Ananova:

A Mexican gay transvestite has been granted asylum in the United States because he risked being persecuted if he was sent home.

Giovanni Hernandez Montiel who fled to San Francisco in 1995 said he had been sexually assaulted and attacked in Mexico because of his sexuality.

Latin American cultural specialist Professor Thomas Davies Jr of San Diego State University said gay men with "feminine" tendencies are persecuted more than the general gay population in Mexico.

In his ruling, Judge A Wallace Tashima said Mr Hernandez Montiel should be granted asylum because he was a member of a "particular social group" persecuted in his homeland.

The judge said his: "Female sexual identity is immutable because it is inherent in his identity. In any event, he should not be required to change it."

BBC Online reports that the court ruling expands the circumstances which immigration officials have to consider in asylum cases. These include African women's fear of genital mutilation.