AIT 1. Though homosexuality remains illegal in Afghanistan, the evidence of its prevalence especially in the Pashtun culture, contrasted with the absence of criminal convictions after the fall of the Taliban, demonstrates a lack of appetite by the Government to prosecute.
2. Some conduct that would be seen in the West as a manifestation of homosexuality is not necessarily interpreted in such a way in Afghan society.
3. A homosexual returning to Afghanistan would normally seek to keep his homosexuality private and to avoid coming to public attention. He would normally be able to do so, and hence avoid any real risk of persecution by the state, without the need to suppress his sexuality or sexual identity to an extent that he could not reasonably be expected to tolerate.
4. So far as non-state actors are concerned, a practising homosexual on return to Kabul who would not attract or seek to cause public outrage would not face a real risk of persecution.
5. If some individual, or some gay lobby, tried to make a political point in public or otherwise behaved in a way such as to attract public outrage, then there might be a sharp response from the Government.
6. A homosexual may be relatively safe in a big city (especially Kabul) and it would take cogent evidence in a particular case to demonstrate otherwise. The position in smaller towns and in rural areas could be different and will depend on the evidence in a specific case.
7. Relocation to Kabul is generally a viable option for homosexuals who have experienced problems elsewhere, though individual factors will have to be taken into account.
8. The evidence shows that a considerable proportion of Afghan men may have had some homosexual experience without having a homosexual preference. A careful assessment of the credibility of a claim to be a practising homosexual and the extent of it is particularly important. The evaluation of an appellant’s behaviour in the UK may well be significant.
[2009] UKAIT 00001
Bailii
England and Wales
Immigration
Updated: 09 November 2021; Ref: scu.279868
