UKIP councillor: Human rights laws must be scrapped to deport gay asylum seeker
AUK Independence Party councillor has laid into the case of a gay asylum seeker who fled persecution in Albania.
Albanian-born Xuhliano Zota has applied for asylum in the UK after making his way into the country using false documents.
The man says he fled persecution for being gay in his native country – which has often been listed as one of the most homophobic places in Europe, though homosexuality is legal.
Though his asylum claim is still pending, his lawyer Tom Mitchell explained to the Gazette: “He pleaded guilty on the basis that he was persecuted in Albania for his sexuality.
“Enquiries have been made which would support the basis of that plea.
“There are concerns that people are discriminated against in that country for their sexuality, and in the past people have left by illegal routes but more and more people are contacting human rights organisations in that country.”
“It looks now as if his pending asylum claim may be successful.”
However, a senior UKIP member says the decision shows why the UK must axe human rights laws – with others claiming he has no case as Albania doesn’t discriminate against gay people.
Speaking to the Daily Express, UKIP councillor and 2015 Parliamentary candidate David Simister said: “This just beggars belief. He entered the UK illegally yet it seems when we come to kick him out we are totally impotent.
“This is the latest example of why we must divorce ourselves from the Human Rights Act.”
Many asylum seekers enter the UK illegally, as it is not possible to claim asylum from another country.
A pan-European survey in 2013 found that 53% of Albanians believe that “gays and lesbians should not be free to live life as they wish” – the largest percentage of any European country.
Another survey found that 78.7% of Albanians believe “homosexual acts” are immoral, and 56.2% thought that homosexuals should not be allowed to hold public positions.
In 2012, an Albanian government minister said that gay people “should be beaten with batons”.
