a laxative, which leads to an extremely painful death. The international LGBT rights organizations now consider Iraq as one of the places where the persecution of gays and lesbians is most widespread and brutal". EveryOne Group, which, due to its humanitarian activities, is well aware of the danger that Azad Hassan Rasol would face if deported back to Iraq, has launched an urgent appeal to King Harald V of Norway, the Government of Oslo, the Committee of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, asking the Norwegian Government (based on the evidence of the persecution of gays in Iraq) to go back on its decision, to honour the Geneva Convention on Refugees, and grant Azad Hassan Rasol political asylum.
"We have also sent an urgent appeal to the UN High Commissioners for Refugees and Human Rights and the EU Commissioner for Human Rights to prevent the deportation and – if the hostile attitude towards the young man and the violation of his right to freedom and life should be maintained by the Norwegian authorities - to start procedures to ensure that the young man is taken in by another EU country, in a humanitarian exception to the Dublin Convention. In any case, it is vital that Azad Hassan Rasol is not deported back to a destiny of humiliation, suffering, marginalization, violence and probable death in Iraq. Iraq has, in fact, one the highest number of reported cases of persecution and summary executions of LGBT people: one of the most tragic in the contemporary world".
These organizations have already joined the campaign:
EveryOne Group, Amnesty International France, Certi Diritti, Iraqi LGBT, Fondazione Massimo Consoli, Sindacato Europeo dei Lavoratori, GaiaItalia.com, Cinemagay.it, Alba Montori, Gaynews.it, Gayroma, Rete Evengelica Fede e Omosessualità, Associazione Sharazade, Watching The Sky, Il Grande Colibrì, Oblogdeeoblogda, GayUsaTheMovie
In the photo, Azad Hassan Rasol
See links:
http://refoitalia.wordpress.com/2009/09/23/salviamo-l’attivista-gay-iracheno-anwar-basim-saleh/
http://fondazionemassimoconsoli.blogspot.com/
http://www.gay.net/hot_topics/2009/04/iraqis-killed-for-being-gay-is-this-our-fault.html?page=1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Iraq
http://www.gq.com/news-politics/big-issues/200701/ali-hili-gay-iraqi-spy
http://news.change.org/stories/us-finally-condemns-anti-lgbt-violence-in-iraq
http://www.queerblog.it/post/13489/la-norvegia-rimanda-in-iraq-un-rifugiato-gay
http://www.lettera43.it/attualita/35179/gay-iracheno-rischia-la-vita-se-rimpatriato.htm
