Aderonke Apata A petition has been set up and a Twitter campaign is underway, calling on the United Kingdom not to deport a Nigerian woman who says members of her family have been murdered because of her sexuality. Movement for Justice has a petition up at Causes.com asking United Kingdom Home Secretary Theresa May to grant asylum to Nigerian lesbian Aderonke Apata, who faces death if she is deported and returned to Nigeria. "I fled Nigeria after being tortured and then sentenced to death by the Sharia Court. Members of my family were killed because of my sexuality,” says Apata. “Over the past 10 years I have endured the invasive asylum system in the UK and now I am under threat of being deported back to Nigeria. In January 2014, the Nigerian President passed an anti-gay law that makes being gay an imprisonable crime. If I return there, I would face persecution, torture and likely death. “It is my hope to be granted asylum in the UK, so that I can aid other lgbt asylum seekers who are being oppressed by UK system." Advocates say that in the UK, lgbt asylum seekers are being forced to "prove" that they are gay in their application, and face intrusive interviews about their sexual behaviour. While this process is to be reviewed, there is concern that could come too late for Apata.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 16th April 2014 - 10:04am