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Loading ...Canada hears refugee claim by gay Nigerian
04.20.2009 2:04pm EDT
(Toronto, Ontario) The Federal Court of Canada has ordered a new refugee hearing for a Nigerian gay man who says he fears for his life if he is returned home.
Norbert Okoli fled to Canada in 2005 using a fake passport. At a 2006 immigration board hearing he said that once his homosexuality was discovered he was beaten, threatened with death and on one occasion was forced to have sex with a female prostitute in a futile attempt to “turn him” straight.The board ruled that Okoli should be returned to Nigeria and that he would be safe there as long has he kept his sexuality a secret.
Okoli, who has been residing in Toronto, appealed the decision to the Federal Court.
In a ruling, Justice Leonard Mandamin criticized the board decision saying it had failed to take into consideration scars from beatings inflicted on Okoli.
Mandamin ordered that the case be returned to the immigration board with a different panel to hear Okoli’s plea for asylum.
Homosexuality is illegal in Nigeria, punishable by a prison term of up to 14 years with hard labor.
The government currently is considering legislation that also makes it a criminal offense to attend a gay event, gathering or wedding anywhere in the world.
Under the proposed new law, a same-sex couple married anywhere and returning to Nigeria, or anyone who is married to a same-sex partner who travels to Nigeria – including foreign business people - would be jailed for up to three years.
The legislation also would imprison anyone who attends a gay wedding with up to five years behind bars.
In addition police would have the right to raid public or private gatherings of any group of people suspected of being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.
Amnesty International has expressed concerns about human rights abuses in Nigeria against individuals on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation.
In August 2007, police in Bauchi state arrested 18 men suspected of same-sex relations, charging them with belonging to an unlawful society, committing indecent acts, and engaging in criminal conspiracy. In 2008, several men and women were also arrested and detained on charges of engaging in consensual same-sex relations.
So the immigration board was going to send this man back because he could hide his sexuality…and they’re revisiting the claim because scars weren’t taken into account. Scars? Really? The previous decision wasn’t overturned on the grounds of being absolutely ridiculous? Have they been sending other refugee claimants back to their countries with instructions to hide their ethnicity or religion? “Go back, pretend you’re not Jewish”. Or “you’ll be safe, just hide that you’re Muslim”. We’ve become complacent I think, we have gay marriage and so we’re not vigilant about other forms of discrimination that happen every day, including this one. I sincerely hope that Okali gets a fair hearing this time around.
police in Bauchi state arrested 18 men suspected of same-sex relations, charging them with belonging to an unlawful society, committing indecent acts, and engaging in criminal conspiracy.
WTF? What an insanely backwards society where someone who is gay can be charged with such “crimes”. I feel very badly for the GLBT community of Africa when I hear such things.
This should be a slam dunk claim under Canadian law. If for no other reason than to tell someone to hide their sexual orientation goes completely against Canadian anti-discrimination laws… It appears Justice Mandamin sees that too.
MikeFromCanada:
It matters little whether this case “should be a slam dunk under Canadian law” because the immigration board is not applying Candian law; at least not exclusively. Asylum claims are adjudicated under the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. Hence the question becomes whether Okoli faces a well-founded fear of persecution on the basis of his membership in a particular social group (in this case, presumably, homosexuals) upon his return to Nigeria.
Kate: Presumably, the first panel of the immigration board based their reasoning on Okoli’s membership in the particular social group “out” or “known” homosexuals; if so, if Okoli were able somehow to conceal his homosexuality while in Nigeria, he would no longer fall under the definition contained in the Refugee Convention. Silly, perhaps, but true, as the law stands. Legally, the prior decision wasn’t “absolutely ridiculous”, it simply runs afoul of our sense of justice.
Hopefully, upon remand to the immigration board, the new panel will 1) consider scars as physical evidence in support of a claim of well-founded fear of persecution (actual past persecution is the most compelling evidence of a forward-looking fear); and 2) the new panel will determine that Okoli is a member of the paricular social group of Nigerian homosexuals (known or otherwise), a designation sufficient to establish his fear of persecution.
Let’s hope that Okoli and all who find themselves similarly situated see their rights vindicated!
And who says my years in law school were a waste?