A gay man who fled Bangladesh to escape persecution had his asylum application refused after a judge told him he was ‘trying to pass’ himself off as gay.
Monsur Ahmed Chowdhury, 38, came to Britain as a student in 2009 from Sylhet, a city in northeastern Bangladesh, on a student visa after never feeling safe enough to be his authentic self in his native country.
Following years of applications, submitted evidence and rejections, Monsur had his application rejected by a judge following a First-Tier Tribunal, a court that handles immigration disputes, in March 2018 – because the judge didn’t believe he was gay.
In a letter seen by , the judge ruled: ‘I conclude that the Appellant is not truly gay, but he is trying to pass himself off as gay.’
Describing being gay as a ‘lifestyle’, the judge told Monsur there is a ‘distinct lack of documentary material that might be suggestive that the Appellant was truly a gay man before he sought asylum’.
The judge also questioned why Monsur did not bring someone into the chamber who could ‘corroborate, in an important particular, how the Appellant has behaved as someone who is gay’. Evidence that Monsur’s two witnesses did bring did ‘not direct itself, as I see it, to the central question as to really whether the Appellant is gay’.
His attendance at LGBTQ+ Pride events and nightclubs didn’t cut it, while the judge said a photograph of Monsur looking at same-sex pornography was ‘staged’.
‘There is, quite clearly, a great desire on the part of the Appellant to try to present this picture that he is a gay man but, in my judgment, there is far too much manufacturing and posturing and that, in my judgment, undermines the fundamental credibility of the Appellant,’ the judge added.
Following the ruling, Monsur reapplied for asylum with the Home Office. However, the Home Office rejected his asylum claim in June, basing the decision on the 2018 ruling.
Now his life remains up in the air as he is waiting for an outcome of an appeal, which, if it’s not successful, could see him being forced to return to Bangladesh.
For Monsur, being open about his sexuality is something he spent decades avoiding at all costs. ‘Life in Bangladesh was very stressful and scary for me, especially because of my sexuality,’ he tells .
‘I couldn’t live openly as a gay man there – if anyone found out, my life would be in danger. While in Bangladesh, no one knew about my sexuality. It wasn’t until I left and became active on social media that people became aware.’
Going back to Bangladesh, a conservative country in South Asia where being gay is outlawed, is out of the question.
‘LGBTQ+ rights in Bangladesh are virtually non-existent. Being gay is not only socially unacceptable but also illegal,’ says Monsur, who is currently living in London.
‘If I were sent back to Bangladesh now, my life would be at serious risk. Since my sexuality is now publicly known due to my social media presence and activities, I could face violence or even be killed if I returned.’
But to immigration rights experts and those who know him, Monsur isn’t alone. There is a ‘culture of disbelief’ in the Home Office that faces LGBTQ+ people applying for asylum in the UK, where they have to convince people they’ve never met they are who they say they are.
In 2022, 2% of asylum claims in the UK (1,334 claims) included sexual orientation as part of the basis for their claim. Claimants must provide a credible ‘fear of persecution’ to be granted refugee status.
A major part of this involves giving oral testimony to a Home Office official. Inspectors in 2013 found that one in 10 interviewers would ask LGBTQ+ asylum seekers ‘intrusive questions’ such as: ‘Did you put your penis into X’s backside?’ and ‘Did X ejaculate inside you?’
Caseworkers ‘routinely’ disbelieve LGBTQ+ people seeking asylum, research from the charity Rainbow Migration has found. Judges have ruled against migrants for not being ‘conflicted’ enough about their sexuality or gender identity, and caseworkers have refused to believe an applicant is queer as they do not conform to ‘expected’ stereotypes, the research shows.
Relationships have been discredited because the claimant did not have an ’emotional journey’ of ‘self-realisation’ or did not provide a detailed enough list of their same-sex partner’s hobbies.
Monsur first claimed asylum in May 2017 after years of jostling to get his Tier-4 student visa extended, which was only valid until April 30, 2011. He told immigration officials he would be persecuted if he returned to Bangladesh, something that would violate the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). He suffers from depression and anxiety and, at times, has had suicidal thoughts, Monsur stressed.
Queer men face life behind bars in Bangladesh for same-sex sexual activity – ‘unnatural intercourse’, as the Penal Code puts it. The colonial era Section 377, while rarely enforced, is used by the authorities to arrest, harass and extort LGBTQ+ people.
