Sunday, August 10, 2008

Indonesian trans woman wins U.S. asylum she lost as gay man

The Jakarta Post - The Journal of Indonesia Today
The United States granted,for the first time, an asylum claim to an Indonesian transsexual last month, an activist said.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights organization Arus Pelangi founder King Oey, said that Michelle Saraswati, 42, formerly known as Michael Setiabudi, won her case at the San Fransisco Immigration Court in July.

Michelle, a graduate from Trisakti University school of architecture, came to the United States in 1998 as a gay man. She stayed illegally after her work visa expired in 2001 and after her asylum claim as a gay man was rejected in 2005...

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