Gay Lebanese Man Gets Asylum Review
PlanetOut,
March 8, 2005
By Christopher Curtis
SUMMARY: A U.S. appeals court ruled that a gay man
with AIDS can seek asylum in the United States, agreeing that his fear of
persecution in his native Lebanon was well-founded.
A U.S. appeals court ruled on Monday that a gay
Lebanese man with AIDS can seek asylum in the United States, agreeing that his
fear of persecution in his native country was well-founded.
The decision reverses a ruling by the board of
immigration appeals, which sided with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in
saying that Nasser Mustapha Karouni could avoid persecution if he simply
refrained from homosexual acts.
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed,
finding that “The Attorney General appears content with saddling Karouni
with the Hobson’s choice of returning to Lebanon and either facing
persecution for engaging in future homosexual acts or living a life of
celibacy. In our view, neither option is acceptable.”
Victoria Neilson, legal director for Immigration
Equality, an organization devoted to helping LGBT individuals immigrate to the
United States, praised the ruling. “I think it’s a great decision. The
wording is very strong. I was really shocked that U.S. Immigration is still
making the argument that homosexual conduct is different than homosexual
status. The 9th Circuit soundly rejected that.”
Karouni came to the United States on a visitor’s visa
in 1987 after the Islamic resistance group Hezbollah detained and threatened
him for a relationship he had with another man. He applied for asylum in 1998,
saying a former lover had been beaten and a gay cousin was shot and killed
after surviving being shot in the anus two years before.
Karouni told the court he could not live anonymously in
Lebanon since he was outed by a gay friend during a police interrogation
during the mid-1990s. Karouni added that his identity in Lebanon would not be
kept secret because his AIDS treatment would make him a target for
persecution.
While the immigration court claimed Karouni’s
testimony was “full of supposition and devoid of supporting facts,” the
9th Circuit Court of Appeals felt differently, writing, “Karouni, by virtue
of his past homosexual acts alone, would certainly face at least a 10 percent
chance that he will suffer persecution.”
“Karouni’s would-be persecutors appear sufficiently
capable of sleuthing out their victims,” the court added.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals did not rule on
Karouni’s asylum petition. Instead it remanded it to the Board of
Immigration Appeals.
At press time there was no comment from Karouni’s
immigration attorney.
David Smith, vice president of policy for the Human
Rights Campaign (HRC), said Karouni’s case raised doubts about Attorney
General Gonzales.
“The attorney general claims to condemn torture while
sending a gay man home where he will likely be tortured,” said Smith.
“This duplicity is putting people’s lives at risk, and it must stop. We
urge the attorney general to ensure that asylum policy doesn’t turn a blind
eye to violence that amounts to torture based on sexual orientation and gender
identity discrimination.”
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