Pegah Emambakhsh - Let down by Britain?

Having just discovered that lesbian, Iranian asylum seeker Pegah Emambakhsh was due to be deported to Iran, where she may well face stoning to death because of her sexuality, I set to work finding out what I could do to help.

Peter Tatchell reports that Pegah escaped from Iran, claiming asylum, after her lover was arrested, tortured and subsequently sentenced to death by stoning. Her father was also arrested and interrogated about her whereabouts. He was eventually released but not before he had been tortured himself.

According to her supporters, Pegah's asylum application has been denied by the Home Office because she was not able to prove she was a lesbian. However Human right's activists Gruppo EveryOne claim to have letters from lesbian women in Iran state that Pegah is a member of a local secret LGBT group. They also claim to have a document from the Islamic Republic of Iran saying that Ms. Emambakhsh faces a possible death sentence.

Initially it seemed like writing a letter to the home secretary or sending a fax would be the best course of action but a little research showed that Pegah is due for deportation tomorrow. Therefore the recommended immediate course of action is to email the home secretary Jacqui Smith and MP Richard Caborn.

After sending emails I did some further research and discovered that the Italian Government are prepared to offer Pegah refuge status should her last ditch UK appeal fail. This is very unorthodox but does mean that Pegah should be safe.

This news story makes me ashamed to be British, not just the fact that we'd deport a woman who risks such an unpleasant fate but also the fact that, thanks to our media, I found out about this now that it's probably too late to act. UK Gay News pointed out that the Guardian appears to be the only major UK newspaper to run a story on Pegah's plight yet it's headline news in Italy.

Related articles: Guardian Article, UK Gay News, Pink News
Picture source: Indy Media