First non-binary migrant wins right to asylum in UK: Britney Spears fan ‘Arthur Britney Joe Star’ is given full refugee status after successfully claiming they were persecuted at home in El Salvador

• Equality activists hail landmark judgement in the case of Arthur Britney Joestar
• They experienced horrific attacks from public and police in Central America  
• Ruling says return to El Salvador would see physical and sexual violence threats

A non-binary Britney Spears fan has won the right to asylum in the UK because they were persecuted at home in El Salvador.

Equality activists have hailed the landmark upper tribunal judgement in the case of Arthur Britney Joestar and said it was likely to make it easier for non-binary people to find a safe home in Britain.

Joestar arrived in the UK in October 2017 to escape daily abuse in the Central American country, where transgender women have a life expectancy of just 35.

Equality activists have hailed the landmark upper tribunal judgement in the case of Arthur Britney Joestar and said it was likely to make it easier for non-binary people to find a safe home in Britain

The 29-year-old, who has settled in Liverpool and become a huge fan of the Premier League champions, as well as the global pop star, had been stopped and attacked by police in their own country, who accused them of being not normal, punched them on the chest and pushed them to the floor.

They were left alone and in tears, nursing lots of bruises and bleeding arms from the attack.  

Joestar added that they have also experienced people throwing rubbish and even a plastic bag full of urine at them in El Salvador, where the UN has repeatedly called for more to be done to tackle such violence.

The UK ruling states that a return to their home country would like see Joestar face threats of physical and sexual violence. 

However, Joestar had been refused UK asylum twice before, first in November 2018 when the police brutality described was said to have ‘amounted to no more than discrimination’.

Then again nearly 18 months later, their second claim on the basis of non-binary identity was initially refused by upheld on appeal. 

Joestar told the Guardian: ‘The way the judge handled the case: she just understood me – all the tiny details … she saw the whole picture.

‘At the end, she turned to look at me and started speaking to me in Spanish, to tell me she granted me the right to stay in this country and the right to be who I want to be. I just started to cry. I felt like I was born again.’

Joestar arrived in the UK in October 2017 to escape daily abuse in El Salvador, where transgender women have a life expectancy of just 35

The move has been hailed by equality activists, including Nancy Kelley, chief executive at Stonewall, who said: ‘We’re incredibly pleased for Mx Joestar, whose landmark case is likely to make it easier for non-binary people to seek asylum in the UK. 

‘No one should be subject to attacks and violence simply because of who they are, and it is vital that the UK offers refuge to those for whom their own country is not safe. 

‘But there is still much work to do to ensure that LGBT asylum seekers in the UK are treated with respect and dignity. We urge the Government to end the detention of LGBT asylum seekers. 

‘But while detention is still in use in this country, it is vital that an upper limit of 28 days is urgently applied, and that all individuals who are held in detention have access to free, good quality legal support.’ 

In another recent case in Joestar’s home country, hailed as a landmark in July, three police officers were each sentenced to more than 20 years in prison after being found guilty by a judge in San Salvador of the the murder of Camila Díaz Córdova.

It was the first conviction for a hate crime against a transgender woman in El Salvador. 

Joestar added that they hoped the injustice previously suffered would end up being worth it if it showed they were ‘not invisible’.  

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