Jojo freed from custody after evidence accepted by tribunal

Published on Saturday 7 June 2008 19:49

A GAY asylum seeker fighting to stay in the UK has been released from Polmont Young Offenders' Institution.

An immigration tribunal has accepted Jojo Jako Yakob, 19, is a homosexual and therefore would face persecution in his home country of Syria.

He has been released on bail and a final decision will be made in the coming weeks after the tribunal has heard more evidence, including from doctors who have been treating him for depression.

But Yakob, who fled Syria two years ago after being arrested, shot and beaten, is optimistic that he will now be able to start a new life in Scotland. The teenager, whose story was revealed by Scotland on Sunday, said: "I am convinced I have a very strong case. I have had a lot of support and I am sure I am going to win.

"They told me they want to speak to my doctors and find out how long they think I will need to be treated for – I've been treated badly and am on antidepressants.

"But I don't think the final decision will rest on what the doctors say. The tribunal accepted that I'm gay.

"The decision has made me very happy. I have had great support from people here and I am very, very grateful.

"I am still very nervous about the final decision. I am desperate to start my new life in Scotland."

Yakob says he was initially arrested and jailed for possession of anti-government material when he was 15, but then tortured in prison after guards discovered him sleeping with another inmate.

He was assaulted so badly that he fell into a coma. After being transferred to hospital, he managed to flee to Lebanon before making for London, hidden in a lorry.

He eventually arrived, exhausted and bedraggled in Scotland, where he has faced a new fight against the Home Office, which has attempted to send him back to Syria.

Gay rights activists demanded that homosexuals, such as Yakob, who were facing clear persecution in their homeland, should be granted asylum. But a spokesman for the Syrian Embassy responded by describing homosexuality as a "disease", which the country sought to "treat".