Marriage equality is banned, LGBTQ+ lives are regularly censored by the state, there are no anti-discrimination laws and people overwhelmingly do not support LGBTQ+ rights, according to the queer rights tracker Equaldex.
In a letter seen by , a Home Office decision-maker told him: ‘You do not qualify for refugee status because, on the available evidence, I am not satisfied on the balance of probabilities that you have a well-founded fear of persecution for a Convention reason and are unable or, owing to such fear, unwilling to avail yourself of the protection of Bangladesh.’
The official said that if Monsur’s mental health declined if he was deported, Bangladesh’s healthcare system would be ‘functional’ enough to support him.
‘The asylum process has been incredibly challenging and frustrating,’ Monsur says. ‘I’ve been struggling with it for six years now, facing numerous setbacks and difficulties.’
The Home Office, according to the caseworker, has long maintained that Monsur’s claim has been denied ‘due to a lack of credibility’.
In a country policy and information note for Home Office decision-makers, the department says that while LGBTQ+ Bangladeshis are ‘often stigmatized’, they are ‘unlikely… to face persecution or serious harm’.
‘Decision-makers must consider each case on its facts, with the onus on the person to demonstrate why they would not be able to obtain protection,’ the guidance adds.
Evidence that Monsur submitted includes his membership card to a local LGBTQ+ group, 30 letters of support including from his local MP, medical notes from his therapist, Whatsapp messages, social media posts, Bangladeshi law extracts, GP records and even receipts for purchases made in Soho, London’s gay neighbourhood.
‘Despite the scrutiny of his sexuality and the difficulties he has encountered with the Home Office, Monsur has remained committed to advocating for LGBTQ+ rights and supporting others facing similar persecution,’ a spokesperson for LGBT Worcester, a community group Monsur has been a member of since December, told .
‘His active participation in Worcester LGBT, including organising events and initiatives to promote inclusivity, demonstrates his dedication to creating a safe space for all individuals, regardless of their background or identity.’
Monsur, the spokesperson adds, is a ‘courageous and resilient individual who has faced significant challenges due to his sexual orientation’.
Mazyar Shirali, of Persian LGBT, a non-profit that supports hundreds of queer asylum seekers that Monsur has worked with since March 2023, agrees.
Describing Monsur as a ‘hardworking man with a positive attitude’, Mazyar says the asylum seeker process has left the man ‘fragile’. ‘I trained him and encouraged him to gain self-confidence and support himself,’ he says.
‘I have seen many cases and attended many immigration tribunals, but there still is the question of why the Home Office is making life hard for people like Monsur who, if they had confidence and the right advice, could achieve through his solicitor to be a productive member of this society.’
Leila Zadeh, the executive director of Rainbow Migration, has seen cases just like Monsur’s countless times. ‘We can all imagine how difficult it must be to have to prove your sexual orientation, especially to a stranger,’ she says.
‘At Rainbow Migration, we support hundreds of people every year who are struggling with this issue and are disbelieved by the Home Office – despite giving huge amounts of detail about their lives, evidence that they have been participating in LGBTQ+ community life, photos of themselves attending Pride or enjoying daily life with their partners.’
A Stonewall spokesperson added: ‘LGBTQ+ people around the world often face discrimination and violence because of their identity. Openly identifying as LGBTQ+ can come with significant challenges and having that identity questioned could be deeply distressing to individuals who are already vulnerable.’
Safety was one of two reasons Monsur boarded a plane to Heathrow Airport.
He first came to get a diploma in Business Management at North West College London before enrolling at London West Valley College to study IT. At Docklands College, he received a BTEC diploma in strategic management and passed his B2 First exam, an English language test, in 2015.
‘The UK offered both educational opportunities and a more accepting environment for LGBTQ+ individuals,’ he says.
To Monsur, however, the life he has built in Britain is not one he can have in Bangladesh. At least, not a life where he is living his truth.
‘This has left me feeling extremely scared, unsafe, and frustrated with my immigration situation,’ Monsur says.
‘I’m hopeful the Home Office will reconsider my case and grant me refugee status.’
The Home Office has been approached for comment. The Ministry of Justice declined to comment.
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