UPDATE #4, THURS, 11:20 pm PST (scroll to bottom to see previous updates):
Still no word or follow-up from Kiana Firouz, or anyone in the Cul de Sac camp. I’m worried by lack of communication or verification from them, and since this post has gone viral, I’ve had mounting concerns. Please stand by.
UPDATE #5, FRIDAY, 4:41am PST:
Okay, I’ve received confirmation of the basic facts of this case from a reputable source: Stefano Bucaioni, who sits on the executive board of international affairs at Arcigay. Stefano informed me that he’s in direct contact with Kiana and the emails she’s sent to him do confirm the full story. He’ll be meeting Kiana in person in London next Thursday. He’s said that she is currently overwhelmed with requests from journalists. Arcigay will be posting an official press document concerning Kiana Firouz’s case either later today or early tomorrow. When they do, I’ll post that link in an update. Grazie, Stefano. Good luck, Kiana.
UPDATE #6, Tuesday, 3:30pm PST:
Arcigay posted their press release for Kiana Firouz today. It’s in Italian, but scroll down more information in English.
Kiana Firouz in a still from Cul de Sac.
Kiana Firouz, 27 years old, is an outspoken Iranian LGBT rights activist, filmmaker, and actress. When clips of her video documentary work featuring the struggle and persecution of gays and lesbians in her country were acquired by Iranian intelligence, agents began to follow Firouz around Tehran, harassing and intimidating her. She fled for England where she could safely continue her work and studies.
She plays a starring role in Cul de Sac, a documentary film produced in the UK about the condition of lesbians in Iran, and based heavily on Firouz’s own life story. Directed by Ramin Goudarzi-Nejad and Mahshad Torkan, the movie will premiere in London in a few days. Since the trailer was posted on YouTube in December 2009, Cul de Sac has attracted global media attention, with thousands of views. Apparently, some of those views included members of Ahmadinejad’s puppet media in Iran. They know who Firouz is and what she stands for. They may want her to come back to the country she was born in to answer for it.
Still from Cul de Sac.
Firouz, understandably, has requested asylum from the British government. Much to everyone’s shock and dismay, the British Home Office has rejected her application for refugee status. Yes, they know she’s gay. Yes, they know she could be deported back to Iran at any time, and that if this happens, Firouz will most likely be sentenced to torture and death after being found guilty of the “unspeakable sin of homosexuality” because she has participated in explicit lesbian sex scenes in the movie, and been a fierce proponent for human rights in her country.
In Iran, the punishment for lesbianism involving mature consenting women consists of 100 lashes. This punishment can be applied up to three times. After a fourth violation of Iranian law, a woman convicted of “unrepentant homosexuality” is finally executed by hanging, often publicly, in front of a howling mob.
From EveryOne Group:
Kiana filed for a court appeal following the Home Office’s decision to reject her application for asylum, but the judge overruled her appeal. According to Kiana’s lawyer, the last remaining chance is to appeal the judge’s decision, but the risk of deportation is imminent.
The EveryOne Group, an international human rights organization, which was involved in the asylum cases of the lesbian Pegah Emambakhsh, who risked being deported from London to Tehran in 2007, and of the Iranian gay, Mehdi Kazemi, appeals to the British government and the democratic forces of the European Union, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, that Kiana Firouz be immediately guaranteed adequate humanitarian protection and that the order for her deportation be repealed, given that on return to Iran she will face a death sentence not only because a lesbian but because of her civil rights activism.
The EveryOne activists invite concerned readers to send protest e-mail messages to the British Home Office (public.enquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk) requesting that Kiana receive refugee status as soon as possible, for she is a symbol of the international fight against homophobia and repression of gays and lesbians in Islamic countries.
I’ve spent a fair amount of my day researching, fact-checking and [edit for clarification: attempting to] verify this story, and I can’t figure it out: why is this news not EVERYWHERE right now? Why is this petition for Firouz so anemic? There should be hundreds of thousands of names on that list.
