In Iran homosexuality is punishable by death and the young man's former partner was hanged after being arrested for engaging in homosexual acts. Mr Kazemi's asylum application in the UK was turned down in 2005 and on Tuesday this week the Netherlands refused his request to apply for protection. He is now awaiting deportation from the UK.
Speaking in the debate in the European Parliament, this afternoon, Jean Lambert MEP said:
"I hope that Jackie Smith will intervene immediately in the case of Mehdi Kazemi to prevent him from being deported to Iran. We know that Iran is very dangerous for homosexuals. The UK Government has said that it will be safe for him to return if he is discreet in his behaviour, but it would be impossible for him to live freely in Iran.
"It appears that the UK Government is more interested in increasing the numbers of people being deported than it is in protecting human life."
The debate was followed by a vote on the joint motion to protect Mr Kazemi from deportation. The motion was carried with an overwhelming majority and adopted as a position of the European Parliament. Speaking after the debate, Jean Lambert MEP continued:
"The deportation of anyone to a country where they risk persecution, torture and death amounts to a violation of European and international human rights obligations.
"There is no doubt that Mehdi Kazemi will be in danger if returned, his former partner has been executed and his own father has threatened to kill him. Obviously this is an extremely distressing situation for him and the Member States involved should resolve his status as quickly as possible."
In Europe, the Dublin 2 Regulation advises Member States to send asylum-seekers back to the first country in which they claimed asylum, unless there was an error in the original decision-making process. Jean Lambert MEP is currently leading the European Parliament's evaluation of this legislation.
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