Iraqi man refused asylum in Austria over 'fake gay' claim fears for life after being ‘outed by immigration officers’

Exclusive: Firas, 27, says father and brother were told about his sexuality during interrogation by officials

Gay-friendly traffic lights in Austria (Getty)

An Iraqi man whose asylum application was rejected by Austrian authorities over claims he was only “acting” gay has said the prospect of returning to his home country makes him fear for his life after he was outed by immigration officials during their interrogation of his family.

The 27-year-old, who gave his name only as Firas, had his application rejected following a six-hour interview because he was deemed to be acting up to the stereotype of a gay man.

He said his sexuality had been revealed to his father and brother during questioning despite assurances the information he had provided to Austrian officials would remain confidential.

He now plans to challenge the decision in the Austrian courts.

“I told the interviewer my family don’t know everything [about my sexuality] because of my culture and religion,” he told The Independent during a phone interview from Graz in southern Austria.

“The interviewer said it was private. But then my father was asked [by Austrian immigration officials] if he knew his son was gay, and my father said I wasn’t and that I had invited girlfriends round for lunch.

“After that, my application was rejected. They said I was acting and trying to look like a girl. I was told I could move back to Iraq and keep my sexuality a secret as I had already done that when I was growing up.”

He said returning to his home country, which he left aged 24, would now be too dangerous.

“What should I do with my feelings? Now I am living apart from my family here in Austria because I am scared.”

His comments followed a warning from campaigners that Austria’s toughened immigration policy was effectively sentencing LGBT+ asylum seekers to death in their home country, after several cases emerged of men having their cases rejected for apparently trivial reasons.

Joe Niedermayer, of the group RosaLila PantherInnen (Pink Purple Panthers), which is handling Firas’ case, said political changes in Austria were affecting decisions made by the country’s immigration office.

“It is a death sentence to send them home,” he told The Independent.

“They don’t want refugees here right now. But in the cases we work with, if the people go home they could be killed.”

It comes after an Iranian man seeking asylum in Austria was told his application had been rejected because he could not explain what the colours of the rainbow flag – a gay pride symbol – signified.

And an Afghan asylum seeker had his application denied after being told his walk, behaviour and clothing suggested he may not be gay.

Commenting on Firas’ case, Mr Niedermayer added: “We had documents where we had partners who certificated that they had sex with him, but even this was not valid proof. They didn’t look at all the facts we had.”

“The interviewer was asking his father, ‘do you know your son is gay?’” said Mr Niedermayer.

But even if his father had been aware of his sexuality, Mr Niedermayer said it was unlikely he would have admitted to it because of his conservative beliefs.

His father’s denial of any knowledge of his son’s sexuality was then used by the immigration officials as evidence that he had lied, the activist said.

A spokesman for Austria's asylum office had earlier denied their response to Firas’s application contained "clichéd phrasing” and said they had not requested "evidence of his sexual contacts with men".

Under the right-wing coalition government headed by Sebastian Kurz, Austria has pursued policies to reduce immigration both domestically and across the EU.

Amnesty International said problems surrounding LGBT+ asylum applications in Austria were "structural" and the refusal to grant the Afghan man settled status was not an "isolated case".

Annemarie Schlack, Amnesty's Austria director, said the "inhumane language" in the asylum process "does not meet the requirements of a fair, constitutional procedure".

Human Rights Watch says Iraq has no laws that explicitly criminalise consensual same-sex acts but LGBT+ people still face discrimination and persecution.