And yet, I am only just catching wind of Firouz’s story from a chance visit to Kim Boekbinder‘s blog, where Kim posted a heartbreaking letter written by an Italian friend of hers, Sylvia K. An excerpt:
No major newspaper even remotely talks about Kiana’s story, nor do gay activists. People don’t seem to care much at all. I do. Last night I wrote to Kiana. Nothing much, only to say that I was so saddened and angry, that her story had moved and inspired me and that I was SO thankful to her for standing up for what she truly believed in… This morning before going out I found her reply. It goes like this :
“Dear Sylvia
I am proud of you. we should proud of each other for being strong. I am so thankful for your supportive and kindly letter. It does not matter what is going to happen to me. Its all about freedom.
Take care and do not forget you are not alone, we are many…
Kiana”
I wrote it on a piece of paper and hurried out of the house.
I spent the greater part of this rainy day sitting in one of the University’s courtyards, crying alone [...] I look at myself, always complaining about homophobia in Italy, about the fact we have no equal rights, and I feel like a fucking piece of shit. Because for me, it is SO easy to go to London, to Paris, to Berlin and be the butchest fiercest lesbian around, without having to be afraid of being lashed 100, 200, 300 times and then hung, a thick rope around my neck, people rejoicing all around.
It does matter what happens to Kiana Firouz. This should not be a reality for her, or anyone else.
Here is the official Cul de Sac website.
Here is the petition endorsed by Kiana Firouz herself.
And this is her story.
Let’s make some noise, comrades.
______________________________________
UPDATE #1, WED, 12:25pm PST:
Not sure if messages addressed to that email for the BHO (public.enquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk) are going through.
I’m hoping to hear back from Kiana herself via email so Coilhouse can do a bit more follow-up and fact-checking.
Meantime, commenter Ethan suggests “writing a letter to either of these two as well. Taking the time to write a personal letter is much more effective than just signing a petition, please do both.”
Minister of State (Borders and Immigration) -
Home Office, 2 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DF
Fax: +44 870 336 9034
Secretary of State for the Home Department -
Home Office, 2 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DF
Fax: +44 20 7035 0900
_______________________________________________
UPDATE #2, WED, 2:56 pm PST:
Still waiting for a personal response from Kiana.
Called the line listed on the Cul de Sac website for press inquiries, and a man who did not give his name answered. I told him that I’m further fact-checking a story about Kiana and the film, and requested more information about her situation. The man declined to answer any question directly related to Firouz’s potential deportation, and asked me to use the email address listed on the site instead to officially state my reasons for contacting Kiana. He told me that this message would be passed on to her.
I hope to hear more from her soon. Knowing more concrete facts about this case, and hearing directly from Kiana, will either a) help to give this fight more tooth and claw or b) expose it as a fabrication. If the former, all the better. If the latter, I’ll be swift to apologize on behalf of Coilhouse for propagating something unsubstantiated. Thank you, everyone.
____________________________________________________
UPDATE #3, THURS, 3:27 pm PST:
Wow, looks like this post has gone viral. Our server crashed for an hour or two, sorry about that.
Still no word from Kiana Firouz. However, I’ve kept in contact with the aforementioned Sylvia K, who has told me that she’s been corresponding with ArciGay, Italy’s most powerful national LGBT rights association. According to Sylvia, Arcigay confirmed that they’ve been in direct contact with Kiana, that they will be attending the movie premiere in London, and are working together with British LGBT associations to try to find out a way to convince the new English government to change the law concerning asylum for gay refugees. I shot an email over to the ArciGay offices in the hopes that they’ll be able to confirm more facts about Kiana and her case.
But at this point, it’s crucially important that Kiana or her official representative once again personally clarify some of the facts of this situation for the press. It’s one thing for a relatively small-fry site like Coilhouse to blog about this, working from a small handful of posts, aggregations and interviews. But if this story is going to go where we all hope it goes –for Kiana’s sake and the sake of all Iranian gays and lesbians seeking asylum abroad– there will need to be a more organized, meticulously researched push. I think an updated personal press release from Kiana Firouz with more fully confirmed facts would help a lot. [edited to add: Kiana must be more keen than ever to guard her privacy, now that the story's going viral, but here's hoping there's still some way she can safely contact the press.]
Coilhouse will keep reaching out to LGBT communities in the UK to see what more we can learn. If any of our UK readers want to try to do the same, that would be lovely.
