GAYinWA [Western Australia, Australia], News
Author Not Stated, 15/05/2007
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ACTION CALL FOR ALLEGED GAY REFUGEE
GAYinWA [Western Australia, Australia], News Author Not Stated, 15/05/2007 |
Community Action Against Homophobia (CAAH) is holding a protest in Sydney’s Taylor Square on Thursday, 17 May, to highlight the plight of GLBT people around the world, including refugees. The group hopes to draw special attention to Pakistani national Ali Humanyun, whose application for protected refugee status was rejected by the Department of Immigration. Ali Humanyun, 26, is being held at Villawood Detention Centre in Sydney’s west, in a maximum-security holding area for people who have previously spent time in prison. He claims to be at risk from his family if forced to return home. According to Greens Senator Kerry Nettle, who has taken up his case, Humanyun was placed in the maximum-security area because an anonymous letter writer told centre staff he was planning to escape. Humanyun insists that although he has previously had female partners, he entered into a homosexual relationship with a former detainee, Julio Lorenzo, while they were both in detention. He told Green Left Weekly that his relationship with Lorenzo was the only real relationship he has had. “I find it much more fulfilling than a straight relationship. It is like being in love for the first time for both of us,” he said. “While in Villawood together — we had our own room, but were broken up when there was an asbestos scare. I was shipped to Melbourne, while Julio was moved to a local prison cell. We pleaded to remain together, but management laughed at us.” |
Humanyun says he misses Lorenzo, who visits regulary, and suffers as a result of homophobia from other detainees.
The Refugee Review Tribunal believes his claim to be in a same-sex relationship is contrived and rejected his appeal for protection. RRT member Giles Short wrote in his report on Humayan that he did not accept the validity of the claimant’s alleged bisexuality. “I consider that his relationship is simply the product of the situation where only partners of the same sex are available and says nothing about his sexual orientation,” he wrote. “I am not satisfied that the applicant’s conduct in telling his family about his claimed bisexuality and his claimed relationship was engaged in otherwise than for the purpose of strengthening his claim to be a refugee.” Humayan arrived in Australia on a student visa in 2000, seeking a diploma in information technology. After being accepted into a bachelor program at the University of Canberra he claims to have become depressed and failed a semester. The failure prompted the Immigration Department to cancel his visa and he was taken to Villawood after being caught working on a bridging visa. The criminal code of Pakistan outlaws sex between men, with a penalty of up to two years in prison, while the country’s Islamic laws call for up to 100 lashes.
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Villawood Detention