Gay man refused asylum and told he is ‘not truly gay’

A gay Bangladeshi man who sought asylum in Britain to escape persecution due to his sexual orientation has been refused asylum by the Home Office, with a judge accusing him of pretending to be gay.

Monsar Ahmed Chaudhry moved to the UK as a student in 2009 before having his asylum claim rejected by a judge following a hearing in March 2018.

Chaudhry is from Sylhet, a city in northeastern Bangladesh.

According to Metroa letter written by the judge in Chaudhry’s case claims that he is “not a true homosexual, but is trying to pass himself off as one.”

The judge told Mr Chaudhry: “There is a clear lack of documentary evidence to suggest that the appellant (Mr Chaudhry) was indeed homosexual before he sought asylum.”

The judge also called being homosexual a “lifestyle” and questioned why Chaudhry had not brought any witnesses to corroborate “how the appellant has acted as a homosexual.” did.

Chaudhry presented evidence of attending LGBTQ+ pride events and club nights, as well as images that appeared to show him watching same-sex pornography, which the judge said was clearly “staged”.

“Clearly there is a strong desire on the appellant’s part to present an image of himself as gay, but in my judgment there is too much fabrication and posturing that undermines that. “I find that the appellant’s fundamental credibility,” the judge said.

Chaudhry reapplied for asylum with the Home Office, but it was rejected in June, and the Home Office based its decision on the judge’s 2018 ruling and used it as a precedent to reject his asylum claim.

He has appealed the decision, but if it is not successful he may have to return to Bangladesh. Chaudhry told Metro: He said living there was “very stressful and scary” because of his sexuality, as homosexuality is prohibited there.

“There I couldn’t live openly as a homosexual. If anyone found out, my life would be in danger. While in Bangladesh, no one knew about my sexuality. People didn’t realize until I quit and became active on social media,” Chaudhry added.