Kramer Levin Prevails in Political Asylum Case

Associate Aaron Frankel, assisted by law clerk Christopher Carrion and summer associate Jordanna Pulitzer and supervised by associate Douglas Gray, has prevailed in a political asylum claim on behalf of an HIV positive gay male from Egypt.

Our client fled after being harassed and detained by Egyptian police because of his sexual orientation. His case was complicated by his failure to apply for asylum within the one-year deadline, but Aaron was able to convince the initially skeptical INS examiner that the client's discovery of his medical condition as well as the Egyptian government's recent campaign of persecution of homosexuals and HIV positive individuals constituted changed circumstances that excused his failure to apply earlier. Our client has been admitted to a program in which he will receive medical treatment for his condition and has received work authorization.

This case, the first on which we have prevailed concerning state-sanctioned persecution for sexual orientation, was referred to Kramer Levin by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission.