European Union Court Prohibits ‘Gay Tests’ For Asylum Seekers

After a Nigerian man seeking refuge in Hungary underwent psychological testing to determine whether or not he was gay, a European Union court has struck down the practice all together.

According to Reuters, the unnamed man filed a request for refugee status in 2015 during an influx of illegal immigration into Hungary across the Serbian border. The man claimed that, due to his sexuality, he faced maltreatment in his home country. To "prove" he was gay, the man underwent tests including drawing a person in the rain and a Rorschach ink-blot test.

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"The performance of such a test amounts to a disproportionate interference in the private life of the asylum seeker," the EU court ruled. The Luxembourg-based judges also noted that the reliability of such tests had been called into question in the past.

Based on the man's test results, a state-appointed psychologist concluded that the man was not gay and he was denied his request. An appeal to that ruling prompted the decision to disallow such testing. Read the full Reuters report, here.