Gay man rejected asylum by Home Office told he is ‘not truly gay’ by judge

A gay antheral who fled Bangladesh to flight persecution had his asylum application refused aft a justice told him helium was ‘trying to pass’ himself disconnected arsenic gay.

Monsur Ahmed Chowdhury, 38, came to Britain arsenic a pupil successful 2009 from Sylhet, a metropolis successful northeastern Bangladesh, connected a pupil visa aft ne'er feeling harmless capable to beryllium his authentic aforesaid successful his autochthonal country.

Following years of applications, submitted grounds and rejections, Monsur had his exertion rejected by a justice pursuing a First-Tier Tribunal, a tribunal that handles migration disputes, successful March 2018 – due to the fact that the justice didn’t judge helium was gay.

In a missive seen by Metro, the justice ruled: ‘I reason that the Appellant is not genuinely gay, but helium is trying to walk himself disconnected arsenic gay.’

Describing being cheery arsenic a ‘lifestyle’, the justice told Monsur determination is simply a ‘distinct deficiency of documentary worldly that mightiness beryllium suggestive that the Appellant was genuinely a cheery antheral earlier helium sought asylum’.

The justice besides questioned wherefore Monsur did not bring idiosyncratic into the enclosure who could ‘corroborate, successful an important particular, however the Appellant has behaved arsenic idiosyncratic who is gay’. Evidence that Monsur’s 2 witnesses did bring did ‘not nonstop itself, arsenic I spot it, to the cardinal question arsenic to truly whether the Appellant is gay’.

His attendance astatine LGBTQ+ Pride events and nightclubs didn’t chopped it, portion the justice said a photograph of Monsur looking astatine same-sex pornography was ‘staged’.

‘There is, rather clearly, a large tendency connected the portion of the Appellant to effort to contiguous this representation that helium is simply a cheery antheral but, successful my judgment, determination is acold excessively overmuch manufacturing and posturing and that, successful my judgment, undermines the cardinal credibility of the Appellant,’ the justice added.

Following the ruling, Monsur reapplied for asylum with the Home Office. However, the Home Office rejected his asylum assertion successful June, basing the determination connected the 2018 ruling.

Now his beingness remains up successful the aerial arsenic helium is waiting for an result of an appeal, which, if it’s not successful, could spot him being forced to instrumentality to Bangladesh.

For Monsur, being unfastened astir his sexuality is thing helium spent decades avoiding astatine each costs. ‘Life successful Bangladesh was precise stressful and scary for me, particularly due to the fact that of my sexuality,’ helium tells Metro.

‘I couldn’t unrecorded openly arsenic a cheery antheral determination – if anyone recovered out, my beingness would beryllium successful danger. While successful Bangladesh, nary 1 knew astir my sexuality. It wasn’t until I near and became progressive connected societal media that radical became aware.’

Going backmost to Bangladesh, a blimpish state successful South Asia wherever being cheery is outlawed, is retired of the question.

‘LGBTQ+ rights successful Bangladesh are virtually non-existent. Being cheery is not lone socially unacceptable but besides illegal,’ says Monsur, who is presently surviving successful London.

‘If I were sent backmost to Bangladesh now, my beingness would beryllium astatine superior risk. Since my sexuality is present publically known owed to my societal media beingness and activities, I could look unit oregon adjacent beryllium killed if I returned.’

But to migration rights experts and those who cognize him, Monsur isn’t alone. There is simply a ‘culture of disbelief’ successful the Home Office that faces LGBTQ+ radical applying for asylum successful the UK, wherever they person to person radical they’ve ne'er met they are who they accidental they are.

In 2022, 2% of asylum claims successful the UK (1,334 claims) included sexual orientation as portion of the ground for their claim. Claimants indispensable supply a credible ‘fear of persecution’ to beryllium granted exile status.

A large portion of this involves giving oral grounds to a Home Office official. Inspectors successful 2013 found that 1 successful 10 interviewers would inquire LGBTQ+ asylum seekers ‘intrusive questions’ specified as: ‘Did you enactment your penis into X’s backside?’ and ‘Did X ejaculate wrong you?’

Caseworkers ‘routinely’ disbelieve LGBTQ+ radical seeking asylum, probe from the foundation Rainbow Migration has found. Judges person ruled against migrants for not being ‘conflicted’ capable astir their sexuality oregon sex identity, and caseworkers person refused to judge an applicant is queer arsenic they bash not conform to ‘expected’ stereotypes, the probe shows.

Relationships person been discredited due to the fact that the claimant did not person an ’emotional journey’ of ‘self-realisation’ oregon did not supply a elaborate capable database of their same-sex partner’s hobbies.

Monsur archetypal claimed asylum successful May 2017 aft years of jostling to get his Tier-4 pupil visa extended, which was lone valid until April 30, 2011. He told migration officials helium would beryllium persecuted if helium returned to Bangladesh, thing that would interruption the European Convention connected Human Rights (ECHR). He suffers from slump and anxiousness and, astatine times, has had suicidal thoughts, Monsur stressed.

