Petrelis Files

(Egyptian gays on trial for morality and obscenity charges in 2003.)


Berlin, Brussels, Paris, Moscow, GayEgypt, ILGA = July 19

And now for Saturday's updates on the always-increasing number of cities, people and organizations coming out in support of gay Iranians and against the death penalty.

Two more organizations, the International Lesbian and Gay Association and Gay Egypt, announced yesterday they endorse the July 19 day of global protests. Statements from the groups are shared below and will also soon be available on their web sites, which you should read to learn more about gay issues beyond America's borders.

Gay Egypt's site reports three more locations have been added to the updated list of cities, and I've heard from our brave gay brother in Moscow, Nicolas Alexeyev, that he is organizing an action in his hometown. Please link to and click here for the latest list of cities.

Berlin
Location: Embassy of Iran, Podbielskiallee 65/67
Time: To be announced
Contact: Ali Asali, freedom4egypt@hotmail.com

Brussels
Location: Embassy of Iran, 415 Tervurenlaan
Time: To be announced
Contact: To be announced

Paris
Location: Embassy of Iran, 4, Avenue d'Iena
Time: 6:00 pm; provisional - please check later as time may change
Contact: Ali Asali, freedom4egypt@hotmail.com

Moscow
Location: To be announced
Time: To be announced
Contact: Nicolas Alexeyev, nicolas_alexeyev@yahoo.com

This was posted on GayEgypt.com:

A MESSAGE TO THE MURDERING MULLAHS
THERE'S NO EXCUSE FOR KILLING CHILDREN !

The worldwide gay community will never forget the murder of two boys, Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni, in Iran on 19 July last year.

They were executed by the short drop method from the back of a lorry resulting in several minutes of deliberately prolonged agony before their deaths (see GayEgypt.com investigation - www.gayegypt.com/march2006.html .)

They were both children and under 18 at the time of their alleged "crimes". The Iranian government claims that they were guilty of rape were greeted with scepticism from the outset, but subsequent testimony has shown that they were in fact two children in love who had charges fabricated against them in order to appease international opinion.

According to research by Simon Forbes of Outrage:

“Mahmoud and Ayaz were charged with the capital crime of homosexuality after a disapproving family member reported their relationship to the police.

“At least one, and possibly both, of the hanged boys were members of Iran's persecuted Arab minority. Racism appears to have played a part in the stereotypical way they were portrayed by the regime as being ‘underclass' thieves and hooligans."

For information on GayEgypt.com's latest findings regarding the brutal nature of the hangings please click here, and for more general background information please see this link.

Several gay rights groups, including the London based Outrage, Paris based IDAHO (International Day Against Homophobia), the Iranian PGLO ( Persian Gay and Lesbian Organization) and GayEgypt.com are supporting street protests around the world.

GayEgypt.com, which has long been running the internet's most comprehensive gay message boards for Iranian cities, including Mashad - the city where the boys were executed, is calling for protests outside Iranian Embassies at a time to be announced shortly.

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The statement from ILGA emailed to its members:

Demonstrations and vigils are being organized all over the world on July 19,
the first anniversary of the public hanging of the two gay Iranian teenagers, Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni.

If your city does not yet have a July 19 event in solidarity with gay Iranians scheduled, organize one!

Groups in Amsterdam, London, Marseille, New York, Provincetown, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Stockholm, Provincetown, Washington D.C. will stage demonstrations, vigils, or public events July 19, at the call of the Persian Gay and Lesbian Organisation (PGLO). The initiative is sponsored by the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO), the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA), the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), the British gay rights group OutRage and the Swedish group Tupilak.

These demonstrations are intended to help call attention to the homophobic reign of terror which the fanatical religious regime in Iran is inflicting on its lesbian and gay citizens, and as testimony of the solidarity of Western gays with their persecuted Iranian sisters and brothers.

You can read about these planned July 19 demonstrations by clicking here.

Patricia Curzi & Stephen Barris
ILGA, the International Lesbian and Gay Association