Fingers crossed. Kiana, if you’re reading this, hang in there. You’ve got a whole lot of supporters out here, trying to figure out ways to help keep you safe. Get in touch if you can.
May 12th, 2010 at 12:23 am
Making noise NOW.
May 12th, 2010 at 2:29 am
Guys, I highly encourage everyone not only to sign the petition, but especially to email public.enquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk. Signing the petition is good, but writing a letter is even better. Also, please spread the word about this!
I wonder if this is her Flickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kiana-firouz/
This should be everywhere: Bust, Curve, AfterEllen, Feministing, Bitch, Jezebel. And then it should spill over into mainstream media. Maybe they just haven’t heard of this story yet. Let’s get it out there!
May 12th, 2010 at 2:37 am
Hello everyone,
Please consider writing a letter to either of these two as well, Taking the time to write a personal letter is much more effective than just signing a petition, please do both.
Minister of State (Borders and Immigration) -
Home Office, 2 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DF
Fax: +44 870 336 9034
Secretary of State for the Home Department -
Home Office, 2 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DF
Fax: +44 20 7035 0900
May 12th, 2010 at 3:04 am
I had no idea. I’m going to try hard to raise awareness of this issue.
May 12th, 2010 at 5:17 am
I’m confused – was any explanation given for the rejection of her application for asylum?
May 12th, 2010 at 6:47 am
Sent an email. Thanks for bringing this to light.
May 12th, 2010 at 6:50 am
[...] Save Kiana Firouz! Maggy schreibt mir: Hey, ich weiß dass an dem Thema nichts nerdiges ist, aber da du mit deinem Blog eine sehr große Reichweite hast, dachte ich, du kannst vielleicht eine Ausnahme für eine echt wichtige Sache machen. Es geht um Kiana Firouz, 27, lesbisch, eine iranische LGBT Rights Aktivistin, Schauspielerin, Filmemacherin, die kurz davor steht, aus England zurück in den Iran abgeschoben zu werden, wo sie mit ziemlicher Sicherheit gefoltert oder hingerichtet werden wird. Und das alles weil sie einen Film gemacht hat, der genau die Situation von Homosexuellen im Iran schildert.. Die Regierung hat davon Wind bekommen, weshalb sie nach England geflohen ist, wo man ihr jetzt aber kein Asyl gewähren will. Das mal als kurze Zusammenfassung… Hier steht das alles nochmal besser: http://coilhouse.net/2010/05/save-the-life-of-kiana-firouz/#more-14946 [...]
May 12th, 2010 at 7:18 am
I attempted to send an email to public.enquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk but it didn’t go through.
May 12th, 2010 at 8:03 am
Just signed that petition as well. Sadly, the only way this could get resolved in an acceptable way would be if mainstream media got ahold of it and decided it was a worthy cause. A simple petition doesn’t stand a great chance of influencing anything.
I’ve seen that happen so many times here in Sweden where the Immigration ministry has been forced to reconsider it’s stances on a number of humanitarian cases where “common sense” should have settled it all. It’s when national media starts getting indignated that things start happening since no-one wants bad press.
May 12th, 2010 at 9:14 am
I emailed the home office and will now go and find the petition. Her story should not have a sad ending.
May 12th, 2010 at 9:41 am
While I have not found mention of Kiana by name in the newspaper, the Guardian did run this story recently:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/09/supreme-court-gay-lesbian-asylum-seekers
May 12th, 2010 at 10:15 am
I also tried to email the Home Office at the address listed above, and it didn’t go through. Does anyone have a different email address? I looked through the British Home Office’s website but didn’t find any useful information or a general contact email address.
May 12th, 2010 at 11:49 am
I quickly put together this page incase anyone is interested in making some noise over on crowdrise
http://www.crowdrise.com/campaigntosavethelif/fundraiser/sydlow#top
please show support there and encourage others to do so!
May 12th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
[...] Rettet Kiana Firouz!!! schokolade am 12. Mai 2010 in allgemein Kiana Firouz, 27 years old, is an outspoken Iranian LGBT rights activist, filmmaker, and actress. Wh… [...]
