Immigration and Integration Minister Rita Verdonk has bowed to pressure from parliament and agreed not to deport Iranian gay people and Christian converts for the time being.
The Minister told MPs on Wednesday afternoon she would extend a previous moratorium on the expulsions. She took the decision when it became clear a majority of MPs doubt whether the rejected asylum seekers would be safe in Iran.
The moratorium will remain in force until a new foreign ministry assessment of the situation in Iran for gays and Muslims who have converted to Christianity has been completed. This will likely take until August or September.
Verdonk announced in late
February she intended to begin deportations of people from both categories who had been refused asylum in the Netherlands. Citing a previous assessment by Dutch officials, she maintained gay people and Christians don't face a significant risk of persecution in Iran, as long as they are not too open about themselves.
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