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Gay Brazilian man granted asylum in US
A gay Brazilian man who suffered violent attacks by gangs and even the police has been granted asylum in the US following the efforts of students at a law school.
"In Brazil, I lived in constant fear for my life," said Augusto Pereira de Souza, 27. "I tried to hide that I was gay, but still faced repeated beatings, attacks and threats on my life because I was gay.
"At times I was attacked by skinheads and brutally beaten by cops. After the cops attack you and threaten your life for being gay, you learn quickly that there is no one that will protect you. For me, coming to the US was a life or death decision."
The US Department of Homeland Security's granting of asylum comes at a time when Brazil has one of the highest rates of hate crimes against LGBT people in the world, according to the country's leading rights organisation.
Grupo Gay da Bahia reports that between 1980 and 2009 there were 2,998 murders of homosexuals in Brazil, with over 190 LGBT people murdered in 2008 alone, and that the actual number is likely to be much higher because many killings go unreported.
Pereira de Souza's case was referred to Columbia Law School's Sexuality and Gender Law Clinic by the LGBT-focused organisation Immigration Equality and taken up by three students - Rena Stern, Brian Ward and Mark Musico, who provided legal assistance under the guidance of professor Suzanne Goldberg.
"Mr Pereira de Souza's story is unfortunately not unusual for a gay man in Brazil," said Stern. "The number of attacks and murders based on sexual orientation in Brazil has actually increased in recent years."
Said Ward: "In Brazil, police routinely fail to investigate violence against GLBT individuals. In this environment, skinheads and other groups are free to persecute, torture and even kill GLBT individuals with impunity. Asylum will allow Mr Pereira de Souza to stay in the United States where he will no longer have to fear for his life."
