Gay Russians Write Putin, Hold News Conference on Iran's Killings
07/28/2005
Russian gay leaders appeal against executions in Iran during special press conference in Moscow
Russian politicians were scared to come, they did not want “to sit next to gays”. Russian authorities should do everything to pressure Iran to fulfill its international obligations
On 28 July 2005 a press conference took place in the National Information Group (www.newsinfo.ru) in Moscow in order to attract attention of the Russian and International community to the recent executions of young gays in Iran. Press conference was given by Nikolai Alekseev, head of the Project GayRussia.Ru, and Evgeniya Debryanskaya, leader of the Russian lesbian community. The organizers of the event invited several Russian politicians. A few of them agreed to come but later denied. Deputy of the State Duma, lower chamber of the Russian parliament, A. Chuev, author of the bill to ban propaganda of homosexuality, said that he was ill and that he was “not ready to sit close to gays”.
Representatives of the Russian party Union of Rights Forces, known for their human rights actions and support, said that the topic was very controversial and that they were not ready to take part. Press centre of the pro-presidential youth movement “Nashi” said the following: “we just lacked giving speeches together with gays”. Nikolai Alekseev said that it is a real shame that Russian politicians were so scared to come. “The press conference today is clearly about the effects of the policy of repression some of them are pressuring for even here in Russia”.
Several journalists from leading Russian information agencies came to the press centre, representative of Interfax and ITAR-TASS. Nikolai Alekseev and Evgeniya Dedryanskaya condemned the executions of gays in Iran and once again appealed to the Russian authorities, including President Vladimir Putin, to use all diplomatic ways to pressure Iranian regime. They said that by killing those, who committed their so called “crimes” under the age of 18, Iran breached its international obligations, including those embodied in the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights and Convention on the Rights of the Child. Both clearly forbid such executions.
Iran is currently among the leaders of child executions. Nikolai Alekseev underlined that the problem of Iran should be considered in two dimensions. Firstly, criminal prosecution for homosexuality and retaining capital punishment for these actions. Secondly, retaining of death penalty for children.
During the press conference journalists were also interested in the situation of gays in Russia, some of the facts of homophobia were given as well as the results of the poll on the issues of homosexuality. Russian gays also announced their intention to conduct the first ever gay pride in Moscow in May 2006.
Project GayRussia.Ru will continue its actions against barbarism in Iran and pressure for changes in this country.
For further information please write to: contacts@gayrussia.ru
- - -
22 July 2005
Letter to President Vladimir Putin
Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,
We would like to pay your attention to the event that happened in the Islamic Republic of Iran on 19 July 2005, the execution via hanging of two young boys for the only fact of entering into homosexual relations. One of the boys was 18 while the other even did not reach that age.
Projects GayRussia.Ru and Gayly.Ru join the international condemnation of this barbarian act and ask you to use all the pressure with the aim to stop executions and criminal prosecutions of the persons of homosexual orientation in Iran. Homosexual relations are not a crime in the developed democratic countries, moreover more countries pass laws legalizing same-sex marriages and unions.
International gay community is outraged and appeals to the authorities of all democratic states to stop diplomatic and trade relations with the regime that executes guilty people, including children. We address the same request to you. Russian Federation can not close the eyes to the middle aged barbarity and huge human rights violations.
We hope for your understanding and assistance!
Faithfully yours,
N. Alekseev
Head GayRussia.Ru
V. Kamov
Head Gayly.Ru
E. Debryanskaya
Leader of the Russian lesbian movement
N. Baev
Journalist
Reports, proud muckraking, photos, videos and musings from the veteran LGBT and AIDS human rights advocate Michael Petrelis. Based in San Francisco since 1995. Contact: MPetrelis_at_AOL_dot_com. Vote Petrelis for BART Board District 9 in November!
Friday, July 29, 2005
State Dept Claims it Lacks Facts on Iran's Hangings
Odd that Henry T. Wooster, the State Department's analyst who keeps tabs on Iran would tell the Dallas Voice that they don't have any facts about Iran's public hanging of two gays teens on July 19.
In my phone conversations with Wooster he certainly was aware of some of the facts, and he told me about the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty report on the hangings, so why he now claims to lack facts puzzles me.
I have sent Wooster all of the news clippings I've found on the web. They were sent to woosterht@state.gov and I will continue to send his articles about the hangings.
^^^
July 28, 2005
The Dallas Voice
Gay activists ask U.S. officials to condemn Iranian executions
State Department issues general statement that fails to mention boys who were hanged because they engaged in sex with each other
By David Webb
Staff Writer
The State Department has issued a statement in response to demands that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice condemn the reported executions of two gay teenagers in Iran, but it falls short activists’ demands.
The Human Rights Campaign sent a letter to Rice last week urging her to speak out against the hangings in Mashhad, Iran, on July 19. The executions were reported by the Iranian Students News Agency and translated for distribution by the British gay rights group Outrage.
Michael Petrelis, a gay rights activist in San Francisco, who also petitioned Rice for a statement condemning the executions, said Edgar Vasquez, a spokesman for the State Department, read the statement to him over the phone.
