Skip to main content

This was sent to me (from the UK) to post on The Motherboards.


Two gay teenagers were publicly executed in Iran on 19 July 2005 for the 'crime' of homosexuality. The youths were hanged in Edalat (Justice) Square in the city of Mashhad, in north east Iran. They were sentenced to death by Court No.19. Iran enforces Islamic Sharia law, which dictates the death penalty for gay sex. One youth was aged 18 and the other was a minor under the age of 18. They were only identified by their initials, M.A. and A.M. They admitted to having gay sex (probably under torture) but claimed in their defense that most young boys had sex with each other and that they were not aware that homosexuality was punishable by death. Prior to their execution, the teenagers were held in prison for 14 months and severely beaten with 228 lashes. Their length of detention suggests that they committed the so-called offenses more than a year earlier, when they were possibly around the age of 16. Ruhollah Rezazadeh, the lawyer of the youngest boy (under 18), had appealed that he was too young to be executed and that the court should take into account his tender age (believed to be 16 or 17). But the Supreme Court in Tehran ordered him to be hanged. Under the Iranian penal code, girls as young as nine and boys as young as 15 can be hanged. Three other young gay Iranians are being hunted by the police, but they have gone into hiding and cannot be found. If caught, they will also face execution. News of the two executions was reported by ISNA (Iranian Students News Agency) on 19 July. A later news story by Iran In Focus, allegedly based on this original ISNA report, claimed the youths were executed for sexually assaulting a 13 year old boy. But the ISNA report does not mention any sexual assault. A report of the executions on the website of the respected democratic opposition movement, The National Council of Resistance Of Iran, also makes no reference to a sexual assault. The allegation of sexual assault may either be a trumped up charge to undermine public sympathy for the youths (a frequent tactic by the Islamist regime in Iran). Or it may be that the 13 year old was a willing participant but that Iranian law (like UK law) deems that no person of that age is capable of sexual consent and that therefore any sexual contact is automatically deemed in law to be a sex assault. If the 13 year old was sexually assaulted, why was he not identified and also put on trial (under Iranian law both the victims and perpetrators of sexual crimes are punished)?
"This is just the latest barbarity by the Islamo-fascists in Iran" said Peter Tatchell of the London-based gay human rights group OutRage! "The entire country is a gigantic prison, with Islamic rule sustained by detention without trial, torture and state-sanctioned murder. "According to Iranian human rights campaigners, over 4,000 lesbians and gay men have been executed since the Ayatollahs seized power in 1979. "Altogether, an estimated 100,000 Iranians have been put to death over the last 26 years of clerical rule. The victims include women who have sex outside of marriage and political opponents of the Islamist government. "Last August, a 16 year old girl, Atefeh Rajabi, was hanged for 'acts incompatible with chasity.' "Britain's Labour government is pursuing friendly relations with this murderous regime, including aid and trade. We urge the international community to treat Iran as a pariah state, break off diplomatic relations, impose trade sanctions and give practical support to the democratic and left opposition inside Iran," said Mr Tatchell.

Urgent action:
Protest to the Iranian Ambassador:
info@iran-embassy.org.uk
Tel: 020 7225 3000
Fax: 020 7589 4440

Iranian Ambassador
Embassy of Iran
16 Prince?s Gate
London SW7 1PT

If you live outside the UK, protest to the Iranian Embassy in your country, and press your government to break off diplomatic relations and impose trade sanctions against Iran.
Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

gawd, daddy, been following this one on the website http://www.365gay.com, what a tragedy of spirit and humanity. this is why merlin believes that many of the suicide bombers are gay or lesbians and like these two 'boys' are being treated so poorly that a martyr's death seems insignificant to being tortured and murdered by the state for being accused of of being gay.

one of the palestinian boys that was caught with a bomb on him is quoted as saying he was being treated so poorly by his community, hated so much, that violent suicide seemed the answer....

these lynchings of boys in iran sound so much like lynchings in america before the 1950's and there are so many that need help as people must be dragged, kicking and screaming out of the dark ages where ever we find it. it's medieval to torture people, it's amazing that not having sex with women can get you killed!

the country of cameroon just arrested 15 'gay' men and 2 'lesbians' charging them with homosexaulity, it's against the law just to be in certain bars apparently.

