A federal appeals court ruled that an AIDS-afflicted
gay man who fled Mexico because he feared persecution is eligible for
political asylum in the United States. The judge ruled that the man would
in fact be in danger of persecution in his home country.
The appeals court in San Francisco overturned earlier rulings in the case,
which has been watched closely by human rights groups around the contry.
Jose Boer-Sedano, 45, has been fighting deportation for eight years. He
entered the US on a six-month visa in 1990 and was discovered by
immigration authorities in 1997.
The three-judge panel said he would probably face abuse in Mexico because
of his sexuality and would have difficulty in getting treatment for his
medical condition. Reports from the US state department have found that
violence against homosexual people remains widespread in Mexico.
Mr Boer-Sedano said he had fled to San Francisco after a local policeman
in Tampico, Mexico, had forced him to perform sex acts under the threat of
either killing or "outing" him.
The Hunk
