Gay Lebanese Man to Have Asylum Hearing
By AP from the NYTimes on the Web, March 8, 2005
SAN FRANCISCO -- A gay Lebanese man suffering from AIDS has enough reason to fear persecution in his homeland that he shouldn't be deported while seeking asylum in the United States, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, reversing the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals in Washington, found Nassier Mustapha Karouni's fear of being arrested, tortured or killed in a country where homosexuality is considered a crime was based on fact, not just emotion.
"The record demonstrates that ... militants and certain factions of the Lebanese and local governments are a credible threat to homosexuals like
Karouni," Judge Harry Pregerson wrote for the three-judge panel.
In determining that sexual orientation makes Karouni eligible for refugee status, the court rejected the Justice Department's argument that he could avoid the fate of gay friends who were beaten, jailed or murdered if he refrained from having sex upon his return home.
The court did not rule on Karouni's asylum petition, but remanded it to the Board of Immigration Appeals.
Karouni's immigration lawyer, Douglas Nelson, declined to comment.
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