LONDON, May 21, 2008  –  Simon Hughes, the Liberal Democrat MP, said last night that he was “delighted” by the decision of the Home Office that Mehdi Kazemi, the 20-year-old gay Iranian could stay in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Hughes as played a vital role in Mr. Kazemi’s application for sanctuary in the UK following his return to the country from the Netherlands with a promise from Home Secretary Jacqui Smith that his case would be reviewed..

Mehdi Kazemi arrived in the UK in 2004 on a student visa to study.  He later found out that his partner Parham had been arrested in Iran and had been forced to identify Mehdi as someone with whom he’d had a relationship.

Then, in April 2006, he learned that Parham had been hanged.   When his application to remain in the UK failed and he learned that he would be deported, he fled to the Czech Republic a year ago, fearing execution if returned to Iran.

He then had a short stay in Germany before ending up in Venlo in the Netherlands.

“Like Mehdi and his family in Britain, I am delighted by the Home Office decision that my constituent Mehdi Kazemi can now stay in this country and will not be sent back to Iran,” Mr. Hughes said in a press statement last night.

“This is great news for a very decent guy.

“As I have argued over the last eighteen months, the Home Office should not send gay and lesbian people back to countries where they will be at risk of persecution, torture or worse.

“We are already at work planning the next phase of Mehdi’s life in the UK.  Mehdi now wants to finish his studies and then plans to work.  I have no doubt Mehdi will make a very positive contribution to this country and society at large.”

Mr. Hughes added that the “leave to remain” in the country was for five years, as is the case with most applications.  Mr. Kazemi is permitted to work during this time.

Speaking from Strasbourg, Michael Cashman, the president of the Euopean Parliament’s all-party Intergroup for gay and lesbian rights, said this morning: “I wish to congratulate The Home Office and Government of the United Kingdom on the decision that I always knew in my heart they would take.

“Mehdi’s case clearly shows that NGOs and governments must work together to ensure that LGBT people are properly protected and dealt with in asylum cases.”

Jean Lambert, London’s Green MEP, has also welcomed the decision by the Home Office to grant asylum to Mr. Kazemi.

“I am delighted that the Home Office has reached the right decision on this case and that the UK has offered sanctuary to Mr Kazemi.

“It would have been utterly reprehensible to have deported him to Iran where he may very well have been executed purely because of his sexuality.

“The Home Office must not be complacent when assessing risk,” she continued.

“In over 75 countries men, women and children are still punished for their sexuality and homophobia causes misery in many more.  Iran denies that homosexuals exist, but the torture and execution of LGBT individuals has been documented.

“In this case it was clear that a life was in danger and offering asylum was the only honourable course of action,” Ms. Lambert pointed out.

Peter Tatchell of Outrage! was also pleased that Mr. Kazemi had been successful in his application.

But he added a word of caution.

“It "is a victory of sorts in that Mehdi has only got a temporary leave to remain here.  At the end of five years he will have to go through the whole appeal process again,” he pointed out.

“Mehdi wouldn't have got leave to remain if there hadn’t been massive publicity of his case

“There are many other gay and lesbian Iranian asylum seekers that are scheduled for deportation to Iran,” he pointed out.

In America, where Mr. Kazemi’s case is well known, thanks to television reports, notably on ABC News and CNN and the gay newspaper The Washington Blade, there was widespread elation at yesterday’s news.

But it was The Independent that led the UK media coverage when legal editor Robert Verkaik reported on Mr. Kazemi's plight in A Life or Death Decision at the beginning of March.