Asylum for gays

Berlin

A German judge this week granted political asylum to an Iranian lesbian because she might be executed for being gay in her home country. The 27-year-old woman said she had refused to wear the traditional chador and had been trying to pass as a man, but was caught and arrested. Released with a warning, she fled to Germany. The German court that granted her asylum application said it would set a precedent for similar cases. Before this case, only one immigrant had been granted asylum in Germany on the grounds of persecution for homosexual orientation, in 1988. Last year, Iran publicly hanged two teenage boys for having a sexual relationship.