May 12th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
Update:
Doing some more research on this story. I’m hoping to hear back from Kiana herself via her Flickr site. Also, have emailed Kim to email Sylvia to find out what contact info she used to write Kiana.
I just called the line listed on the Cul de Sac website for press inquiries, and a man who did not give his name answered. I told him that I am further fact-checking a story about Kiana Firouz and the film, and requested more information about Kiana’s situation. The man declined to answer any question directly related to Firouz’s potential deportation, and asked me to use the email address listed on the site instead to officially state my reasons for contacting Kiana. He told me that this message would be passed on to her. I can definitely understand his wariness. I hope I hear from her. Knowing more concrete facts about her case, and hearing directly from her, will help to give this fight more tooth and claw.
Some more articles and mentions of Kiana on the web:
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/middle-east/100407/iran-lesbian-gay-rights-ahmadinejad
http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2010/04/protest-at-british-embassy-in.html
http://eurout.org/2010/04/25/uk-gay-asylum-seekers-will-be-send-back-despite-facing-death-penalty-their-home-country?page=0,1
http://www.irqr.net/English/240.htm
http://eurout.org/2010/04/25/uk-gay-asylum-seekers-will-be-send-back-despite-facing-death-penalty-their-home-country?page=0,1
May 12th, 2010 at 12:26 pm
I feel we should all try to email the mainstream media papers, magazines, and TV stations to try to get them aware of Kiana’s story
May 12th, 2010 at 2:22 pm
I just sent off an e-mail to both the Home Office and a local GLBT activist group in Iowa who I’m sort of involved with. Hopefully they’ll spread the word. I suggest, if anyone is affiliated with/on the mail list of any such groups, they get the word out about this.
May 12th, 2010 at 3:14 pm
At 26 April the email Public.Enquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk works
I received a answer at 5-05-2010 from Treat Official Correspondence [CITTO@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk]
Dear Ms Ferreira
Thank you for your e-mail on behalf of Kiana Firouz concerning their immigration matters.
Your support has been noted.
Yours Sincerely,
Public Correspondence Team
UKBA
May 12th, 2010 at 4:07 pm
As well as emailing the Home Office, I have also emailed the editor of The Independent newspaper, which ran an extensive, eventually successful, campaign to stop the deportation of gay Iranian teenager Mehdi Kamezi, to bring her case to their attention.
May 12th, 2010 at 6:19 pm
You might want to create a petition at http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/ rather than petitionsonline – petitionsonline is less than worthless,
May 12th, 2010 at 6:54 pm
Posted it on Digg and several social media sites. Hope it helps to get the ball to roll that little-bit faster..
http://digg.com/world_news/Save_The_Life_Of_Kiana_Firouz
May 12th, 2010 at 10:27 pm
Hello,
Would you consider adding a ‘share this’ feature to this post to make linking on Twitter, Facebook etc easier?
Best wishes for Kiana!
May 13th, 2010 at 12:18 am
Maple, that’s definitely on our list of features to add. Good call.
May 13th, 2010 at 3:51 am
Andy: here in the UK, even media attention doesn’t make a difference most of the time. Of course, the new government might be better, but I wouldn’t bet on it…
May 13th, 2010 at 3:52 am
I think for now the next move for Kiana while we are all signing petitions on her behalf and sending letters to authorities, is to apply for political assylum in other countries such Canada, USA, Belgium, South Africa, Norway, Netherlands, Sweded, and Spain.
May 13th, 2010 at 6:12 am
Signed the petition, twittered and facebooked, now to write some anguished letters. I wonder if our new government in GB will give more of a toss than the old one… hopefully if we can make this story big enough, they’ll have to.
May 13th, 2010 at 6:23 am
It’s a bit depressing that Google Ads have populated the petition signature page with adverts of the ‘Meet sexy Iranians’ variety.
May 13th, 2010 at 6:30 am
Is there anything a non British citizen can do? The Home Department doesn’t have much reason to listen to me in America, or anywhere else for that matter. If you or anyone on here have any good ideas, please include them in an update.