The activist said he was disappointed that the statement failed to mention the homosexual aspects of the executions.
Vasquez said in the statement, according to Petrelis, that the State Department is concerned about Iran’s judicial process.
“Defendants are not receiving due process of law, and trials lack procedural safeguards,” said Vasquez in the statement. “As noted in our country’s reports on human rights practices, the judge and prosecutor are the same person, trials are frequently held in closed sessions without access to a lawyer and the right of appeal is not often honored. We call upon the government of Iran to vigorously pursue prison reform, cooperate with international investigations of human rights cases and respect international human rights law and practice.”
Petrelis said he will pressure the State Department for harsher criticism. Iranian law makes homosexual acts punishable by death.
Henry Wooster, a State Department official who monitors Iran, said in a telephone interview that the government cannot issue a more specific statement without more information. Iran claims the teenagers were executed because they raped a 13 year old boy at knifepoint.
“We just don’t have any facts, which puts us in a tough position to come out as a government with a statement,” Wooster said.
Odd that Henry T. Wooster, the State Department's analyst who keeps tabs on Iran would tell the Dallas Voice that they don't have any facts about Iran's public hanging of two gays teens on July 19.
In my phone conversations with Wooster he certainly was aware of some of the facts, and he told me about the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty report on the hangings, so why he now claims to lack facts puzzles me.
I have sent Wooster all of the news clippings I've found on the web. They were sent to woosterht@state.gov and I will continue to send his articles about the hangings.
^^^
July 28, 2005
The Dallas Voice
Gay activists ask U.S. officials to condemn Iranian executions
State Department issues general statement that fails to mention boys who were hanged because they engaged in sex with each other
By David Webb
Staff Writer
The State Department has issued a statement in response to demands that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice condemn the reported executions of two gay teenagers in Iran, but it falls short activists’ demands.
The Human Rights Campaign sent a letter to Rice last week urging her to speak out against the hangings in Mashhad, Iran, on July 19. The executions were reported by the Iranian Students News Agency and translated for distribution by the British gay rights group Outrage.
Michael Petrelis, a gay rights activist in San Francisco, who also petitioned Rice for a statement condemning the executions, said Edgar Vasquez, a spokesman for the State Department, read the statement to him over the phone.
The activist said he was disappointed that the statement failed to mention the homosexual aspects of the executions.
Vasquez said in the statement, according to Petrelis, that the State Department is concerned about Iran’s judicial process.
“Defendants are not receiving due process of law, and trials lack procedural safeguards,” said Vasquez in the statement. “As noted in our country’s reports on human rights practices, the judge and prosecutor are the same person, trials are frequently held in closed sessions without access to a lawyer and the right of appeal is not often honored. We call upon the government of Iran to vigorously pursue prison reform, cooperate with international investigations of human rights cases and respect international human rights law and practice.”
Petrelis said he will pressure the State Department for harsher criticism. Iranian law makes homosexual acts punishable by death.
Henry Wooster, a State Department official who monitors Iran, said in a telephone interview that the government cannot issue a more specific statement without more information. Iran claims the teenagers were executed because they raped a 13 year old boy at knifepoint.
“We just don’t have any facts, which puts us in a tough position to come out as a government with a statement,” Wooster said.
Thursday, July 28, 2005
OutRage Slams Flaws in Blade's Iran Story
In a message dated 7/28/2005 1:54:33 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, peter@tatchell.freeserve.co.uk writes:
Hi Michael,
Many thanks for your efforts re the State Department.
Did you get our news release critiquing the Blade news story?
These flawed reports are HUGELY damaging to LGBT asylum seekers from Iran. The US and UK governments will brandish them in court to say that only rapists are executed.
Copy of my critique of the Blade story below, in case you did not get a copy.
Solidarity! Peter
- - -
Flaws in Blade report of executions in Iran
Gays are executed, Iranian exiles confirm
London - 28 July 2005
"News reports in the US Washington Blade and New York Blade newspapers
on the execution of two teens in Iran are flawed," according to the
British LGBT human rights group OutRage!, which helped break the story
to the international media and human rights groups.
"The news story by Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg, 'Mixed reports on Iran
teen hangings', dated 28 July, contains a number of errors," said
Peter Tatchell of OutRage!
"OutRage!’s sources for our reportage of this story include
clandestine gay and lesbian activists inside Iran, members of the
democratic and left Iranian opposition, and the websites of
pro-government news agencies in Iran.
"Much of the Blade article disputes claims that the two teenagers were
hanged because they had gay sex. Bizarrely, it gives greater
prominence and credibility to the allegations of rape made by news
agencies linked to the dictatorial, homophobic Iranian government.
"Why should we believe the claims of a judicial and political system
that is one of the most barbaric in the world and which has a proven
record of lying to cover up its crimes against humanity?
"The Blade story does, however, conclude with a comment from a gay
Iranian exile. He is in a better position than most people to know how
the Iranian regime operates and to judge the credibility of its
claims. He questions the rapist allegation; suggesting the two youths
probably were hanged for consensual sex but the government said it was
rape to squash public outrage. This exile also confirms that
confessions are often extracted under torture. This casts serious
doubt on the rape claims. Why was this gay Iranian viewpoint not given
greater prominence in the Blade story?
