Kiana Firouz

Some of you might remember how in 2007 President Ahmadinejad of Iran claimed that there was no homosexuality in his country. Whilst this claim is clearly untrue, it does not bode well for homosexuals living in Iran.

Under Iran’s ultra-conservative interpretation of Islamic law, lesbians face 100 lashes and, if caught four times, death. Male homosexuals likewise face execution. Scores have been hanged and hundreds flogged since the Islamic revolution of 1979.

So why is the British government sending a known lesbian back to face that kind of persecution?


Kiana Firouz, 27, came to Britain several years ago as a student, but while she was there the Iranian intelligence services discovered footage of a documentary that she had been making secretly about homosexuals in Tehran. The film (Cul-de-sac) shows her to be an unrepentant homosexual, a crime punishable by public execution in Iran. Her death is considered a certainty if she returns home. The Home Office rejected her asylum appeal, saying that she could conceal her homosexuality if she went home, and that ruling was been upheld by two appeals tribunals this year.

“My application was ... ignored by the Home Office despite the serious threat to my life that I’ll face if they deport me to Iran,” she told Radio Free Europe. “I’m shattered and emotionally devastated that they have dealt with my application so irresponsibly.”

According to her legal representation, “She will be in incredible danger, not only because she’s clearly gay but because the film does not show the Iranian authorities in a good light. They will probably seek to make an example of her."

She has lodged one final application, arguing that the sexually explicit publicity for Cul-de-sac means that her homosexuality is now common knowledge but there are no guarantees that she will not end up on a plane back to Tehran.

This situation is made worse by the knowledge that she will not be able to simply fly under the radar as the authorities seem to be suggesting. Jafar Panahi, one of Iran’s leading film-makers, is at present locked up in the infamous Evin prison in Tehran for allegedly making a film critical of the regime. Arrests do happen over films like this, and there has been so much publicity surrounding her case that she would not be able to remain undetected. If Kiana does not manage to stay out of Iran then she will be tortured and she will die.

I don't usually ask people to sign petitions. I usually think that if people want to make a difference then they can do it better by changing their own lives. Actions speak louder than petitions. But in this instance words are all we have. Please, sign the petition to let Kiana stay in Britain (there is a precedant for letting her stay but it took political pressure to make that case a success). Also, click here to email Home Secretary Theresa May about his case.