The two men got married in Austria, but in Iran the homosexuality of the couple could have been disclosed when applying for an Austrian visitor visa for the Iranian part of the family and in Iran it is punishable by death, reports the “Ö1” morning journal on Saturday. Other media had previously reported.
In order to avoid reprisals against the family in Iran, the couple wants to remain anonymous. The Austrian’s Iranian husband has been living and working as an ophthalmologist in the EU for years. However, should he return to his old home country, he must expect to be arrested and hanged, reported “Ö1”.
“I can forget my country”
If his parents get sick or something happens that makes him urgently need to go to Iran, he has no alternative. “There is no way. I can forget my country, my future in my country and everything I had (…)”, the morning journal quoted the person concerned as saying.
The Austrian embassy in Tehran does not accept visa applications itself, but has outsourced this to an external company, criticized the doctor’s Austrian husband.
Foreign Ministry in Vienna rejects any guilt
According to the charges, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Vienna denies any guilt. After the allegations became known, an investigation was initiated immediately, according to a written statement. “No irregularities and no breach of confidentiality were found,” Ö1 quoted the Foreign Ministry as saying.
Outsourcing the visa process is legally covered, and the company’s employees are bound to secrecy. But the officials at the embassy in Tehran could just as well have taken over the entire process themselves – which would have protected the man, wrote the “Standard” on Friday. Despite several warnings, the foreign office did the opposite. “We don’t know whether it did this out of homophobia, recklessness or simply out of incompetence.” The only thing that is clear is that the authorities exposed the man to the Iranian authorities and thus seriously endangered him. The “Standard” quoted Ombudsman Gaby Schwarz (ÖVP) as saying: “An apology is appropriate.”
The weekly newspaper “Falter” had already reported on the case last September. Last week, NEOS LGBTIQ+ spokesman Yannick Shetty drew attention to the case on Twitter and announced a parliamentary question to Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP). “Unbelievable failure of the authorities: The Foreign Ministry is revealing Tiad F.’s homosexuality to the Iranian authorities. Austria is thereby endangering his life and that of his family: homosexuality is punishable by the death penalty in Iran,” criticized Shetty.
