“Absolute Madness, Naive and Irresponsible”

Those are the words ("volstrekt krankzinnig, naïef en onverantwoord") used by a member of the Dutch parliament to describe a recent decision of Rita Verdonk, the minister of Immigration and Integration. And what has the lovely Rita done now? Well, she’s decided to reverse the ban on deporting failed asylum-seekers who are gay or Christian back to Iran. This is likely to include Saba Rawi. The problem is that Rawi fled Iran over four years ago in fear for his life because he is gay. And now Rita wants him back in Iran, where the authorities now know full well that he is gay. There is real concern that if he is returned to Iran he will be executed. I honestly wonder how Rita Verdonk can live with her conscience – perhaps she simply doesn’t have one.

 

Update, 6th March: This morning, the Volkskrant is reporting that Minister Verdonk has apparently had second thoughts about sending failed asylum-seekers who are gay back to Iran. She is now saying that they will receive permits to stay. Doubtless everyone will wait and see what happens in the case of Saba Rawi in the next few days. The Volkskrant also reports that the basis for Verdonk’s original proposal to send gays back was a report from the Foreign Affairs Ministry saying that according to the Human Rights Watch organisation, the two teenagers hanged in Iran last year were not executed because they were gay and that therefore gays are not at risk in Iran. That’s brought a stinging reaction from an HRW representative stating that gays are certainly in danger of their lives in Iran. It should be pointed out that while the HRW chose to interpret the execution of the two teenagers as being for rape, and not because they were gay, other observers claim differently. Nonetheless, the HRW recognises the dangerous situation for gays in Iran.The HRW itself reported on two more executions of gays in Iran in November 2005.