Newsfrom JapanOsaka, July 4 (Jiji Press)--Osaka District Court on Thursday revoked a decision by immigration authorities not to grant a refugee status to a gay man from North Africa at risk of persecution in his home country. "If he returns home, he may be arrested or prosecuted," Presiding Judge Atsushi Tokuchi said, backing the plaintiff in his 30s living in the Kinki western Japan region. According to his lawyers, this is the second case in Japan in which a sexual minority has been recognized as a refugee in a lawsuit, due to the threat of persecution. The man came to Japan in December 2019 and applied for refugee status the following month. But the Osaka Regional Immigration Services Bureau decided not to grant him the status in February 2021.

Source: The North Africa Journal July 04, 2024 14:55 UTC