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LGBT asylum seekers can be safely deported to Iran as long as they live ‘discreetly’, believes Home Secretary Jacqui Smith.

In a move that has angered many human rights campaigners, Ms Smith said there was no “real risk” of gay men and lesbians being discovered by the Iranian authorities or “adverse action” being taken against those who were “discreet” about their behaviour.

The comments were made in a letter to a Liberal Democrat peer, which has been seen by The Independent.

Campaign group GayAsylumUK called Ms Smith’s comments “outrageous, shameful, inhumane and anti-gay”.

International body Human Rights Watch has long condemned the UK’s attitude towards LGBT asylum seekers. Spokesperson Scott Long said “Torturing and killing gays is legal in Iran: you don’t need to view the bodies to prove it. International law bars Britain from returning people to the risk of torture. Britain must give gay Iranians asylum.”

“Human Rights Watch has shown how Britain tries to redefine its obligations on torture, so it can send people back to states where they face grave risk. Usually it happens in the context of counterterrorism. But with gay Iranians, too, the government aims to change the rules, denying that legal torture is ‘persecution’.”

According to Iranian human rights campaigners, more than 4,000 gay men and lesbians have been executed in Iran since 1979.

Further information and petitions for LGBT asylum seekers facing deportation to dangerous countries is available on the LGBT Asylum News blog.

Posted in: Campaigns & Politics |