Gay man denied asylum, says he’s ‘not really gay’

A gay Bangladeshi man who fled to the UK to escape persecution for his sexuality has been refused asylum by the Home Office, with a judge accusing him of pretending to be gay.

Monsur Ahmed Chowdhury had his asylum claims rejected by a judge following a hearing in March 2018 after moving to the UK as a student in 2009.

Chowdhury is originally from Sylhet, a city in northeastern Bangladesh.

According to Metro, a letter written by the judge in Chowdhury’s case argued that he is “not really gay, but tries to pass himself off as gay.”

The judge told Chowdhury that there was “a clear lack of documentary material which could suggest that the appellant (Chowdhury) was indeed a gay man before he sought asylum”.

The judge also described being gay as a “lifestyle” and asked why Chowdhury had not brought any witnesses who could corroborate “how the appellant has conducted himself as someone who is gay”.

Chowdhury provided evidence of attending LGBTQ+ pride events and club nights, as well as a picture of him appearing to view same-sex pornography, but the judge said it was clearly “staged”.

“There is clearly a great desire on the part of the appellant to try to present this image that he is a gay man, but in my view there is too much fabrication and posturing and that, in my view, undermines it. the fundamental credibility of the appellant,” the judge said.

Chowdhury again applied for asylum at the Home Office but was rejected in June, with the department basing its decision on the judge’s 2018 ruling and using it as a precedent to deny his soli· asylum request

He has appealed the decision, but if he is unsuccessful, he may have to return to Bangladesh. Chowdhury told Metro that her life there was “very stressful and scary” because of her sexuality, as same-sex relationships are prohibited there.

“I couldn’t live openly as a gay man there – if anyone found out, my life would be in danger. While I was in Bangladesh, no one knew about my sexuality. It wasn’t until I left and became active on social media social that people noticed,” Chowdhury added.