Hungarian immigration officials had administered psychological tests to an unidentified man from Nigeria seeking refuge out of fear of persecution on account of his homosexuality in his home country, where the law permits the criminalization of LGBTI people. The EU top court has ruled that such tests cannot be used to assess asylum applications and ruled the officials’ actions were illegal.
According to the judgment, the man, who had submitted an application for asylum in April 2015, had undergone a battery of personality tests, “namely the Draw-A-Person-In-The-Rain test, the Rorschach and Szondi tests.” The psychologist, however, came to the conclusion that it was impossible to confirm the man’s alleged sexual orientation, and consequently his application was rejected.
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While the desperate man brought the case to a Hungarian court, arguing that the psychologist’s conclusion had questioned his fundamental rights and failed to assess his sexual orientation, the Hungarian court referred it to the EU court, which approved of the refugee’s stance.
The court stated that the authorities could not make a decision solely based on experts’ opinions, claiming that those views should be non-binding when assessing asylum seekers’ statements about their sexual orientation.
It also emphasized that the man confirmed that he had not undergone any physical examination and was not subjected to tests involving pornography while referring to a widely criticized practice in the Czech Republic.
Netizens have been expressing their views on the matter all over social media, with some not even grasping the idea of how sexual orientation can be assessed through tests…
How do you test someone if they're gay except for just asking??? "Do you stan hayley kiyoko/troye?"
— ayy (@karocarrot) 25 января 2018 г.
Forensics looking at their anus and the way they articulate themselves and who they spend money on and whether they converse with females or prefer Elton John
— agentsea (@agentsea) 25 января 2018 г.
Others argued that from now on anyone could claim to be gay in order to receive perks in the Union…
Understand the position of the EU. But erm.. you know people will now just claim to be gay to get in/get benefits in europe, right?
— Shangori (@ShangoriGannos) 25 января 2018 г.
Isn't there a solution that stops both?
Great. Why bother getting a visa when you can just say 'I'm gay' and you're in. Just watch as Europe fills up with African homosexuals.
— Professor DeSelby (@spalpeenuillean) 25 января 2018 г.
Im sure few have understood the trick of playing with European sentiments. 👬
— Sa'ad Abdullah (@SAADnoREGRETS) 25 января 2018 г.
Could it be that claiming to be gay is an automatic shoo in for asylum?
— SpencerMay (@spencermay) 25 января 2018 г.
There were those who assumed that the reason for the enormous number of male refugees has finally been uncovered:
So THAT’S why they are all young men. There is me worried they are all of fighting age and a danger when really they are just gays and their partners seeking refuge from persecution.
— Grumpy Git (@Mr_Very_Grumpy) 25 января 2018 г.
Katrin Hugendubel, the advocacy director for ILGA-Europe, a human rights advocacy organization, branded the ruling an "important step against one of the many problems and humiliations LGBTI refugees still face in many EU member states."
The European Union has witnessed a massive migration and refugee crisis since 2015, with hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war-torn countries in the Middle East and North Africa. The plight became an apple of discord, which prompted a divide between member-states; while some, such as Germany, introduced an “open-door” policy, others like Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland tried to preserve their society’s integrity and refused to allow in asylum-seekers over security and cultural concerns.
