The case concerned a homosexual applicant from Ghana and whose asylum application was rejected by the BAMF.

The regional administrative court of Hamburg allowed the appeal and granted refugee status. It found that the applicant would face persecution upon return to Ghana due to his homosexuality, from state and non-state actors. The country-of-origin information showed that according to the Ghana Criminal Code, male homosexuality is an offence punishable by 3 years of imprisonment and despite no recent convictions, however reports mention police harassment towards homosexuals and extortion attempts. The findings in COI show that homosexual acts are strongly disapproved, by society and politicians in Ghana, that the population repeatedly carries out violent attacks on homosexuals and the Ghanaian security forces are not willing to protect them.

The court stated that due to the general homophobic mood, discrimination and violent physical attacks on homosexuals by the (non-state) population take place to a considerable extent, which are classified as acts of persecution within the meaning of Section 3 a para. 2 no. 1 Asylum Law. Also, the BAMF report mentions a deterioration of the situation since 2021 towards LGBTI community in Ghana. In the absence of any internal protection from state/police, it was established that homosexual men in Ghana are not protected from becoming victims of massive crimes committed against them. The court added that it is irrelevant whether this danger could be reduced by not living out homosexuality openly.

The court ruled that the applicant must be granted refugee status.