2023-10-14 08:20:19
The mobilization continues for the support committee of Richard N., a young man from Cameroon, where he is threatened with prison or even death because of his sexual orientation. The committee, made up of LGBTQIA+ collectives, gathered in Brussels on Friday evening.
Nearly fifty people gathered in front of the General Commission for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRA) in Anderlecht, in support of Richard N., threatened with imminent expulsion by the Belgian state. “Homophobic state crime, CGRA assassins,” chanted those present at the mobilization.
Currently detained in the 127bis closed center in Steenokkerzeel, the young man very likely risks being deported on Saturday, a member of the support committee told the Belga agency on Friday.
“We ask Ms. De Moor (Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration) to act as quickly as possible so that Richard does not suffer the same fate as Fatina, a bisexual woman expelled by France and then killed by her own family upon his return to Pakistan,” declared Richard N’s support committee. “We therefore demand an immediate halt to his expulsion,” he added.
Requests for international protection
Arriving in Belgium in 2016, Richard N. allegedly filed requests for international protection on several occasions for risk of persecution and violence. These have so far been refused by the CGRS, despite “clear proof of his homosexuality”, denounces a member of the support collective.
“The CGRS did not consider him ‘gay enough’ to grant him international protection, even though he is entitled to it under the Geneva Convention and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, whose Belgium is a signatory,” recalled the members of the support committee. The latter reaffirmed his refusal “to be complicit with the Belgian State in this decision”.
“Richard’s case demonstrates a total violation of rights by the Belgian state. We talk regarding Belgium as a democracy and a rule of law, but apparently, that is not the case for everyone,” said Anou, a member of the committee present at the gathering.
Serious homophobic attack
According to the committee, the person concerned fled his country of origin following suffering a serious homophobic attack there. When he lived in Liège, the Cameroonian frequented places intended for the LGBTQIA+ community.
Richard N. also has a new partner, with whom he had initiated a legal cohabitation procedure, which failed following an administrative failure. “We are quite shocked by the situation, we believe that he has the right to benefit from international protection,” insists the collective, which does not understand the reason for the refusal. “There is plenty of evidence to show that he is known to the LGBTQIA+ community. Homosexual practices are punishable by law in Cameroon, he risks prison or death if he returns there,” he argues.
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Mobilization around a homosexual Cameroonian threatened with expulsion: “We are shocked”
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