Gay Iranian granted asylum reprieve

By Luke Baker

LONDON (Reuters) - A gay Iranian teenager was granted a reprieve on Thursday from deportation to Iran, where he says he could be hanged for his homosexuality.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said in a statement that "in the light of new circumstances" 19-year-old Mehdi Kazemi's appeal for asylum should be reconsidered.

"This is very positive. But reconsidered doesn't mean he'll get a permit, they could still deny what he is asking," Kazemi's Dutch lawyer, Borg Palm, told Reuters by telephone.

Kazemi came to Britain to study in 2005, lawyers have said. He later learned that his lover in Iran had been hanged after being charged and convicted of sodomy. Homosexuality is illegal in the Islamic republic.

Fearing for his life, Kazemi sought asylum in Britain, but his claim was rejected.

Members of the Lords urged Smith earlier on Thursday to show mercy and grant Kazemi asylum in Britain, where his uncle has lived for 30 years.

"We are deeply concerned at the possible execution of Mehdi Kazemi if he is refused asylum in the UK and is deported to Iran," read a letter to Smith signed by 63 members of the Lords.

Kazemi fled to the Netherlands and sought asylum there, but a Dutch court this week turned down his application, saying as he had applied in Britain he must return there to pursue his case.