Holland & Knight Lawyers Secure Asylum Relief for Persecuted Iranian Gay Man
December 14, 2004
WASHINGTON D.C., –
Holland & Knight pro bono attorneys have
won asylum
for Mohammed,* a man who had suffered
persecution and abuse in his home country of Iran because of his sexual
orientation.
Due to the advocacy of Holland & Knight Senior
Counsel Anthony Masiello and Community Services Team Senior Counsel Chris
Nugent, an immigration judge granted Mohammed all of the forms of relief for
which he applied, including asylum and withholding of removal and protection
under the Convention Against Torture (CAT).
This ruling follows a previous unsuccessful
attempt by Mohammed in which he had applied for the above relief and had lost
before both an immigration judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals due to
lack of evidence.
Mohammed, a 29 year old gay Iranian man, strongly
and legitimately believes if he returns to Iran, he will be arrested and
possibly executed on the basis of his sexual orientation. Prior to Mohammed’s
fleeing to the United States, he had already suffered over a year of abuse in
his home country.
With the support of Congressman Barney Frank
(D-MA), Holland & Knight lawyers Masiello and Nugent who are members of Holland
& Knight’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Workgroup, gathered new
evidence and convinced the Board of Immigration Appeals to reopen Mohammed’s
case and provide him with a de novo asylum hearing. With his asylum
status now resolved, Mohammed is on the road to becoming a United States citizen
in the future.
*Client’s name has been changed for protection
purposes.
Holland & Knight’s
Community Services Team (CST) provides legal representation to people,
groups and causes that could not otherwise afford it, and concentrates its
efforts on cases with significant issues affecting large numbers of people,
including cases involving gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender human and civil
rights issues.
Contact: Olivia Martinez (212) 513-3253
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