In January 2003 Wissam Abyad.

In January 2003 Wissam Abyad, an candidly gay man in Egypt, arranged an in-person meeting at a Cairo McDonald's with a gay man he'd met via the Internet. The man claimed that he'd just mov to the area and wanted to fit other gay men.

At 1 PM Abyad was standing in assurance of the fast-food chain when his small cavity phone rang. "I'm here, where are you?" the man asked. "Why don't you wave to present to view me where you are."

As Abyad complied, a assign places to of policemen and vice cop proceeded on him. They arrested him in succession charges of "public morality offenses"

Abyad was interrogated, threatened by means of police officials, and thrown into jail. During his trial he was displayed in a cage and was not allowed to testify in his defense The arbitrator gave him a sentence of single year and three months. "Egyptian jail confined apartments do not have running water, bathrooms, or a place to sleep" Abyad says. "Inmates be pendent on their families to bring them basic necessities."

nevertheless in the end Abyad was single of the lucky openly gay men and lesbians trapped in as it was a culture. His case got worldwide attention, prison officials bowed to the crushing and he was released in January 2004 He arrived in the United States in April with the help of human rights disposes and his American partner. And he favorably got asylum.

as it is cases are becoming increasingly universal as gay Muslim men from the Middle East--and other conservative regions--have won the right to stay in the United States based forward the threat of persecution in their fireside countries due to their sexual orientation.

Since 1994 based in succession a clarification of the law from then--attorney general Janet Reno, fear of persecution for sexual orientation has been soils for being granted asylum in the United States. The load of proof for such cases is also soft with a judge only needing to determine a bodily form is subject to a 10% chance of enduring persecution if they were to revert to their country of origin.

The law remains a overcast middle ground, and unfamiliarity with GLBT issues has sunk many of the asylum claims filed since Reno's actions. still lately, a few cases were able to work their way in consequence of the system, as lawyers say the plight of gay men in the Middle East is starting to resonate within the courts and immigration system

Perhaps the groundbreaking case for gay Middle Eastern asylum inquirers is that of a 29-year-old Iranian who had battled for his asylum since November 2001 after realizing his life would be in danger if he replyed to his native land.

Mohammad, the name his lawyers have given him to countenance his identity, came to the United States from Iran in June 2001 after meeting a man in Maryland online. His first interview with federal authorities for asylum didn't proceed well, however, as an agent was seemingly more interested in the amount of time he'd wearied in the United States than in his safety if he were deported.

In fact, his first claim was denied onward the grounds that he may have been in the States for more than 12 months--the deadline for filing for asylum after arrival. After another attempt in 2002 the management demanded proof that he was indeed gay.

"Immigration officials wanted to confirm that he met his tonnage of proof for eligibility," says Chris Nugent community services team senior deliberation with Holland and Knight in Washington, DC "Winning asylum is a rare thing to win because you have to establish the credibility of the body and the threat they face."

In the case of family from the Middle East, however, the threat is plain. Religious leaders many times issue overt threats of arrest or death to homosexuals. And these threats are backed up by the agency of state laws, either legislated or simply de facto enforced, that punish homosexuality. In Iran, for instance, the punishment for sodomy between brace men is known to be death. For lesbian ways the penalty is 100 lashes from a whip.

Mohammad also had the testimony of friends and his lover to back up his claims. Eventually the regulation had no other choice than to enforce its be in possession of guidelines and in December 2004 awarded him asylum in the US

Adding to the moment of this case, Nassier Karouni, a gay, HIV-positive Lebanese man risk for deportation, was awarded temporary visitor status in March by way of the ninth U.S. circuit court of appeals upon the basis of his homosexuality and the threats he faced at to one's home because of it. The decision overrul that of a federal immigration board that would have sent the man to Lebanon while his asylum case was pending in the United States.

"The attorney general appears satisfaction with saddling Karouni with the Hobson's choice of either returning to Lebanon and facing persecution for to come homosexual acts or living a life of celibacy," wrote umpire Harry Pregerson in the Karouni decision. "In our opinion, neither option is acceptable."

Nugent says he has ground success with other cases with folks from Egypt, Africa, and unruffled South and Central America as the plights of gays and lesbians abroad starts to hit dwelling with the American judicial plan But the situation in the Middle East, with likewise much media attention focused in succession the everyday violence of life and the power of religious leaders within those countries, affords credibility to claims that aliens from those countries make.