"We work with many exiled gay Iranians in London. They confirm that
smears and torture against gay people are routine in Iran. Whenever
the regime wants to deflect criticism it trumps up charges of
alcoholism, adultery, rape, homosexuality and drug abuse.
"When interviewed in the back of a police van by a pro-government
journalist from the Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA), shortly before
their execution, the youths spoke candidly about having sex with boys,
protesting that they did not know homosexuality is a capital crime.
This suggests they believed they were being hanged for same-sex
relations, not rape. The ISNA report makes no mention of rape or of a
13 year old boy. It states they were hung for homosexual acts.
"Even so, OutRage! has never said the rape allegations are untrue;
only that we think they are unlikely and that we treat them with the
skepticism they deserve. We acknowledge there are conflicting reports.
It is difficult to be certain about the truth. But on balance we
believe the evidence points to the youths being hanged for same-sex
relations, rather than rape.
"The Blade says the claims of rape are confirmed by the 13 year old
boy's father. That is not proof. It is not surprising that the father
has said his 13 year old son was raped; otherwise his son would have
been hanged as well and the family would become social outcasts for
having a gay child. OutRage! is aware of several cases in the region
where a false claim of rape has been used by parents to spare a family
the shame of having a gay son and to save him from imprisonment and/or
execution.
"We must also be open to the possibility that the 13 year old was a
willing participant but that Iranian law (like the laws of many
western nations) deems that no person aged 13 is capable of sexual
consent. In these circumstances, consensual sexual contact with a 13
year old is automatically branded statutory rape.
"It is curious that the Iranian authorities say the 13 year old was
raped. Does the Iranian legal system include the offence of rape of a
male? Does it acknowledge that male rape exists and is possible? If
not, how can the youths have been hanged for the crime of rape?
"Elizabeth Weill-Greeneberg’s report says that the older youth may
have been 19, and therefore not a minor when he committed the alleged
crime. Even the state-sponsored Iranian media said he was 18. We would
like to see any reliable news source that has reported him as being 19
years old.
"The Blade report claims the allegations the boys were executed for
being gay originated with the National Council of Resistance of Iran
(NCRI). This is untrue. The NCRI did not originate the story and it
did not report the reason for their execution.
"The Blade also falsely claims that Iran Focus is the English language
website of the NCRI. Not true.
"The Blade article goes on to smear the NCRI, repeating the US State
Department's smear that it is a “terrorist organisation”. While we do
not share the politics of the NCRI, it has played a heroic role in
resisting the clerical fascist regime in Iran and campaigning for
democracy and human rights. The NCRI is no more a terrorist
organisation than the African National Congress in South Africa or the
anti-Nazi resistance in occupied Europe during World War Two. “While
there have been allegations of human rights abuses by the NCRI, these
pale into insignificance by comparison to the butchery of the Iranian
regime.
"The NCRI works with a broad coalition of European parliamentarians,
jurists, lawyers and human rights advocates. It would not enjoy this
supportive relationship if it were a terrorist organisation. NCRI
delegations have recently met with European and Australian
parliamentary representatives.
"We find it shocking that brave people who are fighting for freedom
and against tyranny are being vilified and smeared.
"Contrary to what the Blade says, the report the teens were hanged for
being gay originated with the pro-government Iranian Student News
Agency (ISNA) – not the NCRI. It stated categorically that they were
executed for sodomy. It made no mention of rape or a 13 year old boy.
"Paula Ettelbrick of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights
Commission is reported by the Blade as having condemned OutRage! for
using racially charged language to denounce the executions.
"If she said this, it is a complete fabrication. We have never
attacked anyone’s race or ethnicity.
“Ms Ettelbrick apparently objects to our description of the Iranian
regime in the following terms: ‘This is just the latest barbarity by
the Islamo-fascists in Iran.’”
"We make no apology for denouncing the Iranian dictatorship in these
terms. Its fascist-style tyranny is based on a fundamentalist version
of Islam. The phrase ‘Islamo-fascist’ is used by progressive Muslims
to denounce the fundamentalists and by democratic and left opponents
of the Iranian regime. We agree, and support their struggle.
"We have great respect and admiration for the Blade newspapers, but we
feel their reports on this issue need to be challenged and corrected,”
concluded Mr Tatchell.
Further information: Peter Tatchell +44 (0)20 7403 1790
In a message dated 7/28/2005 1:54:33 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, peter@tatchell.freeserve.co.uk writes:
Hi Michael,
Many thanks for your efforts re the State Department.
Did you get our news release critiquing the Blade news story?
These flawed reports are HUGELY damaging to LGBT asylum seekers from Iran. The US and UK governments will brandish them in court to say that only rapists are executed.
Copy of my critique of the Blade story below, in case you did not get a copy.
Solidarity! Peter
- - -
Flaws in Blade report of executions in Iran
Gays are executed, Iranian exiles confirm
London - 28 July 2005
"News reports in the US Washington Blade and New York Blade newspapers
on the execution of two teens in Iran are flawed," according to the
British LGBT human rights group OutRage!, which helped break the story
to the international media and human rights groups.
