London - An Iranian who says he faces a flogging for committing adultery - or even death at the hands of an outraged husband - if he returned home had his hopes of obtaining refuge in Britain raised by the Court of Appeal yesterday.
A special adjudicator had decided Mr Jafar Danaei (29) was "an inveterate lecher" and accepted his account of passionate nights spent with a married woman. But his application for "exceptional leave" to remain in the UK was turned down in March 1996 after the then home secretary, Mr Michael Howard, disagreed with the adjudicator.
In a judgment defending the independent role of adjudicators in asylum cases, three appeal judges yesterday held that Mr Howard had acted unreasonably. They said Mr Danaei's application should be reconsidered by the Home Secretary, Mr Jack Straw.
