Great news! Eddy Cosmas, the Tanzanian gay rights activist who was facing rapid deportation has been released from detention centre and taken off the unfair ‘fast-tracking’ process.

By working together with campaigners supporting Eddy like Movement for Justice, LGBT Asylum News and our friends at AllOut.org, we have prevented Eddy from a quick deportation to face prison just for being gay.

The battle is not over, Eddy has only been taken off the unfair ‘fast-track’ process and could still be sent back to Tanzania.

We need to keep the pressure on Theresa May, to grant Eddy the right to stay in the UK and to stop gay and lesbian asylum seekers from being rushed through the system on ‘fast-track’.

There are many more cases like Eddy’s where the government is rushing their cases through the system, despite promising to treat gay and lesbian asylum seekers fairly.

Eddy Cosmas is a 29 year old gay rights activist from Tanzania. Together we can save him from being deported back to Tanzania where he will face a life in jail simply for being gay. He applied for asylum in the UK, but his case was rushed through without receiving a fair hearing. This is referred to as ‘fast tracking’.

Paul Canning runs the website LGBT Asylum News, a detailed database of issues facing LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) asylum seekers all over the world. 38 Degrees asked Paul to give some background about the unfair ‘fast-tracking’ of LGBT asylum seekers, like Eddy Cosmas:

“‘Fast-track’ was introduced over a decade ago. It is all about removing people as quickly as possible because they’re supposed to have no real claim. However, we already know that the vast majority of sexuality-based claims are being rejected. Which means that most people like Eddy are being ‘fast tracked’ out of the country.

In their May report ‘Fast track to despair’, Detention Action said:

“Our research suggests that the Detained Fast Track system is structured to the maximum disadvantage of asylum-seekers at every stage. Conditions and timescales operate to make it impossible for many asylum-seekers to understand or actively engage with the asylum process. Yet this system is entirely unnecessary, as the circumstances it was designed to address no longer exist.”

‘Fast track’ leads to gay men and lesbians who may have been tortured and abused to being automatically detained, often with fellow countrymen or women who continue that abuse. Earlier this year the government rejected a request that because LGBT claims are always complex they, like some other groups should be excluded from ‘fast tracking’.

Because of a shortage of lawyers experienced with gay and lesbian cases, charities like UK Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group (UKLGIG) are stretched. The pressure of time in these cases mean the sort of complex work which needs to be done to present, and win a case very often simply does not happen.

Eddy Cosmas is ‘lucky’ because his case has drawn attention. There are many other gay and lesbian asylum seekers whose cases are not known and face being removed to danger. This has already happened, people like Eddy are being returned to dangerous countries like Uganda, Nigeria and Jamaica.

UKLGIG, in their landmark report last year, described the Home Office as “cruel and discriminatory.” Stonewall (a UK charity working for LGBT equality) released a report last year that had 21 recommendations for changes to make to our system to make it fair for gay and lesbian asylum seekers, only three have been addressed. Removing gay and lesbian asylum cases from ‘fast tracking’ would be a real step to address this.”

There’s still time to save Eddy from a life in jail. If we act now and together, we can persuade the Home Secretary, Theresa May, who has the power to stop his deportation. Can you email Theresa May and tell her to stop unfairly rushing Eddy and those like him back to a life of persecution? http://www.38degrees.org.uk/save-edson-cosmas”

38 Degrees is teaming up with  All Out, a new global people-powered movement for gay and lesbian rights.

“As a global movement for LGBT equality, we know that sometimes the asylum system is the only way to keep outspoken LGBT people, especially activists and advocates, safe from harm,” says Andre Banks, co-founder of All Out. “Theresa May’s Fast Track is off the rails. The Home Secretary must do justice to the Supreme Court’s ruling by giving Eddy and other LGBT asylum seekers a fair hearing.”
Joseph-Huff Hannon, Campaign Director

Working together, people power saved Kiana Firouz, a lesbian from Iran, who would have faced torture or death if she had been sent home. Please email Theresa May and urge her to stop rushing people like Eddy through the asylum system and stop him being sent back to face persecution and a life in prison: http://www.38degrees.org.uk/save-edson-cosmas

Brilliant news! After many months of campaigning by tens of thousands of 38 Degrees members, the Independent on Sunday and our friends at Anti-Slavery International, the government has said it’s going to sign up to the EU Directive on Human Trafficking.

On the 19th March, we went along to 10 Downing Street with Anti-slavery International and the Independent on Sunday to hand in a petition of over 45,000 signatures.  The petition was handed in by Oxana, who is a survivor of human trafficking from the Ukraine to the UK.

We were asking the government to sign up to the new EU Directive on Human Trafficking, so that there is more co-operation across Europe to protect victims of human trafficking. And it worked, the government has agreed to the Directive.

When we first heard that the government was refusing to take action on trafficking, we teamed up with specialist groups Anti-Slavery International and ECPAT.  Nearly 50,000 of us signed the petition and thousands of us emailed our MPs to make sure the government took action on this issue.

Now, the victims of trafficking will have better protection provided by the EU Directive, with countries across Europe working together to target the criminal gangs and traffickers that are exploiting people. This decision is important, but won’t stop human trafficking altogether. It is a big step in the right direction towards justice and protection for victims of human trafficking.

You can find out more about the campaign on Anti-Slavery International’s website here.

Click here to find out more about Human Trafficking.

Here are a few photos from the hand-in:

38 Degrees members wanted to continue with the campaign against Human Trafficking. Members have been sending their MPs emails and signing the petition asking the government to get tough on human trafficking. We sent this email out last Wednesday:

Dear friend,

Will our government join European efforts to tackle human trafficking? It’s on a knife edge. And there’s no time to lose: the government is likely to make a decision, good or bad, in the next couple of weeks.

