By Poonam Taneja  BBC Asian Network

A UK charity is dealing with an increasing number of young gay Muslims becoming homeless after fleeing forced marriages and so-called honour violence.

During a weekly drop-in group held by the Albert Kennedy Trust in London, Suni, a 20-year-old London student, helps himself to a warm mince pie and a steaming cup of coffee.

In 2008, during a holiday to Pakistan to visit relatives, his parents suspected the truth about his sexuality. They believed marriage would "cure" him of what they considered to be a psychological disorder.

Name 'blackened'

"They told me I'm going to be forced into marriage and they're looking for a girl and I'll be married in two to three months and I won't be able to come back to London," Suni said.

When he refused, he was imprisoned in his family's ancestral home in a remote village of Pakistan and subjected to regular beatings and abuse as he had brought "shame" on the strict Muslim family.

I think I'd be vulnerable if people knew about me - I've heard a lot of remarks in the past about people saying that gay people should die for religious reasons Ali, East London

"I stayed there for three months and he was always beating me. He was telling me I had blackened our family name and he was saying it's a sin. I know it was just for honour."

Suni managed to escape and return to the UK, penniless and homeless.

Relatives and friends were reluctant to help him due to fear of violent reprisals from his family.

After a night spent in a police cell, he was put in touch with the trust, which helped find him safe accommodation.

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