Mike Hancock News
Bishop and MP say gay man who was burnt with molten plastic will be in danger if sent back to Uganda on Thursday
An Ugandan Bishop and an MP say that it will be unsafe for the home office to send back a gay Ugandan Asylum seeker, Robert Segwanyi who is due to be deported on Thursday evening (18th August at 8pm). They have been joined by over 2,500 people have signed a petition in under 24 hours to plead with the Home Office not to deport Mr Segwanyi.
Mr Segwanyi was burnt with molten plastic in Uganda. Bishop Christopher Senyonjo is currently in the UK and has been speaking about Ugandan LGBT rights on British radio. The Bishop says that people like Mr Robert Segwanyi who are gay or perceived to be gay "undoubtedly face questioning at the airport and will likely face harassment and possibly violence from the police, as we have witnessed before." A previous asylum seeker Mr John Bosco Nyombi was forced to return to Uganda in 2008. He was then interrogated by Ugandan airport police but managed to initially escape arrest after paying a bribe. He was subsequently twice caught and put into prison where he was violently beaten by both staff and inmates for his sexuality. Subsequently a judge ordered his return to Britain and he was granted asylum.
It is hoped that Mr Segwanyi's lawyers will be able to put in a last ditch legal attempt to prevent deportation.
Mr Segwanyi's MP, Mike Hancock has been so unimpressed with the letters that he has had back from the Home Office and the reasons for the rejection of the fresh claim that he has written back to them asking them to correct the legal errors.
Mike Hancock said: "As with all my constituents all I want is proper consideration of their case and the proper laws and regulations applied. It is very clear that they haven't been properly applied in Mr Segwanyi's case and I hope that his lawyers can now challenge this and get proper legal consideration. Amazingly and bizarrely the Home Office still say there is no persecution of gay men in Uganda, both now and when Mr Segwanyi was in Uganda when their own country report flatly contradicts this. Looking at the case overall, I have massive concerns about the case and I also believe that Mr Segwanyi's case "stacks up" and I don't say either of these things lightly. As the Bishop says, it would now be dangerous to deport Mr Segwani and this is shown by what happened to John Bosco Nyombi."
Among the aspects of the case that, Mike Hancock is concerned about:
Mr Segwanyi has been burnt with molten plastic in Uganda: It is essentially accepted by the Appeal Judge that Mr Segwanyi was burnt with molten plastic. An expert who the judge found produced a "balanced and fair" report found Mr Segwanyi's injuries were "highly consistent" with being burnt with molten plastic.
That the most update Home Office report on Uganda has been ignored. This was not available when Mr Segwanyi's case was assessed but should be applied now. But it quotes an Amnesty International report, relating to the time when Mr Segwanyi was in Uganda which found that at the time when Mr Segwanyi was in Uganda: ""...section 145 of the Penal Code Act has been and continues to be used by the police and other law enforcement officials to subject lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender(LGBT) people in Uganda to arbitrary arrest and detention often resulting in torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment."
That the Appeal Judge said that a leading psychologist, Professor Katona had not formed an opinion as to whether Mr Segwanyi was gay. In a subsequent report, Professor Katona said that was "with respect incorrect", he had and he did think he was gay.
The Appeal Judge saying that Mr Segwanyi couldn't be gay because there were no persecutions of gay men in Uganda and saying this, therefore damaged his overall credibility (a catch-22 situation). The Home Office have now said this not the case in their most recent country report but do not concede this in Mr Segwanyi's case for some bizarre and inconsistent reason.
That at the time that Mr Segwanyi's application was being assessed a Stonewall and Law Society found severe problems with the way that the Home Office assessed LGBT asylum cases. They quote one solicitor as saying "Unless you've got an exceptionally able lawyer, you've just got no chance. You're just going to be processed and removed." 98% of LGBT asylum cases are initially rejected against 75% generally. It is clear that from both the initial assessment and the attitude of the Appeal Judge generally that Mr Segwanyi suffered from this homophobic attitude described in the Stonewall Report.
Notes:
Bishop Christopher Senyonjo's statement is as follows:
"To whom it may concern
I am an Anglican Bishop in the Church of Uganda.
For the past few years I have been engaged in advocacy supporting LGBT human rights. In this regard I am currently in the United Kingdom for speaking engagements in Scotland and was interviewed by BBC Radio Four.
The situation of LGBT in Uganda is dire and getting worse. People are being attacked, harassed and we face the revival of the Anti-Homosexuality bill in the Parliament.
Ordinary people are being forced to move because their fellow Ugandans are attacking them: there is a "witch-hunt" atmosphere regarding LGBT in the country which is unfortunately being encouraged by many of my fellow Christian leaders.
People cannot turn for protection to the authorities and we have an undeveloped support structure amongst the community for those forced to seek shelter - this is a project which I am engaged with.
Any LGBT person returned to Uganda would face this deteriorating situation. Even if they try not to be public concerning their sexuality they will face questioning if they are unmarried, this is the nature of the "witch hunt". It is near impossible for anyone to hide.
As well they will undoubtedly face questioning at the airport and will likely face harassment and possibly violence from the police, as we have witnessed before.
It is not safe to return anyone who is LGBT or perceived to be LGBT to Uganda.
Sincerely,
Bishop Christopher Senyonjo"
The petition is at http://www.change.org/petitions/save-gay-ugandan-robert-segwanyi
Paul Canning of the LGBT Asylum News Blog set up the petition and has been campaigning
There is more on this at the LGBT Asylum News blog http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2011/08/obviously-gay-ugandan-asylum-seeker.html
Professor Cornelius Katona, is a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Emeritus professor of Psychiatry in the University of Kent, Honorary Professor in the Department of Mental Health Sciences at University College London and author of over 300 expert medical reports.
There is more on John Bosco Nyombi's case at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/government-to-face-legal-action-by-returned-asylumseeker-1693498.html
The Stonewall Report "No Going Back" on the immigration system and LGBT asylum seekers can be found at http://www.stonewall.org.uk/other/startdownload.asp?openType=forced&documentID=2213
Share this page:
