Petrelis Files

July 19: Cologne, Germany, Vigil for Two Gay Teens Hanged by Iran

[This news release came my way from a gay friend in Germany.]

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Viktor Zimmermann:
viktor.zimmermann@gayhomeland.org
tel. +49-221-1691810

BARAKA AND GHF ANNOUNCE VIGIL COMMEMORATING GAY AND LESBIAN VICTIMS OF IRAN'S AYATOLLAH REGIME FOR 19 JULY 2007 IN COLOGNE, GERMANY

The Gay Homeland Foundation, an organization dedicated to furtherance of a gay national movement and cultural progress of the gay-lesbian community, and baraka, an international self-organization group of gay, lesbian and bisexual immigrants in Cologne, have announced the first political demonstration commemorating all gay and lesbian victims of the Ayatollah
regime in Iran in Cologne on 19 July 2007.

A vigil is scheduled to begin at 17:30 at the "Memorial for Lesbian and Gay victims of National Socialism" near the Hohenzollern bridge on the left Rhine bank in Cologne, Germany.

RUBICON, Cologne's counseling center for gays and lesbians, is also supporting the event.

19 July 2007 is the anniversary of the 2005 execution of two homosexual teenagers, Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni, who were believed to be lovers and were denounced to the police by a family member.

Authorities later distributed official information suggesting that the two teenagers were executed because of a rape of a 13-year old boy. In Iran, such accusations are routinely applied against homosexuals to justify a death sentence, since the regular proof by four witnesses (as prescribed by Sharia) can not be realistically supplied.

The two executed teenagers will always remind us of the fate of many of our brothers and sisters in Iran who were tortured and murdered by the Ayatollah regime and its death squads.

In today's Iran, gays and lesbians still suffer the worst oppression and live in daily fear of denunciation. The country's harsh Islamic regime has declared a downright war against homosexuals, reminiscent of ethnic cleansing in its perfidy: Specially trained agents routinely entrap gay men in internet forums. In this atmosphere of constant fear, many commit
suicide or undergo unnecessary sex-change operations.

The Gay Homeland Foundation (GHF) last year appealed to the international community to cease deporting gay and lesbian asylum-seekers to persecuting countries, and to consider instead the establishment of a self-administered territory for the gay and lesbian people.

Today, GHF and baraka urge everyone to remember that in this age of gay pride parades, pool parties and liberal lives for some, a large part of our people still lives in a state of daily fear of death, deprivation of any human dignity, and subject to the will and whim of the enemy. Let each of us consider this day whether we as a community are doing enough to protect our brethren from their tormentors.

# # #

baraka is an international self-organization group of gay, lesbian und
bisexual immigrants in Cologne. The group meets every Friday at 18:00 in
RUBICON (Rubensstr. 8-10, 50676 Cologne, Germany).
For further event information, please contact Jacek Marjanski:
baraka_koeln@yahoo.de

Gay Homeland Foundation

The Gay Homeland Foundation is an organization dedicated to furtherance of
a gay national movement and cultural progress of the gay-lesbian
community; the administrative center is located in Cologne, Germany. The
Foundation is actively investigating the possibilities for establishment
of self-administered GLBT settlements and organizing the LGBT community in
a sovereign political entity.

PF 420489, 50898 Cologne, Germany
Tel: +49 221 1691810, Fax: +49 221 1691809