Refugees under attack for being homosexual in their home countries have grounds to be granted asylum, the European Union's high court ruled on Thursday. Saying concealing sexual orientation to avoid persecution is equal to giving up a "characteristic fundamental to a person's identity," the 28-nation court granted asylum to refugees from Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Senegal in the Netherlands. More than 70 countries criminalize people based on their sexual orientation, though not all laws are enforced, and refugees must prove a "well-founded fear" of persecution.
