Citation: 2021 RLLR 60
Tribunal: Refugee Protection Division
Date of Decision: April 6, 2021
Panel: Carolyn Adolph
Counsel for the Claimant(s): Charlotte Suzanne Cass
Country: Iran
RPD Number: TC0-00698
Associated RPD Number(s): N/A
ATIP Number: A-2022-01594
ATIP Pages: N/A
DECISION
[1] MEMBER: This is the decision for XXXX XXXX. You are claiming to be a citizen of Iran and are claiming refugee protection pursuant to sections 96 and 97(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
[2] Your claim is accepted. I find that you are a Convention refugee on the grounds of being a member of a particular social group, homosexual men in Iran. Here are my reasons.
[3] You alleged the following.
[4] You are a citizen of Iran. You say that since you were young, you have understood that you are a homosexual, attracted to men and not to women. You say that because of this difference and because of the social taboo against your homosexual identity, you feared what would happen to you if you were conscripted into the military. You feared rape and other forms of violence if you fellow conscripts understood that you were homosexual. For this reason, you sought and obtained exemption from military service. You said you feared that the military would share information about your sexual identity with the state and you alleged that the state did indeed become involved in a process in evaluating your sexual orientation. You say that you fear persecution at the hands of the state for homosexuality, which can include imprisonment and execution.
[5] You alleged that it is not safe for you to return to Iran and that there is no state protection for you or an internal flight alternative for you in Iran.
[6] Your personal identity as a citizen of Iran has been established by your testimony and the supporting documents filed in the exhibits, namely a certified true copy of your Iranian passport. I find that, on the balance of probabilities, you are who you say you are, and the country of reference is Iran.
[7] I find that there is a link between what you fear and Convention grounds, membership in a particular social group, namely homosexuals in Iran. And, therefore, I have only assessed the claim under section 96.
[8] I find you to be a credible witness and I therefore believe what you have alleged in your oral testimony and in your Basis of Claim form. You testified in a straightforward manner, spontaneously and at lengths, answering all questions put to you without hesitation or embellishment.
[9] You told me you had known from a young age that you were different, but you did not know until you were 17 or 18 that there were other men like you. You told me that you had had one serious intimate relationship, and that in the year you were together with that lover, you were only able to really be together for two (2) months. You convincingly described those months. You described eating in restaurants with him and lowering your voice for certain parts of your conversation. You described walking with him holding hands and seeing the contemptuous way people around you reacted. You also explained that initially, when your psychologist warned you to try to get out of Iran because you are homosexual, you were initially not worried because you thought you could keep it hidden.
[10] And you explained how being conscripted into the military changed your appreciation of that threat. You explained that the military in Iran is full of machoism and other forms of toxic masculinity, and that was why you took the decision to risk telling the military authorities about your sexual identity.
[11] I find this to be credible testimony and I find it establishes your identity as a homosexual man who fears exposure and persecution.
[12] You provided documents to support your claim. The notice from the military that said that you were exempted from service and the application that requested this exemption because of “perversions that are contrary to social and military decencies”. There was a letter from your sister who described what it was like for her to assist you in proving your sexual identity to the authorities. She corroborates your testimony about an important moment in that process. Her letter made it clear to me that she understood and accepted that you are a homosexual.
[13] You also provided photographs with your lover as well as proof of your activities together. It is clear from those images and that correspondence that you shared that there was a real connection between you two. You showed that you had travelled together to Kish Island, including the air tickets. You also showed evidence of your involvement in LGBTQ rights in Canada and you showed that you were looking for male partners in Canada, using apps like Grindr.
[14] Based on all of the above, I believe, on balance of probabilities, that you are homosexual. I believe that you are fearful to return to Iran, because you may be imprisoned or killed due to your identity. I therefore find that your subjective fear is established by both your credible testimony and the corroborating documents, and I believed what you have alleged on a balance of probabilities.
[15] I also find that there is objective evidence for what you fear. The Iranian penal code criminalizes all sexual relations outside of traditional marriage, including heterosexual relations. In the national documentation package for Iran, it is noted that chapter 2 of the penal code explicitly criminalizes same-sex relations. Men engaged in homosexual acts can be executed on the first conviction involving penetration and non-penetrative homosexual acts, such as kissing or touching, are punishable by flogging. Additionally, there is a strong societal taboo against homosexuality and many young gay men face harassment and abuse from family members, religious figures, school leaders, community leaders and authorities. Some have been expelled from university for alleged same-sex relations. It is also known that high-level officials within the regime have continued to make derogatory statements about homosexuality.
[16] I have considered whether there is a viable internal flight alternative for you, but since the state is the agent of persecution and the state exercise control over all of Iran, I find that there is no viable internal flight alternative. And similarly, I have considered whether the state should be protecting you, but since the state is the agent of the persecution, then there is no way that we can expect that the state will do the job of protecting you.
[17] Based on the totality of the evidence, I find you to be a Convention refugee because you face a serious possibility of persecution, because you are a member of a particular social group, homosexual men in Iran.
[18] I accept your claim.
———- REASONS CONCLUDED ———-