Morally, should we accept all homosexual refugees who reach the UK from Iran?
Absolutely. Nobody should ever be returned to any country where they shall be executed or tortured – even if they have committed criminal offenses. They still have a right to life, and a life free of torture. That includes the US nowadays. I take it you are referring to the case of Mehdi Kazemi, as reported in the independent. I’d say it’s 99% sure that he will be arrested and executed if he is returned to Iran, simply for being homosexual. Such a fate should not be in store for anyone. However I think priority should be given to people already in the UK (as Kazemi was, as he was studying here) – he should be allowed to stay, but people flying straight from Iran bypassing other perfectly legitimate places of asylum should perhaps NOT be treated with such a leniency – though they still should not be returned to Iran.
