Help M. Escape Anti-gay Persecution &Torture

Help M. Escape Anti-gay Persecution & Torture

Hello, my name is Gary and I helped start Queer Asylum Accompaniment (www.qaateam.org) here in Sonoma County, California. We assist LGBTQI+ folks facing persecution in their homelands start new lives in the North Bay. We have never encountered a case as extreme as M's. M. had a good job and was successful. He was able to support his mother who relied on his financial assistance. Four years ago, during a covert police sting, M. was lured into a meeting with a man on a gay date site and thus began his nightmare. The police in his hometown in a Muslim country beat him, jailed him and began years of extortion. To protect his family, he paid the corrupt police weekly payments. He was forced to sell his car and empty his savings account. The police brought him to the station monthly, urging him to tell him the names of other gay men. M. bravely refused. They beat him and tortured him regularly in the most horrific ways. Humiliating him while in their grip wasn't enough. The police sergeant came to M's place of work and outed him to his boss. M. was soon after fired. Unable to find a new job and desperate to earn enough to pay the extortion monies the police insisted on, M. re-located to a neighboring country. He could only find work as a cashier, despite his two degrees. The harassment and extortion continued now extended in his new home by corrupt Russian police officers. M. was failing so he returned to his family in his homeland where the nightmare continued. I have been assisting him for 5 months. M. was able to acquire a traveler's visa to Mexico and once there was able to schedule an appointment with U.S. Immigration just across the border in Texas. ICE determined his case is a strong one, backed up by documentation, photos, and testimonials. M. will soon be released and allowed to stay in the U.S. while he pursues his asylum case and his dream of becoming a Forest Ranger. Please help M. with a donation.