Costa Blanca
Government studying political asylum for Algerian transsexual arrested in Alicante
By m.p.
Feb 12, 2008 - 8:39 PM

An Algerian transsexual who is due to be deported as an illegal immigrant under an order from a court in Alicante could be granted the right to stay in Spain as a political refugee.

Pedro Zerolo, PSOE’s secretary for social movements and liaison, said speaking in Alicante on Tuesday that he will do everything possible to resolve the situation, and added that status as a political refugee can be granted in cases where a person could be persecuted in their home country because of their sexual orientation. He said the immigrant in question has not made any application for asylum.

There is a precedent for such a decision, should the government go ahead with granting refugee status: another transsexual in the same situation, also from Algeria, was granted political asylum at the end of last year, EFE said.

The immigrant is currently being held at an internment centre in Valencia, and is understood to have been living in Spain for eight years.