Tell the government to protect the victims of human trafficking

MPs could play a key role in pushing the government to do the right thing. They need to tell David Cameron and Theresa May that their voters want action to tackle trafficking. Let’s email our MPs today and demand they speak out.

Every year, criminal gangs traffic thousands of people into the UK. Once the victims arrive here, many of them, including children, end up in the sex trade. The new Europe-wide plan would make life harder for the criminal gangs, and mean better protection for the victims.

If our government refuses to join in, that would be a disaster: great news for the trafficking gangs, but terrible news for their victims. If enough of us contact our MPs this week, we can help make sure that doesn’t happen.

We will be delivering our petition – over 42,000 strong - very soon. Contacting MPs now will mean the government feels the pressure from all angles. We know that the combination of a public petition and personal messages to MPs can make a difference. That’s exactly what we did to change the government’s mind about selling off our forests.

For more information on Human Trafficking please visit the Anti Slavery Website at: http://www.antislavery.org/english/

Our campaign telling the government to sign up to the new EU ban on human trafficking is really getting noticed, with partners such as Anti-Slavery International, the Independent on Sunday and ECPAT UK on board. This week, the Independent on Sunday (IoS) published an article about the campaign, telling it’s readers about why it’s important. Almost 13,000 people have already signed the petition and public pressure is growing all the time with more and more people talking about it.

The article in the Independent on Sunday shows just how many people are getting involved, with a play showing the horrors of trafficking to be shown in the House of Lords this month.  It also mentions the support of influential figures  such as Shadow Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and MP Caroline Lucas. Having the backing of the IoS is really helping show how important it is that the UK does sign up to these rules- just last week the IoS pulished another article revealing how Romanian children were made to work in awful conditions on a farm in Worcester.

38 Degrees members have been amazing in getting the campaign this far by signing the petition and spreading the word. It’s fantastic that so many people have got involved and the campaign can only get bigger. With our partners we can help change the government’s mind on this issue. When they realise how much support there is for the new rules, including continued attention from a broadsheet, they will have to listen and take notice.

What do you think 38 Degrees should do next to make the campaign even bigger and better?

These plans would increase surveillance on our internet and phone use

The government has just announced plans to spy on us all. They want to log the e-mail, internet, phone and text messages of everyone in the UK.

Whilst other projects face massive cuts  this new snooping project has just been promised £2 billion. During the election campaign both the Lib Dems and the Conservatives promised to “reverse the surveillance state” The reports of the government breaking this promise sparked a debate on our facebook page. The fear is that the ‘Intercept Modernisation Plan’ could be the start of a fresh assault on our civil liberties.

Thousands of 38 Degrees members have already signed a petition to tell the government that we do not want them to snoop on us. Buried amongst massive cuts, the government thought they could slip this by us. We need to show them that we will not take this lying down.

38 Degrees members know how to create a huge public outcry when the government attacks our civil liberties. Last year the Labour government thought they could force through internet disconnection plans without anyone noticing. 20,000 of us e-mailed their MPs and donated to fund full-page adverts in The Times and the Guardian on the day MPs voted on the new law. Back then, the government relied on the pre-election rush to get around us, but this time we can make sure they have nowhere to hide.

We’ve teamed up with ‘Still Human Still Here’ – a coalition of over 40 organisations – to demand that asylum seekers be allowed to work in the UK. Click here to be part of the action: http://www.38degrees.org.uk/permission-to-work

We want to urge the government to grant asylum seekers permission to work if their claims take longer than six months to process.

Current government policy just doesn’t work. The support that is provided equals out to less than £5 a day for most people. If we get the rules changed, taxpayers won’t be paying to support asylum seekers who are able to work but aren’t allowed to. They won’t have to rely on charities just to get by. And those who eventually do get asylum status will find it much easier to become part of British society as a result.

Last year Nick Clegg lambasted the asylum system as one of the most “inefficient and cruel” in Europe. More MPs supporting new rules means there’s a better chance that they’ll be made into law. Please tell your MP to sign the declaration pledging action on this issue: http://www.38degrees.org.uk/permission-to-work

Kiana Firouz has been granted aslyum! The 27-year old actress and lesbian activist was facing deportation back to Iran, where she would have been at risk of torture and death due to her sexuality. 1,942 of us wrote to Theresa May telling her that this must be stopped.

We have shown that we can make change happen when we work together. Here is a message from Kiana thanking everyone who helped make sure she could stay in safety in the UK:

Dear All,

I would like to thank you for all of your support, comments and messages. Your support and your kind letters create enormous hope and courage for all of those who are discriminated for their beliefs and sexual orientation in Iran and all over the world.

I am just an example of an Iranian lesbian who has suffered from injustice and discrimination in a religious country. There are thousands of Iranian LGBT who are suffering and getting tortured by their families and the society for their sexual orientation inside Iran. I also believe that those who are outside of Iran are facing so many difficulties as well.

I hope this opens further opportunity and movement towards an open society in Iran for everyone, regardless of their sexual preferences. I also hope to see a day that the injustices, torture and death penalties that homosexuals face in Iran are stopped.

Kind regards,
Kiana Firouz

Those of us who wrote to Theresa May about Kiana Firouz’s case should start celebrating, as she has just found out she can remain in safety in the UK! This shows what a difference people-power can make!

The 27-year old actress and lesbian activist faced deportation back to Iran, where she would have been at risk of torture and death as a result of her sexuality. 1,942 of us wrote to Theresa May telling her that this must be stopped.

Together we have shown that we will not sit back in cases like this where asylum seekers are at risk because of their sexuality.

38 Degrees has also teamed up with Still Human, Still Here to tell the government to give asylum seekers permission to work. Please get involved here: http://www.38degrees.org.uk/Permission-To-Work