"The news story by Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg, 'Mixed reports on Iran
teen hangings', dated 28 July, contains a number of errors," said
Peter Tatchell of OutRage!
"OutRage!’s sources for our reportage of this story include
clandestine gay and lesbian activists inside Iran, members of the
democratic and left Iranian opposition, and the websites of
pro-government news agencies in Iran.
"Much of the Blade article disputes claims that the two teenagers were
hanged because they had gay sex. Bizarrely, it gives greater
prominence and credibility to the allegations of rape made by news
agencies linked to the dictatorial, homophobic Iranian government.
"Why should we believe the claims of a judicial and political system
that is one of the most barbaric in the world and which has a proven
record of lying to cover up its crimes against humanity?
"The Blade story does, however, conclude with a comment from a gay
Iranian exile. He is in a better position than most people to know how
the Iranian regime operates and to judge the credibility of its
claims. He questions the rapist allegation; suggesting the two youths
probably were hanged for consensual sex but the government said it was
rape to squash public outrage. This exile also confirms that
confessions are often extracted under torture. This casts serious
doubt on the rape claims. Why was this gay Iranian viewpoint not given
greater prominence in the Blade story?
"We work with many exiled gay Iranians in London. They confirm that
smears and torture against gay people are routine in Iran. Whenever
the regime wants to deflect criticism it trumps up charges of
alcoholism, adultery, rape, homosexuality and drug abuse.
"When interviewed in the back of a police van by a pro-government
journalist from the Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA), shortly before
their execution, the youths spoke candidly about having sex with boys,
protesting that they did not know homosexuality is a capital crime.
This suggests they believed they were being hanged for same-sex
relations, not rape. The ISNA report makes no mention of rape or of a
13 year old boy. It states they were hung for homosexual acts.
"Even so, OutRage! has never said the rape allegations are untrue;
only that we think they are unlikely and that we treat them with the
skepticism they deserve. We acknowledge there are conflicting reports.
It is difficult to be certain about the truth. But on balance we
believe the evidence points to the youths being hanged for same-sex
relations, rather than rape.
"The Blade says the claims of rape are confirmed by the 13 year old
boy's father. That is not proof. It is not surprising that the father
has said his 13 year old son was raped; otherwise his son would have
been hanged as well and the family would become social outcasts for
having a gay child. OutRage! is aware of several cases in the region
where a false claim of rape has been used by parents to spare a family
the shame of having a gay son and to save him from imprisonment and/or
execution.
"We must also be open to the possibility that the 13 year old was a
willing participant but that Iranian law (like the laws of many
western nations) deems that no person aged 13 is capable of sexual
consent. In these circumstances, consensual sexual contact with a 13
year old is automatically branded statutory rape.
"It is curious that the Iranian authorities say the 13 year old was
raped. Does the Iranian legal system include the offence of rape of a
male? Does it acknowledge that male rape exists and is possible? If
not, how can the youths have been hanged for the crime of rape?
"Elizabeth Weill-Greeneberg’s report says that the older youth may
have been 19, and therefore not a minor when he committed the alleged
crime. Even the state-sponsored Iranian media said he was 18. We would
like to see any reliable news source that has reported him as being 19
years old.
"The Blade report claims the allegations the boys were executed for
being gay originated with the National Council of Resistance of Iran
(NCRI). This is untrue. The NCRI did not originate the story and it
did not report the reason for their execution.
"The Blade also falsely claims that Iran Focus is the English language
website of the NCRI. Not true.
"The Blade article goes on to smear the NCRI, repeating the US State
Department's smear that it is a “terrorist organisation”. While we do
not share the politics of the NCRI, it has played a heroic role in
resisting the clerical fascist regime in Iran and campaigning for
democracy and human rights. The NCRI is no more a terrorist
organisation than the African National Congress in South Africa or the
anti-Nazi resistance in occupied Europe during World War Two. “While
there have been allegations of human rights abuses by the NCRI, these
pale into insignificance by comparison to the butchery of the Iranian
regime.
"The NCRI works with a broad coalition of European parliamentarians,
jurists, lawyers and human rights advocates. It would not enjoy this
supportive relationship if it were a terrorist organisation. NCRI
delegations have recently met with European and Australian
parliamentary representatives.
"We find it shocking that brave people who are fighting for freedom
and against tyranny are being vilified and smeared.
"Contrary to what the Blade says, the report the teens were hanged for
being gay originated with the pro-government Iranian Student News
Agency (ISNA) – not the NCRI. It stated categorically that they were
executed for sodomy. It made no mention of rape or a 13 year old boy.
"Paula Ettelbrick of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights
Commission is reported by the Blade as having condemned OutRage! for
using racially charged language to denounce the executions.
"If she said this, it is a complete fabrication. We have never
attacked anyone’s race or ethnicity.
“Ms Ettelbrick apparently objects to our description of the Iranian
regime in the following terms: ‘This is just the latest barbarity by
the Islamo-fascists in Iran.’”
"We make no apology for denouncing the Iranian dictatorship in these
terms. Its fascist-style tyranny is based on a fundamentalist version
of Islam. The phrase ‘Islamo-fascist’ is used by progressive Muslims
to denounce the fundamentalists and by democratic and left opponents
of the Iranian regime. We agree, and support their struggle.
"We have great respect and admiration for the Blade newspapers, but we
feel their reports on this issue need to be challenged and corrected,”
concluded Mr Tatchell.
Further information: Peter Tatchell +44 (0)20 7403 1790
Rep. Lantos Deplores Iran's Killing of Gays
Subj: Lantos on Iranian youths' execution
Date: 7/28/2005 1:41:58 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time
From: Lynne.Weil@mail.house.gov
To: mpetrelis@aol.com
Sent from the Internet (Details)
July 27, 2005
Contact: Lynne Weil, 202-225-6735
Recent Iranian Executions of Minors and Juvenile Offenders Show Utter Disregard For International Legal Norms and Bigotry, Lantos Says
Washington, DC – Congressman Tom Lantos, the ranking member of the House International Relations Committee, today decried the public flogging and hanging of two Iranian youths as gross violations of Iran’s obligations under international law and disturbing signs of continued bias against homosexuals in Iran.
“This sickening episode shines a bright light on the severe shortcomings of the Iranian legal system,” Lantos said. “No matter what legal sources or traditions a country bases its law upon, there is no justification for whipping and executing people amid an angry mob – particularly not when the convicts committed offenses while they were minors, who are specifically protected under international law. And in this case, authorities apparently chose to play on deep-seated feelings of bigotry toward homosexuality, which can carry the death penalty in Iran.”
Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni were convicted last year of theft, drunkenness and a sexual assault on a 13-year-old boy. They had spent 14 months in prison when their appeal was denied last week; they were each then lashed 228 times in public, and left in the hands of a mob that ended up hanging them. Asgari was 16 and Marhoni 18 when they died.
Lantos, the founding co-chairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, said, “I call on the new Iranian government to immediately announce a moratorium on all executions involving minors or homosexuality, to strictly abide by Iran’s international obligations, and finally to pass long-overdue legislation that abolishes the death penalty for minors.”
Iran is party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which obligates members not to execute anyone for an offence committed when they were under age 18. In addition, the public nature and extent of the flogging raises serious issues under customary international law, as reflected by the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Subj: Lantos on Iranian youths' execution
Date: 7/28/2005 1:41:58 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time
From: Lynne.Weil@mail.house.gov
To: mpetrelis@aol.com
Sent from the Internet (Details)
July 27, 2005
Contact: Lynne Weil, 202-225-6735
Recent Iranian Executions of Minors and Juvenile Offenders Show Utter Disregard For International Legal Norms and Bigotry, Lantos Says
Washington, DC – Congressman Tom Lantos, the ranking member of the House International Relations Committee, today decried the public flogging and hanging of two Iranian youths as gross violations of Iran’s obligations under international law and disturbing signs of continued bias against homosexuals in Iran.
“This sickening episode shines a bright light on the severe shortcomings of the Iranian legal system,” Lantos said. “No matter what legal sources or traditions a country bases its law upon, there is no justification for whipping and executing people amid an angry mob – particularly not when the convicts committed offenses while they were minors, who are specifically protected under international law. And in this case, authorities apparently chose to play on deep-seated feelings of bigotry toward homosexuality, which can carry the death penalty in Iran.”
Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni were convicted last year of theft, drunkenness and a sexual assault on a 13-year-old boy. They had spent 14 months in prison when their appeal was denied last week; they were each then lashed 228 times in public, and left in the hands of a mob that ended up hanging them. Asgari was 16 and Marhoni 18 when they died.
Lantos, the founding co-chairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, said, “I call on the new Iranian government to immediately announce a moratorium on all executions involving minors or homosexuality, to strictly abide by Iran’s international obligations, and finally to pass long-overdue legislation that abolishes the death penalty for minors.”
Iran is party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which obligates members not to execute anyone for an offence committed when they were under age 18. In addition, the public nature and extent of the flogging raises serious issues under customary international law, as reflected by the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
HRC Deletes Iran's Gay Executions Letter From Site
July 28, 2005
Gay City News
Gays in Iran are routinely executed.
By Duncan Osborne
[snip]
“This crime warrants an immediate and strong condemnation from the Department of State,” HRC wrote on July 22.
By July 25, that letter was no longer on HRC’s Web site.
GO TO ARTICLE
July 28, 2005
Gay City News
Gays in Iran are routinely executed.
By Duncan Osborne
[snip]
“This crime warrants an immediate and strong condemnation from the Department of State,” HRC wrote on July 22.
By July 25, that letter was no longer on HRC’s Web site.
GO TO ARTICLE
Iran in the Blade; HRC on the Death Penalty
Jay Smith Brown
Human Rights Campaign
Communications Dept.
Washington, DC
Hi Jay:
Thanks for sending the Blade blog story. It appears as though the Blade posted this story and later updated it to delete certain parts and insert new information, so I appreciate having the original version.
Your note does not address a crucial point I raised in my phone chat with you and Joe Solmonese's assistant Brad, which was a request to the Human Rights Campaign to issue an Action Alert, urging members to call, email, fax and snail mail Secretary Rice and request that she condemn Iran's execution of two gay teens.
