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Iranian lesbian wins asylum in UK

Thu 13 Sep 2007 In: International News

An Iranian lesbian facing deportation from Britain has been freed from detention and will be allowed to continue her fight remain in the UK with a legal hearing at the Court of Appeal. The decision follows an international campaign to prevent her from being sent back to a regime that could have imposed the death penalty on her. Pegah Emambakhsh, 40, fled to Britain from Iran in 2005 after her partner was arrested and tortured. Homosexuality is considered a crime in Iran and can carry the death penalty. In 2005, the Islamic regime hanged two teenagers on charges of involvement in homosexual acts. British police arrested Emambakhsh in Sheffield, charging her with being in the country illegally. An immigration hearing rejected her claims that she was likely to be imprisoned, tortured, hanged or stoned to death if she were returned to Iran. Emambakhsh was ordered held at a detention centre until arrangements could be made for her to be expelled from the country. LGBT rights groups mounted an international campaign to keep the women from being deported, staging protests in London and other EU capitals. Two weeks ago the Italian government said that it would consider granting asylum to Emambakhsh. The announcement by Italy's justice minister embarrassed the British government into re-examining Emambakhsh's case. Late on Tuesday night the government granted her temporary asylum and a spokesperson said Emambakhsh's claim will be reopened. A British LGBT group, the Friends of Pegah Campaign, formed to lobby for her release said Wednesday that Emambakhsh has been released from the Yarls Wood Detention Center and that a final decision on the case is expected in the next few weeks. "This does not mean that Pegah is out of the woods but she is now in a much more hopeful position," the organisation said in a statement.     Ref: 365gay.com (m)

Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff

First published: Thursday, 13th September 2007 - 7:53am

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