Last summer, a citizen of Ghana applied to the State Border Guard with a request to be granted refugee or alternative status in Latvia. The man stated that he was homosexual and would be considered a threat to society in his country of origin, Ghana. He was allegedly discriminated, persecuted, physically and emotionally affected.
He was denied refugee and alternative status by the Citizenship and Migration Board, which questioned the man’s claims of belonging to Ghana’s LGBT+ community.
Disagreeing with the administration’s decision, the man appealed to the court. He argued to the court that the rights of homosexuals are being violated in Ghana, as evidenced by information found in the country’s information sources. In Ghana, he did not have the opportunity to appeal to the authorities for help, because they were allegedly corrupt. In the view of the court, PMLP has evaluated the situation in Ghana formally and superficially, without checking the actual circumstances of the case. The Board had been informed that homosexual relations in Ghana are punishable by imprisonment, but this circumstance was not taken into account when making a decision in the applicant’s case.
After evaluating the case materials, the court has concluded that there is no objective reason to doubt the veracity of the information provided during the examination of the applicant’s asylum case. The court found the story that he was forced to leave Ghana because he felt persecuted because of his sexual orientation “consistent and therefore believable”.
Tags: man persecuted Ghana sexual orientation wins asylum Latvia courts
