Petrelis Files

AP May Call State Dept About Gay Killings in Iran

Just got off the phone with an Associated Press reporter who covers the State Department. He told me the wire service has run a story about the European Union condemning last week's execution of two gay teens in Iran, but no story has been put by the AP in Washington because the State Department has not issued a statement about the deaths.

I asked the AP reporter to please ask about the executions at the next daily press briefing at the State Department. He promised to not wait for a daily press briefing and instead said he would phone the department regarding Iran's killing of the two gay teens.

Let's hope the reporter gets a statement out of State, one condemning the executions, and that the AP puts out a story on the barbaric killings.

In another development, the U.S. government's Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty web site is running a brief story on the executions, that mentions nothing about the homosexuality of the victims.

Here's the story:

BOY [sic] EXECUTED FOR RAPE
By Bill Samii

Two males -- one of them under the age of 18 -- who were found guilty of raping a 13-year-old boy at knifepoint were hanged in Mashhad on 19 July, Radio Farda reported the next day.

They also received 228 lashes prior to their execution. Iran is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of Child, which prohibits the execution of people under the age of 18.

However, Iranian law allows for the execution of females older than nine years of age and males older than 15, according to Radio Farda. The practice has been protested by the European Union and human-rights organizations, and in January the UN Committee on the Rights of Child urged Iran to take steps to halt the execution of children.

Shiva Dolatabadi, spokesperson for the Association for the Protection of Children's Rights, told Radio Farda that Iranian authorities had reassured her organization that no children were facing the death penalty.

Prior to their execution, the two males reportedly expressed remorse and pledged not to repeat their actions.

One of the two said that although he admitted his actions in court, he did not know they were illegal.

(Source: RFE/RL story)

If you haven't yet contacted the State Department to demand they deplore the killing of gays in Iran last week, please do so today.

CALL
Secretary Rice: 202-647-5291
Henry T. Wooster, State Dept. Iran desk: 202-647-0114

FAX
Secretary Rice: 202-647-2283

EMAIL
Secretary Rice: Contact Madame Secretary

Silence from the U.S. State Department about Iran executing gay teens is not acceptable. Help persuade Secretary Rice to speak out against Iran's barbarism.