GAY SAUDI DIPLOMAT APPLIES FOR ASYLUM
A gay diplomat at the Saudi consulate in Los Angeles has applied for asylum in the US saying that he fears for his life if he returns home.
Ali Ahmad Asseri – the first secretary of the consulate – claims that his country refused to renew his diplomatic passport after officials found out about his sexuality and that he is friends with a Jewish woman.
This would result in him being sent back to Saudi Arabia.
“My life is in a great danger here and if I go back to Saudi Arabia, they will kill me openly in broad daylight,” said Asseri in an email to NBC.
In a letter posted online he also criticised his country’s “backwardness” and slammed “militant imams” who have “defaced the tolerance of Islam.”
Experts say that Asseri must prove that he would face serious danger on his return to quality for asylum. The US government has not commented on the matter.
Homosexuality is seen as immoral in Saudi Arabia under Islamic religious law and has been treated as a serious crime. Penalties have included imprisonment, deportation (for foreigners), lashes, and sometimes execution.
Interesting…. I know this must be devastating for not only Muslims but Christians and Jews as well. How can one live a free life with the yoke of oppressive religions bearing down. In a world coming together – religion and race tears people apart. This is evident post September 9 how people with fundamental views not regarding thy neighbor can cause so much hate and intolerance in this world. This is sad and I wish Asseri safe passage to live his life as a gay man.
Isd this “moderate” Islam?. Much of the “west” is absorbing immigrants from these oppressive countries, including SA. Slowly but surely, they have gained more say in how the indigenous populations of the “west” are allowed to live their lives. It won’t be two or three generations from now and our “homosexuality” will be outlawed again.