Furor over deportation of gay Iranian asylum seeker

Asylum seeker Amir Shokrgozare was deported from Iceland to Italy on Friday. Amir had to flee Iran due to persecution he suffered for his sexual orientation. His application for asylum in Iceland was denied because he has asylum in Italy. 

Shokrgozare dwelt in a refugee camp in Italy where he was persecuted for being gay and for being Christian, and was gang raped there. 

His lawyer in Iceland says that there's nothing to be done because the Dublin regulation being so strict. Shokrgozare has an Icelandic boyfriend but new regulations on marriage in Iceland mean that even if he married his boyfriend he could only receive a residency permit one year later. Shokrgozare has been working as a hairdresser in Iceland. 

Gay Iceland reports that Amir’s friends in Iceland have started a collection for him, so he can pay for necessities while in Milan waiting for his case to be processed.

Writer, activist and former presidential candidate Andri Snær Magnason posted on his Facebook page, that he saw Amir in Milan last weekend and says his glasses are broken after the struggle with the police upon his deportatoin and that he’s got bruises on his head and upper arm. "Until Amir's case has been resolved I won't say a bad thing about Trump," wrote Magnason.