So I will repeat my question: Can HRC put out an Action Alert calling on the U.S. State Department to loudly decry the killing of two gay teens in Iran last week?
Also, it is my understanding that HRC is officially neutral on the abolishment of the death penalty. As a queer anti-death penalty activist, I'd like to know if indeed your organization is neither for nor against capitol punishment, or, if HRC has joined with thousands of human rights organizations and advocates around the globe who oppose the death penalty.
Frankly, I hope I am wrong in thinking HRC remains neutral on capitol punishment and would very much like to post a message on my blog proclaiming HRC opposes this barbaric practice.
A prompt reply is requested.
Regards,
Michael
^^^
In a message dated 7/28/2005 6:24:29 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, Jay.Smith.Brown@hrc.org writes:
Michael, I'm sure you saw in today's Blade story. I see you got a statement from the State Dept. Although I don't have any specifics for you, I can say that we, like you, will continue to work strategically to ensure that the truth comes out behind this case.
Best,
Jay
www.washblade.com
Mixed reports on Iran teen hangings
Watchdog groups dispute claims two were executed for being gay
By ELIZABETH WEILL-GREENBERG | Jul 28, 1:49 AM
A photo of two teenaged males being hanged in Iran last week swept across the Internet with claims they were executed for being gay.
The Human Rights Campaign, a Washington, D.C.-based gay rights group, released a letter this week to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice repeating the allegations and urging her to intervene. The U.K.-based gay rights group Outrage, as well as Belgian Foreign Minister Karel de Gucht, condemned the hangings.
But the circumstances that triggered the executions are now being questioned by several human rights groups, which claim the teenagers, Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni, may not have been killed for being gay.
Research conducted by the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International has found, so far, that the teenagers were convicted of and executed for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old male, a crime that occurred when the two teens may have been minors.
Asgari's lawyer, Rohollah Razaz Zadeh, told the Associated Press that Iranian courts are supposed to commute death sentences handed to children to five years in jail.
"The judiciary has trampled its own laws," Razaz Zadeh told AP.
But the lawyer said Iran's Supreme Court upheld the verdict and allowed the execution despite his objections.
It appears that reports claiming the boys were executed for being gay originated with the National Council of Resistance of Iran, an opposition group that is classified as a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department. Accounts of the executions on gay news Web sites referenced reports by the group and its English language news site, www.iranfocus.com.
IGHRC, Amnesty and Human Rights Watch have not yet uncovered evidence that the charges were trumped up, officials with those groups said. Asgari and Marhoni also reportedly received 228 lashings while in detention for drinking and theft.
The human rights groups note that Iran's execution and torture of the teenagers remains appalling, no matter the circumstances.
"It was not a gay case," said Paula Ettelbrick, executive director of the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission, taking issue with the Human Rights Campaign's statement that was quick to condemn the execution as anti-gay.
"We would welcome HRC's involvement in demanding that our government speak out on human rights violations. It was just the wrong case," she said.
Ettelbrick said she was also disturbed by the racially charged language used by some gay rights groups to condemn the execution, such as when Peter Tatchell of Outrage said in a statement, "This is just the latest barbarity by the Islamo-fascists in Iran."
HRC received their information on the executions in Iran primarily from news reports Thursday and Friday, according to Steven Fisher, the group's communications director. An investigation to determine the truth is still needed, he said.
"We don't give one of the most secretive, aggressive nations the benefit of the doubt," Fisher said. "We would be relieved if reports are erroneous that these young Iranian men were punished for something that should never be a crime in any nation."
Congressman Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the House International Relations Committee, blasted the executions as violations of Iran's obligations under international law and signs of bias against gays.
"This sickening episode shines a bright light on the severe shortcomings of the Iranian legal system," Lantos said in a statement. "No matter what legal sources or traditions a country bases its law upon, there is no justification for whipping and executing people amid an angry mob — particularly not when the convicts committed offenses while they were minors, who are specifically protected under international law.
"And in this case, authorities apparently chose to play on deep-seated feelings of bigotry toward homosexuality, which can carry the death penalty in Iran," he added.
Noel Clay, a State Department spokesperson, said Wednesday afternoon that there were no plans to release an official statement about the executions.
But Michael Petrelis, a San Francisco-based gay activist who has focused his blog on the case of the Iranian executions, said he was read the following statement on Wednesday by State Department spokesperson Edgar Vasquez:
"We remain concerned about Iran's judicial process. Defendants are not receiving due process of law, and trials lack procedural safeguards.
"As noted in our country reports on human rights practices, the judge and the prosecutor are the same person, trials are frequently held in closed sessions without access to a lawyer and the right of appeal is not often honored.
"We call upon the government of Iran to vigorously pursue prison reform, cooperate with international investigations of human rights cases and respect international human rights law and practice," the statement concluded.
Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian human rights advocate, said on July 23 that as a result of the executions, her Center for the Protection of Human Rights will intensify its fight against the use of the death penalty in Iran on minors.
[snip]
Jay Smith Brown
Human Rights Campaign
Communications Dept.
