Gay Iranian denied asylum kills self

A gay man who was fleeing persecution in Iran has committed suicide after fearing he would be forcibly removed from the United Kingdom, according to an inquest held on Tuesday. Hussein Nasseri was found dead in his car in Eastbourne last June after shooting himself between the eyes with an air rifle. A coroner ruled Tuesday that nobody else was involved in the killing. He had been refused asylum for the second time by the Home Office, despite his telling the asylum body that he would be killed if he returned to his home country. Homosexuality is illegal in Iran and is punishable by death. According to press reports, Nasseri had already been imprisoned in the city of Tehran because of his sexuality, but had managed to escape. He had hoped that Britain would help him find a safer home. His friend Nader Ashkani, also from Iran, told the BBC that Nasseri had been upset at the Home Office ruling and feared deportation. "I saw him two weeks before he died," he said. "He was very upset. He said he wanted to kill himself. He said he had bought a gun to kill himself." This is the second high-profile case of a gay asylum-seeker committing suicide. Last year Israfil Shiri, who was also Iranian, set himself on fire last year in protest at being deported by the Home Office. He reportedly feared if he returned he would be subjected to public execution because of his sexuality. Gay activist group Outrage, which has campaigned for more recognition for gay people seeking asylum, said the two incidents are examples of why the Home Office needs to update its stance on gay asylum-seekers. "It is absolutely appalling that the Home Office has no specific guidelines to deal with LGBT issues in asylum," campaigner Brett Lock told Gay.com U.K. on Wednesday. "The notion that gay people can simply return to their home countries and 'be discreet' -- as is often requested -- is nothing short of homophobic." "No British citizen could be expected to live under the same conditions," he added.