--- title: Gay Refugees Could Be Resettled in PNG, Which Bans Homosexuality description: Gay asylum seekers who sought refuge in Australia might be resettled in Papua New Guinea, where homosexuality is a crime, the Guardian says. canonical: https://time.com/3424197/australia-gay-asylum-seekers-png-papua-new-guinea-manus-island/ author: Rishi Iyengar article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-24T09:12:29.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T10:22:39.061Z article:section: World og:title: Gay Asylum Seekers Fear Resettlement in PNG og:description: Several gay refugees in Australian detention are to be resettled in Papua New Guinea, where homosexuality is a crime og:url: https://time.com/3424197/australia-gay-asylum-seekers-png-papua-new-guinea-manus-island/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfa58c30b21ed4bd4/6986a50935ba6f0d98c03fd7/174319951.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: (FILE) Manus Island Detention Centre og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Gay Asylum Seekers Fear Resettlement in PNG twitter:description: Several gay refugees in Australian detention are to be resettled in Papua New Guinea, where homosexuality is a crime twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfa58c30b21ed4bd4/6986a50935ba6f0d98c03fd7/174319951.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Gay Asylum Seekers Could Be Resettled in Papua New Guinea, Which Outlaws Homosexuality by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Sep 24, 2014 9:12 AM CUT  This handout photo provided by the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship, shows facilities at the Manus Island Regional Processing Facility, used for the detention of asylum seekers that arrive by boat, primarily to Christmas Island off the Australian mainland, on October 16, 2012, in Papua New Guinea. This handout photo provided by the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship, shows facilities at the Manus Island Regional Processing Facility, used for the detention of asylum seekers that arrive by boat, primarily to Christmas Island off the Australian mainland, on October 16, 2012, in Papua New Guinea.Handout—Getty Images by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Sep 24, 2014 9:12 AM CUT Several gay people, who fled persecution in their home countries and sought asylum in Australia, are reportedly to be [resettled](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/24/gay-asylum-seekers-manus-island-fear-persecution-png "undefined") in Papua New Guinea (PNG), where homosexuality is a crime. The asylum seekers are currently held by the Australian immigration officials on Manus Island in PNG, where they could eventually live permanently, the _Guardian_ claims. Homosexuality in PNG is punishable by up to 14 years in prison. The _Guardian_ says it has seen what purport to be letters written in Farsi by four gay Iranian men in the Australian-run detention center on Manus Island. The authors appear to detail persecution in their home country and the fear of being resettled in PNG. “I thought Australia and its people would be my protector, but they taught me otherwise,” one letter reads. “I am hoping that I will not be sent to PNG prison because I don’t want to be killed by indigenous people living in PNG like my fellow countryman did in February,” reads another. The authenticity of the letters has not been confirmed. A December [report](http://www.amnesty.org.au/images/uploads/about/Amnesty%5FInternational%5FManus%5FIsland%5Freport.pdf "undefined") by Amnesty International says the detainees at the facility have been told that anyone found engaging in homosexual acts will immediately be reported to the PNG police. The report also details numerous other [human-rights violations](http://truthaboutmanus.com "undefined") at the detention center. Amnesty had “consistently raised the issue of gay men on Manus with the \[Australian\] immigration department” but “never had a clear response,” Graeme McGregor, Amnesty Australia’s refugee-camp coordinator, told the _Guardian_. Ben Pynt, director of Humanitarian Research Partners, estimates there are around 36 gay men detained at Manus and several others who are too afraid to reveal their sexual orientation, the _Guardian_ says. Australian Immigration Minister Scott Morrison, who did not respond to the _Guardian_’s request for comment on the purported letters, said in December he was unaware of any claims of homosexuality among Manus inmates. He also denied that it was the Australian government’s policy to report homosexual activity among asylum seekers to the PNG government. \[[_Guardian_](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/24/gay-asylum-seekers-manus-island-fear-persecution-png "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3424197/australia-gay-asylum-seekers-png-papua-new-guinea-manus-island/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3424197/australia-gay-asylum-seekers-png-papua-new-guinea-manus-island/"},"headline":"Gay Asylum Seekers Could Be Resettled in Papua New Guinea, Which Outlaws Homosexuality","datePublished":"2014-09-24T09:12:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:22:39.061Z","description":"The men had originally sought refuge in Australia","url":"https://time.com/3424197/australia-gay-asylum-seekers-png-papua-new-guinea-manus-island/","keywords":["Australia","Iran","Rape","abuse","Human Rights","Amnesty International","Homosexuality","Papua New Guinea"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfa58c30b21ed4bd4/6986a50935ba6f0d98c03fd7/174319951.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfa58c30b21ed4bd4/6986a50935ba6f0d98c03fd7/174319951.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"(FILE) Manus Island Detention Centre","caption":"(FILE) Manus Island Detention Centre","creditText":"Handout—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/australia/","name":"Australia"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3424197/australia-gay-asylum-seekers-png-papua-new-guinea-manus-island/","name":"Gay Asylum Seekers Could Be Resettled in Papua New Guinea, Which Outlaws Homosexuality"}}]}] ```