May 13th, 2010 at 6:34 am
This is an outrage! This isn’t just about LGBT rights. This is about her inalienable rights as a HUMAN BEING. I received the link to this site on twitter just half an hour ago. I have, and I encourage everyone else to do the same, given the story to CNN as a news suggestion. Everyone should contact their national news outlets (in the US, and abroad) and make them aware of this story. The more people who know, the greater the pressure put on the British government to do the right thing.
May 13th, 2010 at 9:19 am
Both the home office staff responsible for rejecting Kiana’s asylum application, and the Judge who rejected her appeal should be named, shamed, and made to publicly explain their actions.
May 13th, 2010 at 9:34 am
So why not send this blog post to MSNBC, CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, etc . . . Good Morning America, Dateline, etc . . . surely somebody will see it as a story worth researching and reporting.
In a region where the males routinely dominate, abuse, force into marriage and control women, I’d be surprised if there aren’t a lot of women who prefer the companionship of the gender who does not dominate them.
May 13th, 2010 at 9:48 am
I got the story onto a popular german blog and hope that I at least got some poeple to sign the petition… I suppose I’ll try to spread the word some more, I really hope we can catch the mainstream media’s attention somehow.
May 13th, 2010 at 10:04 am
[...] Coilhouse » Blog Archive » Save the Life of Kiana Firouz Well, here's an interesting test case for out new government, and for caring sharing Dave and his compassionate conservatism. But more importantly, do like the article says, and start writing, if you'd prefer that Britain not deport people who will be tortured or killing for the crime of being a lesbian. (tags: uk politics homophobia) [...]
May 13th, 2010 at 10:24 am
Alright, I sent an email to SPIEGEL ONLINE, the online version of DER SPIEGEL, a well-known german magazine. I have little hope they’ll cover it but maybe… just maybe…
May 13th, 2010 at 11:14 am
Oh my gosh. This poor girl, that is so wrong. I live in the USA will my sending an email help at all? Or will they not take it into consideration because i’m from the us?
May 13th, 2010 at 11:34 am
Could be worth emailing the office of the Prime Minister at https://email.number10.gov.uk/ – new government, maybe eager to look sympathetic. Anything’s worth a try.
May 13th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
[...] time, and that if this happens, Firouz will most likely be sentenced to torture and death… From here. Comment to British government here. __________________ Ignorance is preferable to error, and he [...]
May 13th, 2010 at 1:21 pm
[...] I received an email from FBomb reader and contributer Katherine C. She alerted me to the situation involving filmmaker Kiana Firouz. Kiana is a 27 year old Iranian LGBT rights activist who stars in [...]
May 13th, 2010 at 1:52 pm
I am all for LGBT rights and support her!
May 13th, 2010 at 3:50 pm
Of course it’s rejected. The politicians in the UK, much like the politicians in the US are a bunch of spineless cowards that talk a good game, but won’t save a person’s life if theirs depended upon it. They, like most politicians are afraid of Muslims and rather than defend life, they let people die.
May 13th, 2010 at 5:52 pm
@Joe…This has nothing to do with politicians fearing Muslims. This is just bad bureaucracy. A system where a person is no longer a person but a list of information that is cross checked against more information. It’s like accounting and if the information does not add up for in this case asylum…it’s not given. No common sense, humanity, or heart involved. It’s aggravating at the very least and utterly heartbreaking at the worst.
This is a crushing story to hear. You have a woman who is thriving and pushing forward with her beliefs in a part of the world that champions freedom. Yet it’s own system of laws is denying everything it supposedly stands for and protects.
To send a person back to an absolute death sentence seems not only barbaric but criminal. Iran has time and again proven it has no understanding for basic human rights let alone respect for those who go against their societal norms. Asylum exists to protect people from this…yet it seems to only be assured to dictators with fat Swiss bank accounts.
This should be a rallying cry of a story…cause I can only wonder how many OTHER women & men are going through the same situation. Beyond trying to get the BS focused media outlets to bite what can be done (if anything) to use the system trying to send her back to keep her around? There has to be SOME legal process to use in keeping her in the UK or some western country. Hell with criminals exploiting such procedures daily makes only sense to do some good with it.
May 13th, 2010 at 6:51 pm
I signed your petition – how could I not support you?
