Order of the Court of Venice, III Civil Section, 14 June 2016

A Gambian national who escaped from his country for not being persecuted because of his sexual preference, is entitled to have recognized the refugee status in Italy. The Court of Venice reformed a contrary decision of the Territorial Commission on the recognition of international protection, by recalling order No. 15981/2012 of the Supreme Court of Cassation. According to the latter, the fact that homosexuality is qualified as an offense under criminal law in the country of origin of a foreigner or a stateless person justifies the concrete fear that he, or she would be persecuted in that country, as being a member of a particular social group in the meaning of the Geneva Convention, Article 1.2.