Gay, atheist student from Malaysia has refugee claim accepted

An openly gay and atheistUniversity of Winnipeg student who feared for his life if he was sent back to his home country, Malaysia, will be allowed to stay in Canada, as his claim for refugeestatus has been accepted.

Hazim Ismail's partner, friends and supportershugged him afteranImmigration and Refugee Board of Canada panel in Winnipeg announced its decision following a 20-minute hearing on Tuesday morning.

RAW: Hazim Ismail granted refugee status

8 years ago

Duration 1:18

An openly gay and atheist University of Winnipeg student who feared for his life if he was sent back to his home country, Malaysia, will be allowed to stay in Canada, as his claim for refugee status has been accepted.

"It was overwhelming and I feel really, really, really loved and appreciated," Ismail said as he thanked everyone who has supported him.

Ismail said he was still trying to process the decision, which came aftermonths of preparations and anxiety about possibly having to return toMalaysia, where homosexuality is punishable by law and 60 per cent of the population is Muslim.

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"Hazimwalked in as a refugee claimant and he is walking out as a protected personwhich means he cannot be deported back toMalaysia," saidBashirKhan, his lawyer.

"This is one of those cases where the evidence is strong, my client is very credible and he has got tremendous public support, and all of that came together and he won his claim without too much struggle at the hearing room today."

Khan said Ismail will receive a written version of the decision in the next three to six weeks. With that document in hand, hecan apply for permanent resident status in Canada a process that Khan estimates can take10 to 13 months.

Disowned by family

Ismail said his family, who areMuslim, disowned him and stopped paying for his education last year after learning he is gay and an atheist. His story became public after a GoFundMe campaign was launched in December to help pay his tuition for the rest of his semester.

He said he once thought of returning to Malaysia and trying to live undercover there, but his case has since attracted media attention in his home country, along with homophobic comments and even threats from some members of the public there.

"If you had asked me like back in December, I would've been like, 'Ah, well, maybe I can go back.' But now, like, this was me backed into a corner," he said before the hearing.

"I'm trying to fight for survival because Malaysia's not welcoming of homosexuals."

Ismailadded thatlast week, he received an email from someone claiming to be doing research onapostates people who no longer subscribeto a certain religious groupin Malaysia.

That person "wanted me to reveal the names of apostates who have come out to me in private," he said.

"It's one thing to come out to a family that's not receiving it very well, but to be outed to thousands of strangers, it's not something that I don't feel anybody could be prepared for, so it has been really stressful."