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Gay News: A gay Iranian convicted of heroin dealing is to be deported from Switzerland despite fears for his safety.
Swiss expel foreign drug-traffickers
Swiss to deport gay man to Iran
The Federal Administrative Tribunal rejected the man’s claims that he would be persecuted because of his sexuality if he was returned to Iran, according to news agency AFP.
“At the moment there is no known case from Iran in which someone has been convicted due to his sexual orientation,” the Court ruled, and went on to say that homosexuality is not uncommon in Iranian society and is tolerated by the authorities when not done “openly in view in an offensive manner”.
The Court also noted that the man had travelled to Iran three times without any repercussions.
Addressing the judgment, human rights group Amnesty International said: “It is not acceptable for the Court to state that if he conceals his homosexuality he will not have any problems.”
It went on to say that “Swiss authorities must give the applicant the benefit of the doubt in all cases, not least where the stakes are life and death.”
The man first applied for asylum in Switzerland in 2000, before obtaining a short-term residency permit when he entered into a civil partnership with a Swiss national.
His attempt to renew his residency permit was rejected in 2007 when he was convicted for trafficking 70 grams of heroin.
Switzerland automatically expels foreign residents who are found guilty of some serious crimes including drug trafficking and abuse of social aid.
Homosexuality is a crime in Iran which can punishable by death. However, in 2007 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmaninejad claimed that homosexuality does not exist in Iran.