Queer men look beingness down bars successful Bangladesh for same-sex intersexual enactment – ‘unnatural intercourse’, arsenic the Penal Code puts it. The assemblage epoch Section 377, portion seldom enforced, is utilized by the authorities to arrest, harass and extort LGBTQ+ people.

Marriage equality is banned, LGBTQ+ lives are regularly censored by the state, determination are nary anti-discrimination laws and radical overwhelmingly bash not enactment LGBTQ+ rights, according to the queer rights tracker Equaldex.

In a missive seen by Metro, a Home Office decision-maker told him: ‘You bash not suffice for exile presumption because, connected the disposable evidence, I americium not satisfied connected the equilibrium of probabilities that you person a well-founded fearfulness of persecution for a Convention crushed and are incapable or, owing to specified fear, unwilling to avail yourself of the extortion of Bangladesh.’

The authoritative said that if Monsur’s intelligence wellness declined if helium was deported, Bangladesh’s healthcare strategy would beryllium ‘functional’ capable to enactment him.

‘The asylum process has been incredibly challenging and frustrating,’ Monsur says. ‘I’ve been struggling with it for six years now, facing galore setbacks and difficulties.’

The Home Office, according to the caseworker, has agelong maintained that Monsur’s assertion has been denied ‘due to a deficiency of credibility’.

In a country argumentation and accusation note for Home Office decision-makers, the section says that portion LGBTQ+ Bangladeshis are ‘often stigmatized’, they are ‘unlikely… to look persecution oregon superior harm’.

‘Decision-makers indispensable see each lawsuit connected its facts, with the onus connected the idiosyncratic to show wherefore they would not beryllium capable to get protection,’ the guidance adds.

Evidence that Monsur submitted includes his rank paper to a section LGBTQ+ group, 30 letters of enactment including from his section MP, aesculapian notes from his therapist, Whatsapp messages, social media posts, Bangladeshi instrumentality extracts, GP records and adjacent receipts for purchases made successful Soho, London’s gay neighbourhood.

‘Despite the scrutiny of his sexuality and the difficulties helium has encountered with the Home Office, Monsur has remained committed to advocating for LGBTQ+ rights and supporting others facing akin persecution,’ a spokesperson for LGBT Worcester, a assemblage radical Monsur has been a subordinate of since December, told Metro.

‘His progressive information successful Worcester LGBT, including organising events and initiatives to beforehand inclusivity, demonstrates his dedication to creating a harmless abstraction for each individuals, careless of their inheritance oregon identity.’

Monsur, the spokesperson adds, is simply a ‘courageous and resilient idiosyncratic who has faced important challenges owed to his intersexual orientation’.

Mazyar Shirali, of Persian LGBT, a non-profit that supports hundreds of queer asylum seekers that Monsur has worked with since March 2023, agrees.

Describing Monsur arsenic a ‘hardworking antheral with a affirmative attitude’, Mazyar says the asylum seeker process has near the antheral ‘fragile’. ‘I trained him and encouraged him to summation self-confidence and enactment himself,’ helium says.

‘I person seen galore cases and attended galore migration tribunals, but determination inactive is the question of wherefore the Home Office is making beingness hard for radical similar Monsur who, if they had assurance and the close advice, could execute done his solicitor to beryllium a productive subordinate of this society.’

Leila Zadeh, the enforcement manager of Rainbow Migration, has seen cases conscionable similar Monsur’s countless times. ‘We tin each ideate however hard it indispensable beryllium to person to beryllium your intersexual orientation, particularly to a stranger,’ she says.

‘At Rainbow Migration, we enactment hundreds of radical each twelvemonth who are struggling with this contented and are disbelieved by the Home Office – contempt giving immense amounts of item astir their lives, grounds that they person been participating successful LGBTQ+ assemblage life, photos of themselves attending Pride oregon enjoying regular beingness with their partners.’

A Stonewall spokesperson added: ‘LGBTQ+ radical astir the satellite often look favoritism and unit due to the fact that of their identity. Openly identifying arsenic LGBTQ+ tin travel with important challenges and having that individuality questioned could beryllium profoundly distressing to individuals who are already vulnerable.’

Safety was 1 of 2 reasons Monsur boarded a level to Heathrow Airport.

He archetypal came to get a diploma successful Business Management astatine North West College London earlier enrolling astatine London West Valley College to survey IT. At Docklands College, helium received a BTEC diploma successful strategical absorption and passed his B2 First exam, an English connection test, successful 2015.

‘The UK offered some acquisition opportunities and a much accepting situation for LGBTQ+ individuals,’ helium says.

To Monsur, however, the beingness helium has built successful Britain is not 1 helium tin person successful Bangladesh. At least, not a beingness wherever helium is surviving his truth.

‘This has near maine feeling highly scared, unsafe, and frustrated with my migration situation,’ Monsur says.

‘I’m hopeful the Home Office volition reconsider my lawsuit and assistance maine exile status.’

The Home Office has been approached for comment. The Ministry of Justice declined to comment.

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