"Kill me or sentence me to death instead of sending me to Rwanda." In his late twenties, Hadi (name changed for his protection) fled Iraq. Isolated and persecuted for being gay, he was the victim of an attempted rape and travelled across Europe in search of a safe haven. Under a controversial law that came into effect in April, the UK plans to send asylum seekers who arrived illegally on British soil to Rwanda, an East African country 6,000 kilometres from London which is "not a tolerant place for LGBTIQ people" according to Aderonke Apata, director and founder of the NGO The African Rainbow Family, which helps LGBTQ asylum seekers in their process and integration into British society. The Home Office itself admitted in a report to having "concerns" about the treatment of LGBTQ people in the East African country. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES