Gay student avoids deportation to Muslim home country
Ismail has been cut off by his family, publicly outed by Malaysian tabloids By: Carol Sanders Posted: 04/4/2016 6:58 PM A gay Malaysian student has been granted refugee protection in Canada. "I'm overwhelmed," said a tearful Hazim Ismail. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Alexa Potashnik has become close friends with Hazim Ismail and is helping raise awareness about the U of W student’s refugee claim. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Hazim Ismail is an international student at the University of Winnipeg who is originally from Malaysia. He has a refugee protection hearing on April 5. After questioning Ismail for about 45 minutes, Immigration and Refugee Board member Ron Yamauchi said Tuesday morning he'd heard enough and believed Ismail is a legitimate Convention refugee and entitled to Canada's protection. "He's an extraordinary soul and people like him need support," said his friend and supporter Ale...