Abuse of power! To be turned down by UK is a common male abuse – their need to control based upon personal insecurity. Been going on in all countries since time immemorial.
Hey, I know because I’m a 72 year old hetrosexual male with my own bunch of kids and grandkids – I’ve worked for the rights of children for years.
Go girl!! fight for your rights and freedom – your life depends on it.
Have you tried AVAARZ for support??
May 13th, 2010 at 8:40 pm
interesting. the evasiveness encountered so far, and the timing, makes it sound suspiciously like a viral marketing campaign for the movie. which would be unfortunate.
May 13th, 2010 at 8:50 pm
Disgusting pigs. It’s morbidly humourous that people think we live in an enlightened fair world today. Maybe one day. I don’t have many personal sentiments for gays or lesbians, but regardless, I can’t tolerate such inequality and disgusting abuse of power.
You have my best wishes and hopes.
May 13th, 2010 at 8:57 pm
Hey Everyone, I’ve jsut sent emails to the following ‘news tip’ hotlines, and I suggest that you all do the same, get the story out!:
foreign@nytimes.com
news-tips@nytimes.com
evening@cbsnews.com
investigates@cbsnews.com
nbcnews@msnbc.com
mediainquiries@msnbc.com
Let them see how many people are concerned and how many viewers will back them up on this story, and maybe they’ll put it on the air.
May 13th, 2010 at 10:00 pm
Perhaps someone else may have already pointed this out, and if so i apologize, but on the petition website the word “lesbian” is misspelled as “lesbain”. Is it possible to correct that? Often times such a small error can be used by the opposition as a petty means of devaluing the important points being made within; we should not give them that opportunity.
May 13th, 2010 at 11:59 pm
I can save her if she is willing. They can’t deport her if she marries me.
May 14th, 2010 at 3:49 am
“…He’s said that she is currently overwhelmed with requests from journalists…”
No doubt that’s an understatement. I can only imagine how many news sources & reporters have now heard of this story. Quite the fast pace given it’s not exactly been a slow news cycle this week. Looks like proper attention will hit this story…should be interesting to see what the coming weeks bring as a result.
May 14th, 2010 at 7:41 am
So, so far as getting the news to people, Neil Gaiman’s reposting of this crashed the site for a few hours, so there’s definitely eyes on the issue, and I know there’s a particular “protocol” to these things, but has anyone else tried pushing this to the attention of either Keith Olbermann or Rachel Maddow, via Twitter?
May 14th, 2010 at 11:10 am
[...] Firouz is a 27-year-old Iranian filmmaker, actress, and LBGT rights activist. Her film, Cul de Sac will premiere in London in a few days. Firouz might not be able to see it. [...]
May 14th, 2010 at 11:55 am
Kiana, I hope you will get the chance to defend yourself and proof that your life is in great danger in case you will be deported. That last word sounds a bit like WW2, but in this matter I really belief it is “Deportation”. It’s like a death sentence. I wish you all the best and I will support you from Holland.
May 14th, 2010 at 2:37 pm
Kiana, I hope you get asylum whether in Britain or perhaps U.S., whatever, just so you are safe.
May 15th, 2010 at 3:08 am
I will do something more extensive if we get something akin to a confirmation with Kianas press-release earlier today.
Remember Ayan Hirsi Ali was offered asylum in Denmark, when her Dutch citizenship was threatened. I think there is a real chance, that Danish society might benefit from Kiana Firouz in the future, if the U.K. doesn’t want her.
May 15th, 2010 at 4:56 am
Where is the petition? I’d like to sign, but the link that is labeled as leading to the petition doesn’t, as far as I can tell (it may be in there somewhere, and I missed it, but if I missed it, other people probably did, too.)
May 15th, 2010 at 4:58 am
Ah, just found the actual link to the petition, at the end of this article.
May 15th, 2010 at 9:53 am
Hi
many thanks for your help.
LGBT Asylum News posted the appeal from Kiana, which has since gone viral! And we are working to help her. Kiana is overwhelmed with the support and we are working on how best supporters such as yourself can help next. Stefano and others are getting information from us as we are working with Kiana and with her solicitor. Please follow @LGBTAsylumNews or subscribe to updates on the website http://www.medhikazemi.com/ for information on what to do next.
