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Ghanaian gay man denied asylum in Canada
Authorities of Immigration and Refugee Board in Canada said the man's application was rejected because he had fake identity documents
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Authorities of Immigration and Refugee Board in Canada said the man's application was rejected because he had fake identity documents and so his identity could not be established.
The claimant's lawyer, Bashir Khan said "He has been accused by the member [of the board] to have had fraudulent identity documents and his identity is not clear."
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"That is entirely incorrect and we disagree.
"He will not be at risk of deportation, but certainly he will live with the mental fear of how much longer, what's going to happen in the end," said Khan.
He said he left Ghana at the end of 2015 after being attacked by a group of men who stabbed him in the stomach and left him lying in the dirt while they went to get shovels to bury him alive.
The man, who has asked not to be identified, says he is gay and that he fears for his safety if he has to return to Ghana. He walked through a field in December to cross the border and make a refugee claim.
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He was able to get his phone out of his pocket, he said, and call his boyfriend, who helped him flee the country and then left for his own safety. The man said he doesn't know where his boyfriend is now.
Khan said his client plans to appeal the ruling and can remain in Canada until his appeal application is reviewed and a new decision is made, according to report by CBC news.
From Ghana, he went first to Ecuador and from there north through Colombia and Central America to Mexico. He made a refugee claim in the U.S. in March 2016. He was detained in Pennsylvania for seven months before having his application rejected.
He said he couldn't afford a lawyer, so he had no help to make his case. From there he made his way to Minneapolis and eventually across the Canadian border to Emerson, Man. He's been in Winnipeg waiting to find out if he'll be allowed to stay in Canada since December.
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At his hearing Tuesday, he was looking at pictures of his young children before the refugee board member came back with his decision.
After the decision was made, the man said if he has to go back to Ghana he will be killed.
Khan said he will exhaust every legal option for his client.
Khan added: "He's gay, he has his freedom to choose his sexual orientation in this country."
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