Norway refuses gay Iraqi asylum, says ‘go home’ be discreet’

The High Court accepted that Azad Hassan Rasol was gay and that gay men in Iraq are at risk, including at risk of being killed, but it ruled that Rasol ‘must comply with Iraq’s socio-cultural norms’.

Rasol is a Kurd and the Immigration authorities claimed that risks to gay men in the Kurdish region “differs greatly” from the rest of Iraq and that he can seek protection from the Kurdish autonomous region’s authorities, africanveil.com reports.

His lawyer, Jon Ole Martinsen, said to africanveil.com that, “In practice it means to hide your sexual orientation, for if it is discovered you will be in danger of being persecuted”.