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By: BRYAN ANDERTON COMMENTS
 
When Aiden first fled to the United States to escape anti-gay persecution
in his homeland of Iran two years ago, he believed the country dedicated to
the
promotion of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” would shield him from
the intolerance he had faced in his native country.
“I thought, the U.S. has been a safe haven for so many people throughout the
years,” said “Aiden,” a 28-year-old man currently living in Fairfax, Va., who
asked that his real name not be used. “I thought it would be a safe haven for
me as well.”
Aiden applied for political asylum in November 2001, stating that he was fearful
of returning to Iran, where homosexuality is a crime punishable by death. For
the past two years, he said, he has endured a frustrating and tumultuous legal
battle.
Last month, the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals upheld a previous court
decision denying him asylum. He has taken steps to appeal that decision further,
but still expects to be deported to Iran by the end of December, before another
appeal can be filed.
Aiden claims his troubles started several years ago in Iran, when he began
dating a member of Iran’s Islamic Committee, a government agency that enforces
Islamic law. According to Aiden, the guard began harassing him and his family
after the relationship ended. Aiden said his father beat him and threw him
out of the house, forcing him to live with his grandmother.
While in Iran, Aiden discovered a Web site for gay Iranians. Through the site,
he met Reza, an Iranian U.S. citizen living in Gaithersburg, Md. The two chatted
online often, and in June 2001, Aiden fled to the United States to live with
Reza, who also asked that his real name not be used.
In November 2001, he applied for political asylum on the basis of anti-gay
persecution in his home country. That same month, he said he was interviewed
for several hours by an asylum officer in Arlington, Va. But Aiden said the
officer was more interested in how long he had been in the country than any
persecution he may have faced in Iran.
“She didn’t ask any questions to verify my sexual orientation. She just asked,
how did I get to this country, what day, and what happened in Iran. I told
her, but she didn’t try to verify if I was gay,” Aiden said. “She wasn’t friendly
at all. She said, ‘You are not feminine in any way, and what do you suggest
to me to find out that you’re gay?’”
According to the Lesbian & Gay Immigration Rights Task Force, asylum seekers
must file their claims within one year of arriving in the country. Aiden said
the asylum officer denied his petition because she could not prove he had met
that deadline.
After that setback, Aiden was referred to the Immigration Court in Baltimore,
where his case was heard by Immigration Judge Bruce Barrett in July 2002. At
the hearing, Aiden presented a number of signed affidavits from friends who
were familiar with his case, and Reza also testified on his behalf. The two
had been dating and living together for nearly a year at that point.
According to Aiden, Barrett asked him a series of questions about his relationship
with Reza while Reza waited outside the courtroom. He then called Reza into
the courtroom and asked him the same questions.
However, after Reza’s testimony, Barrett told Aiden he still had no proof
that he was actually gay. He discredited Reza’s testimony because Reza was
still in the closet to most of his family, who believed he and Aiden were just
good friends.
“Now what the court really needs is to show this person is a practicing homosexual
in the United States. And the same problem he had in Iran, he has with this
gentleman he’s living with: closet homosexuals. I don’t have any proof. To
me, it makes no sense,” Barrett said, according to court transcripts that were
cited in Aiden’s later appeal of the case.
“This gentleman [Reza] has not helped you saying that you’re a closet homosexual,” Barrett
said at another point. “Well, again, it shows you can conceal it. And, if you
could conceal it, then you won’t have a problem in Iran.”
Reza said he was shocked when Barrett cited his being in the closet as a reason
to deny Aiden’s asylum.
“We’re Iranian. It’s not something we talk about with our parents,” Reza said. “You’ll
find very few openly ...
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