EU court bans ‘gay tests’ for asylum seekers

Europe’s highest court has ruled that gay asylum seekers will no longer have to undergo “tests” or intimate questioning in order to prove their sexuality.

The European Court of Justice, which oversees asylum policy for all EU member states, said officials will not be allowed to interrogate LGBT applicants about their sexual activity as it undermines the applicant’s dignity and right to privacy, and thus contravenes European law.

Authorities will also not be allowed to request video or photographic evidence as “proof” of homosexuality.

Over the last year, there has been a significant increase in the number of African refugees claiming asylum in the EU, as most African countries still regard homosexuality as a crime, the BBC reports.

LGBT Activist Confronts President Jonathan During Washington Visit

A gay Nigerian activist who sought asylum in the United States confronted President Goodluck Jonathan over the country’s recently passed anti-LGBT law at a dinner in the president’s honor hosted by business groups in Washington on Wednesday.

Michael Ighodaro left Nigeria in 2012 after his ribs and hand were broken in an attack in the capital of Abuja and is now a fellow at the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission in New York. He approached Jonathan during a $200-per-plate dinner hosted by the Corporate Council on Africa and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, held on the sidelines of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit organized by the White House this week.

Ighodaro challenged the president about the Anti-Same-Sex Marriage Act, signed into law in January, which also criminalizes advocating LGBT rights and displays of affection between people of the same-sex. Since its passage, there have been several reports of mob attacks targeting people alleged to be homosexual.