‘Gay death penalty’ scholar leaves Australia amid Orlando shooting backlash

A Muslim cleric who suggested that homosexuals be put to death has left Australia ahead of his visa being cancelled. Farrokh Sekaleshfar arrived in Sydney last Tuesday as the guest speaker of an Islamic centre. But he left the country after Australia’s minister for immigration and border protection, Peter Dutton, said he had ordered a review of his visa. “This individual has decided to leave of his own accord last night which we welcome and it will be very difficult if not impossible for him to return back to our country,” Mr Dutton said.

Let’s be clear: this government has allowed a visa to be issued to someone with despicable and abhorrent views of gay hate. The government needs to explain how the fellow got in here to begin with

Opposition leader Bill Shorten

British-born Mr Sekaleshfar was criticised over remarks he made three years ago, when he apparently said that “death is the sentence” for gay sex acts in public. “Out of compassion, let’s get rid of them now,” he reportedly added. His remarks were brought up again in the wake of the gay night club massacre in Orlando, a city where Mr Sekaleshfar spoke in 2014. But he insisted his comments had been taken out of context. “That animal,” he said referring to killer Omar Mateen, “they are connecting me to him.Not at all. He was an ISIS sympathiser, a follower of (Islamic State leader) al-Baghdadi, these people are criminals.”

No speech, especially when you’re not inciting any hatred and it was given three years ago - that would never lead to such a massacre.

Mr Sekaleshfar

Farrokh Sekaleshfar