Lesbian asylum seeker wins right to stay in UK
A lesbian asylum seeker from Jamaica has been granted the right to stay in the UK after immigration judges ruled that she could face persecution if sent home.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was originally told by the Home Office that she could not stay, BBC News reports.
In evidence, she said had lived a covert lifestyle in Jamaica, meeting women secretly and hiding her sexuality.
After travelling abroad several times, she said she became depressed at returning to Jamaica where she had to be secretive.
She came to the UK in 2003 to study and began living openly as a lesbian.
She said she could not risk her depression returning and claimed her girlfriend refused to move back to Jamaica with her.
At the Upper Tribunal’s Immigration and Asylum Chamber in London, her lawyers argued that Jamaica is a “deeply homophobic” society and that she would risk violence and rape if sent home.
Senior immigration judges agreed and ruled she was “entitled to refugee protection”.
Meanwhile, gay Tanzanian asylum seeker Eddy Cosmas has been released from detention and granted the right to appeal a decision in his case.
Mr Cosmas, who was initially told he would be placed on the fast-track procedure for removal, was given the news by a judge this week.
He claimed that Tanzania’s harsh laws against homosexuality would lead to him being jailed for years.