There is a form letter here http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2010/04/iranian-lesbian-makes-her-appeal.html
May 15th, 2010 at 3:51 pm
I think each person should live according to its nature.
May 15th, 2010 at 7:10 pm
Hello kiana I am a lesbian from san diego, ca. Me and my partner did not know that this was happening to u and many more where u r from. My heart and prayers go out to u and ur partner. I will also g around to the LGBT community to let them know what’s happening with u to see what we can do as a LGBT community. God bless u and stay positive alwayz. Alecia and Terry
May 15th, 2010 at 10:14 pm
[...] newsfeed Alert: Kiana Firouz, 27 years old, is an outspoken Iranian LGBT rights activist, filmmaker, and actress. [...]
May 17th, 2010 at 4:59 am
Could someone please explain the grounds on which her asylum request was rejected?
May 17th, 2010 at 9:30 pm
[...] as a lesbian in Iran.” Coilhouse, which appears to have strongly fact-checked the case, adds, “When clips of her video documentary work featuring the struggle and persecution of gays and [...]
May 18th, 2010 at 1:57 am
My MP, Andrew Smith, has written to the Home Secretary about this in response to my appeal to him to get involved. I’d recommend other UK citizens use http://www.writetothem.com/ to ask their MPs to represent them on this issue.
May 18th, 2010 at 4:47 am
I’ll second the above commenter – if you’re in the UK, the best way to raise this is to contact your MP via http://www.writetothem.com/. Your MP can then raise the issue with the Home Office.
Ashamed of my country for doing things like this, not unsurprised, and very very angry.
May 19th, 2010 at 5:40 am
Tune into United FM – Radio for Gays in the UK
May 20th, 2010 at 3:10 am
I have a friend who worked on a successful Iranian lesbian asylum case in LA a few years ago. If the poster of this blog could give me a contact for Kiana or her lawyer it would be really helpful for them to share strategy i’m sure. Many thanks.
May 21st, 2010 at 7:14 am
Im left with tears and no words to describe how I feel.. I will pray for you every day.
May 21st, 2010 at 7:33 am
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-islamists-their-victims-and-hypocrisy-1977424.html
opinion piece in the independent, the newspaper that i emailed, featuring kiana’s case
May 22nd, 2010 at 2:10 pm
Don’t send the woman out of your country..
May 24th, 2010 at 11:53 am
Received a reply in writing from Number 10 to say that my email had been forwarded to the relevant home office person. That email address again https://email.number10.gov.uk/
May 26th, 2010 at 12:42 am
[...] Über Kiana Firouz [...]
May 26th, 2010 at 11:55 am
[...] might return to in a longer post: another Iranian filmmaker who’s in need of our attention is Kiana Ferouz, an LGBT activist whose experimental documentary Cul de Sac has attracted the Iranian [...]
June 15th, 2010 at 5:59 am
Hi!
I’m doing some academic work on this case/ general gay asylum in the UK but to find the rulings need the actual court dates that her case was heard on. If you have any ideas that would be BRILLIANT :-)
June 16th, 2010 at 9:26 am
Today, Kiana Firouz, wrote in her facebook mural “still cant believe it… I have been granted leave to remain in the UK as a refugee…”
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1279404483
June 16th, 2010 at 11:43 am
That’s wonderful news, Tramadas. When I finally got in touch with Kiana a few days after the story went viral, she requested that I not try to increase the amount of press on her story, or further write about it as a journalist myself… I was confused by this apparent change of heart, but respected her wishes.
I am very glad to hear that she is not being sent back to Iran.
June 17th, 2010 at 4:14 am
[...] sulla condizione degli omosessuali in Iran – prendendo parte alle scene del film “Cul de sac“, rischiava la deportazione in Iran, dove gli omosessuali rischiano molto, anche la pena di [...]
June 23rd, 2010 at 12:51 am
Thanks for this.
I’ve published the history on our involvement here, ‘How Kiana Firouz became the World’s Most Famous lesbian asylum seeker’ http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2010/06/how-kiana-firouz-became-worlds-most.html