this is fracking 2005!
Ok... am now going to be the cat amoungst the pigeons here...
However, I read allot of global media and allot of the reports (from trusted left wing UK press, inc. UK The Week) are stating that this case is a wee bit dif than what is just being stated... the other side of this story (and to be honest I don't know WHO to believe at this rate!!!) is.... that these two boys raped a kid at knifepoint and had robbed an beated him in his home. NOW, I am NOT saying that they should be hanged... nor am I saying that i am convinced they did that crime... I am just saying that some of the left wing media are stating a bigger story.... I only say this because at this stage I think the general spin doctoring in the media is soooooooo slanted to whip up hatered of the middle east that this story is ideal fodder. There are so many countries around the world who are torturing and killing folks because the are gay that never makes the mainstream media.... my pals in law enforcement in Jamaica are dealing with many issues of communities literally throwing buckets of acid on 'gay/TG' but that seems to never make as much noise in mainstream media ... and it should just as much as this hanging...
Brava!
This is always my point....
People are whipped into media spun frenzies about these 'foreign' lands and to be honest, it really is NO different here. It's just the media doesn't SPIN in those countries. SO much goes on here - even in 'liberal' new york - that is NEVER even reported. A bloke I work with was beated as he left a gay club last wk - badly beated - wasn't a robbery. How many of these incidents are there! How many more Mathew Sheppards are there?
I must have crossed the border into the state of Denial. No, we don't hang people in this country for being homosexual. Wake up and smell the cappucino.

Oh yes, in countries that practice Sharia, they do so quite easily. This is a well documented FACT. The evidence is incontrovertable. There is no greater threat to your "lifestyle", and I would be very worried about the trends in Europe if I were you. Which I am, btw.
Last edited by Darla Diamond
I'm going to shock everyone and say that I would have to agree with Darla here. There is a big difference between being gay in a western society and an Islamic Republic, such as Iran. Most of us would be dead there, or living our lives in secret. As flawed and messed up as our society is, Western democratic societies are the first since ancient times to have even limited accepance of homosexuality and it's not a small deal.

In New York State it is against the law to discriminate on the baisis of sexual orientation. I'm not saying there isn't discrimination, there is. But in Iran or Saudi Arabia, you are dead, period.

That's not to say there aren't many in this country who want us dead. There are. Most of them subscribe to a form of Christianity that is strikingly similar to the form of Islam that comdemns gays (or most of Islam).

I don't think it's useful to shy away from criticising another culture for fear of being labled intolorant. Evil is evil and it usually has something to do with religion.

Honestly, I don't think Islam is a peaceful religion, and neither is Christianity. Both the Koran and the Bible advocate unspeakable cruelty and barbarism in the name of a jealous and vain fictional character. As long as most of humanity bows to these barbaric ancient texts, reason and tolorance will be in short supply. In the lands where the followers of this garbage hold the most power, the results are chatastrophic.

It is the move away from religion in the west since the enlightenment that has allowed any of the openess we now enjoy. The biggest threat to this is a return to religious dogma.

As much as the Christian right has tried to remake this country in to a christian version of Iran, the election results of a couple weeks ago have frustrated them. We still have laws and a culture that allows for dissent. In Iran the situation is much different and the execution of these innocent boys is a stark example.
Last edited by Lily of the Valley
It's all well and good to question what we read (particularly in the Bush era). But I'm inclined to agree with Lily on the religion piece and with Darla (!!) on the Middle East's gay position. Our Western justice system and culture of political correctness are the only things that separate the far-right Christian fundamentalists here from the religious extremist culture of the Middle East. But those barriers go a long way, whether it's politically expedient for us to admit it or not. Last night my partner and I saw "The Little Dog Laughed" on Broadway, a play about a closeted gay actor struggling with the decision to play a gay character. Afterwards we remarked on how dated it seemed in our post-Brokeback Mountain world for a playwright to put such a plot to paper. It has reached the point where no credible politician, even a conservative, would dare to publicly say, "I hate gays." Even Wal-Mart is trying to get a perfect score on the PC scale by improving its rating on the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index, over the objections of its Christian customer base. Hon, that's a far cry from ANYTHING we'd see in the Middle East. And you can't blame it all on CNN.

Of course one could argue that the evil in our country is simply more subtle -- Rove, Ashcroft and their ilk seem to know their anti-gay stance is wrong but skate around it to achieve their bigoted, villianous goals anyway. But with several states sanctioning legal gay unions and likely more to follow, I for one am not about to look progress in the proverbial horse's mouth.

