Gay refugees get another chance

Two Bangladeshi men seeking refugee status in Australia, who claim to be in a relationship, will return to the Refugee Review Tribunal to have their evidence re-examined.  Crikey reported the men were rejected by the tribunal in November after it ruled they were not gay, as they had claimed. The decision was overturned by a Federal Magistrate Court last month.

Federal Magistrate Robert Cameron appealed the decision after reviewing a collection of photos of the pair having sex.

The tribunal’s decision to reject the pair’s application was based on inconsistencies in their personal accounts of their relationship and other details. The tribunal did not review the photos themselves because one of the men, after handing over the photos, asked for the pictures not to be viewed.

Mental health social worker Dr Paul Andrews reviewed the photos for the tribunal and said the pair were gay and in a relationship.

Despite the applicant’s request for the images not to be shown, Federal Magistrate Cameron said the tribunal’s failure to consider the evidence had “possibly deprived the applicants of a successful outcome to their review applications”.

The tribunal will further review the case.