Much of human history's most unspeakable atrocities are rooted in religion. Many of history's most corrupt and despicable figures were from the Church or carried out agendas of violence, exploitation or slavery in the name of their church. And it continues today, whether it's public hangings in Iran or child molestation cover-ups at the Vatican. If religion is what enables some people to conquer drug addiction, give to charity, or survive a tough divorce, fine. But recognize that it's just another crutch at the end of the day, like Lipitor or Oxycontin. Only far more pervasisve and dangerous.

The Middle East may have some of the hottest men on Earth, but trade issues aside, I am so ready for their Jihad-ist nonsense and all other organized religions of the world to go the way of Zeus and Apollo.
Last edited by Luxury Lex
There's A Middle-Eastern, I think he was Iranian, comedian I saw once on BBC America, very funny, he was familiar with the kids who dance to Morrissey, and did the goth dance too and sang a bit of Morrissey, it was really funny. Anyone who can laugh at his own culture and Western culture gets a shout-out from me and a round of appaluse (applaudes in a circle)
I know all about that church, Darla. So consider your challenge accepted and met. A queen who goes to the Tompkins Square dog run is a pastor there (or preacher, whatever the correct title is). He and his partner bring their French bulldog mix, Otis, to the park all the time. Nice girls. I feel sorry for them, being gays in the church and all. But I enjoy their company. Of course if you ever pick their brains about George "War Under False Pretenses" Bush, they'll cut your administration to ribbons. They're not fans.
I've been reading a lot on the subject of religion lately. Two thinkers, Scientist RIchard Dawkins (who wrote the brilliant book, "The God Delusion") and Sam Harris have been trying to raise consciousnes about the mortal danger presented by faith without evidence. In no other area of public discourse do we accept someone prescribing public policy based on the rantings of desert nomads over 2,000 years ago. Would we trust a public official who said he was inspired by Zeus or Appolo? Of couse not? But just by chance, the Judeo Christian myth and the Islamic myths survive while the Greek and Roman ones died out. Had a few things gone differently, (specifically, had the Roman Emperor Constantine not been converted to Christianity, we might never have heard of Jesus of Nazereth). We might be worshiping one of the many other mythical saviors of the time, all of whom had similar characteristics.

This article by Sam Harris is particularly interesting....
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15566391/site/newsweek/

As well as this passage from Richard Dawkins book, "The God Delusion"

http://richarddawkins.net/godDelusion#firstChapter

Here is a video of Dawkins demolishing an argument my Lierty University students that Dinosaurs are 3,000 years old (they really believe that)
http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/2006/11/not_a_trivial_e.html
Lex,

What's this emotional fixation on George Bush and why do you give me possession of his administration? It's a non sequitar.

Puzzled,

DD

P.S. If you know "all about that church", why do you refer to the pastor (yes pastor, not "preacher") as "A queen" and not by his name? If this is your standard of knowing "all about" something, it explains quite a bit.
Last edited by Darla Diamond
You so crazy! You go, sister, be crazy all you want, be the way you are! You are fierce. That's cuz you play hockey! I remember my cousins playing hockey too and my other cousin (who also happens to be on the conservative side--who knew--I love that girl!) dated a hockey player once, I blank on the guy's name. By the way, when you go drinkin' it don't matter what the politics of the person are--we all belong to the Drunken Idiots Party! Hey it worked for Dubya, right?
Since Luxery Lex knows all about Trinity, you can bet that he'll be at the Cool Yule fundraiser benefiting
SAFH: Services and Food for the Homeless. Wednesday December 13, 2006
7:00 - 10:00 PM White Rabbit Lounge
145 E Houston St
$25 Donation

Hors d'oeuvres and Open Bar
Raffle Gifts
Guest DJs and Dancing

100% of event proceeds benefit SAFH

http://www.safhnyc.org/index.php
Last edited by Darla Diamond
I'd offer everyone else some Kool-Aid but it seems someone drank it all!

I'll bet Ted Haggard was the guilty party. Poor thing. Probably tripping hard as I type, trapped in a netherworld of might-have-beens, where damnation beckons from the mirror and calling someone "a queen" is an insult or an accusation rather than a term of affection. And hang-overs are a bitch.

Add Reply

Post
×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×