Washington, DC
Hi Jay:
Thanks for sending the Blade blog story. It appears as though the Blade posted this story and later updated it to delete certain parts and insert new information, so I appreciate having the original version.
Your note does not address a crucial point I raised in my phone chat with you and Joe Solmonese's assistant Brad, which was a request to the Human Rights Campaign to issue an Action Alert, urging members to call, email, fax and snail mail Secretary Rice and request that she condemn Iran's execution of two gay teens.
So I will repeat my question: Can HRC put out an Action Alert calling on the U.S. State Department to loudly decry the killing of two gay teens in Iran last week?
Also, it is my understanding that HRC is officially neutral on the abolishment of the death penalty. As a queer anti-death penalty activist, I'd like to know if indeed your organization is neither for nor against capitol punishment, or, if HRC has joined with thousands of human rights organizations and advocates around the globe who oppose the death penalty.
Frankly, I hope I am wrong in thinking HRC remains neutral on capitol punishment and would very much like to post a message on my blog proclaiming HRC opposes this barbaric practice.
A prompt reply is requested.
Regards,
Michael
^^^
In a message dated 7/28/2005 6:24:29 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, Jay.Smith.Brown@hrc.org writes:
Michael, I'm sure you saw in today's Blade story. I see you got a statement from the State Dept. Although I don't have any specifics for you, I can say that we, like you, will continue to work strategically to ensure that the truth comes out behind this case.
Best,
Jay
www.washblade.com
Mixed reports on Iran teen hangings
Watchdog groups dispute claims two were executed for being gay
By ELIZABETH WEILL-GREENBERG | Jul 28, 1:49 AM
A photo of two teenaged males being hanged in Iran last week swept across the Internet with claims they were executed for being gay.
The Human Rights Campaign, a Washington, D.C.-based gay rights group, released a letter this week to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice repeating the allegations and urging her to intervene. The U.K.-based gay rights group Outrage, as well as Belgian Foreign Minister Karel de Gucht, condemned the hangings.
But the circumstances that triggered the executions are now being questioned by several human rights groups, which claim the teenagers, Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni, may not have been killed for being gay.
Research conducted by the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International has found, so far, that the teenagers were convicted of and executed for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old male, a crime that occurred when the two teens may have been minors.
Asgari's lawyer, Rohollah Razaz Zadeh, told the Associated Press that Iranian courts are supposed to commute death sentences handed to children to five years in jail.
"The judiciary has trampled its own laws," Razaz Zadeh told AP.
But the lawyer said Iran's Supreme Court upheld the verdict and allowed the execution despite his objections.
It appears that reports claiming the boys were executed for being gay originated with the National Council of Resistance of Iran, an opposition group that is classified as a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department. Accounts of the executions on gay news Web sites referenced reports by the group and its English language news site, www.iranfocus.com.
IGHRC, Amnesty and Human Rights Watch have not yet uncovered evidence that the charges were trumped up, officials with those groups said. Asgari and Marhoni also reportedly received 228 lashings while in detention for drinking and theft.
The human rights groups note that Iran's execution and torture of the teenagers remains appalling, no matter the circumstances.
"It was not a gay case," said Paula Ettelbrick, executive director of the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission, taking issue with the Human Rights Campaign's statement that was quick to condemn the execution as anti-gay.
"We would welcome HRC's involvement in demanding that our government speak out on human rights violations. It was just the wrong case," she said.
Ettelbrick said she was also disturbed by the racially charged language used by some gay rights groups to condemn the execution, such as when Peter Tatchell of Outrage said in a statement, "This is just the latest barbarity by the Islamo-fascists in Iran."
HRC received their information on the executions in Iran primarily from news reports Thursday and Friday, according to Steven Fisher, the group's communications director. An investigation to determine the truth is still needed, he said.
"We don't give one of the most secretive, aggressive nations the benefit of the doubt," Fisher said. "We would be relieved if reports are erroneous that these young Iranian men were punished for something that should never be a crime in any nation."
Congressman Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the House International Relations Committee, blasted the executions as violations of Iran's obligations under international law and signs of bias against gays.
"This sickening episode shines a bright light on the severe shortcomings of the Iranian legal system," Lantos said in a statement. "No matter what legal sources or traditions a country bases its law upon, there is no justification for whipping and executing people amid an angry mob — particularly not when the convicts committed offenses while they were minors, who are specifically protected under international law.
"And in this case, authorities apparently chose to play on deep-seated feelings of bigotry toward homosexuality, which can carry the death penalty in Iran," he added.
Noel Clay, a State Department spokesperson, said Wednesday afternoon that there were no plans to release an official statement about the executions.
But Michael Petrelis, a San Francisco-based gay activist who has focused his blog on the case of the Iranian executions, said he was read the following statement on Wednesday by State Department spokesperson Edgar Vasquez:
"We remain concerned about Iran's judicial process. Defendants are not receiving due process of law, and trials lack procedural safeguards.
"As noted in our country reports on human rights practices, the judge and the prosecutor are the same person, trials are frequently held in closed sessions without access to a lawyer and the right of appeal is not often honored.
"We call upon the government of Iran to vigorously pursue prison reform, cooperate with international investigations of human rights cases and respect international human rights law and practice," the statement concluded.
Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian human rights advocate, said on July 23 that as a result of the executions, her Center for the Protection of Human Rights will intensify its fight against the use of the death penalty in Iran on minors.
[snip]
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
State Department Statement on Iran's Killing of Gays
The following statement was read to me over the telephone this afternoon by Mr. Edgar Vasquez, spokesman for the State Department. It's a shame the U.S. State Department didn't address the homosexual aspects of the killings last week in Iran, but I remain convinced pressure must still be applied to persuade the department to condemn Iran's executions of two gay teens. Mr. Vasquez can be reached at: (202) 647-2492.
"We remain concerned about Iran's judicial process. Defendants are not receiving due process of law, and trials lack procedural safeguards.
"As noted in our country reports on human rights practices, the judge and the prosecutor are the same person, trials are frequently held in closed sessions without access to a lawyer and the right of appeal is not often honored.
"We call upon the government of Iran to vigorously pursue prison reform, cooperate with international investigations of human rights cases and respect international human rights law and practice."
The following statement was read to me over the telephone this afternoon by Mr. Edgar Vasquez, spokesman for the State Department. It's a shame the U.S. State Department didn't address the homosexual aspects of the killings last week in Iran, but I remain convinced pressure must still be applied to persuade the department to condemn Iran's executions of two gay teens. Mr. Vasquez can be reached at: (202) 647-2492.
"We remain concerned about Iran's judicial process. Defendants are not receiving due process of law, and trials lack procedural safeguards.
"As noted in our country reports on human rights practices, the judge and the prosecutor are the same person, trials are frequently held in closed sessions without access to a lawyer and the right of appeal is not often honored.
"We call upon the government of Iran to vigorously pursue prison reform, cooperate with international investigations of human rights cases and respect international human rights law and practice."
AP Reporter Files Story on Iran's Gay Executions
In a message dated 7/27/2005 3:29:02 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, BSCHWEID@ap.org writes:
i filed a story. state department criticized iranian judicial system, but made no mention of sexual orientation or of execution as a means of punishment.
My reply to Barry Schweid:
thanks so much. i will look for your story on the web. disappointed the state department didn't address the homosexual aspects of this case.
In a message dated 7/27/2005 3:29:02 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, BSCHWEID@ap.org writes:
i filed a story. state department criticized iranian judicial system, but made no mention of sexual orientation or of execution as a means of punishment.
My reply to Barry Schweid:
thanks so much. i will look for your story on the web. disappointed the state department didn't address the homosexual aspects of this case.
Gay Russians Interview Gay Iranians About Killings
07/25/2005 16:55:33
Exclusive interview with gay activists in Iran on situation of gays, recent executions of gay teens and the future
GayRussia.Ru, interview conducted by Nikolai Alekseev
Project GayRussia.Ru asked people to sign the letter to the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran and to the Russian President Vladimir Putin against barbarism that took place in Iran, the execution of two young gays on 19 July 2005. The letters were sent last Saturday.
When we ask people to support and join our actions and when we ourselves responded to the international appeal of the British gay group Outrage!, we also have the obligation to provide you with some follow up and further investigation into what happened. Here now we offer you the testimony of our contacts inside Iran. For their own safety, we will not publish their photo or contact details.
But if you want to send a message to them please e-mail to contacts@gayrussia.ru and we will forward your message to Iran. Our contacts in Iran also collect information on the actions of support from different countries connected with the executions of teen gays. Please send us the information you published or campaigns you conducted locally or internationally. We will transfer everything to our contacts in Iran. After that they will be able to include all the information concerning support in the next issue of their electronic magazine. It will show to local Iranian gays and lesbians that they are not alone as they do not have much information from other sources! Write to us at contacts@gayrussia.ru
We conducted the interview with the publishers and distributors of MAHA, Iran’s Homosexual E-Magazine in Persian (it also means “We” or “Us” in Persian language). They are located in Iran and they gladly answered to our questions about the situation of homosexuals in Iran as well as the perception of the recent event that sparked international outrage with Iranian policy.
GayRussia: Can you tell us a bit about the situation in Iran in terms of access to the information for sexual minorities? And also we would like to know about your own MAHA magazine.
MAHA: Last year, the Persian Internet operator company shut down 15 gay websites in Iran. To strike back and to provide information about GLBT rights in Iran, and to help to create a nationwide network for GLBT in the country, a few gays decided to start publishing a newspaper without a website, as they knew that the authority would close down their website, so they decided to publish a PDF format magazine and send it by email to their readers.
After 8 months of hard work, 8 issues and 4 supplements appeared, covering issues such as gay and family, depression among GLBT, a report about lesbians in Iran, etc. MAHA also publishes a separate supplement for gay aid and to help GLBT to find a friend. Today MAHA has two editors, one gay and one lesbian, and MAHA’s readers are all over the country and even some Iranian GLBT in exile. Currently 600 subscribers receive our magazine and we know that more than 1000 people are reading it. This number is growing every day!
PGLO (Persian gays and lesbians organisation) is an Iranian GLBT organisation working from abroad. They publish a PDF format magazine and most important they send a weekly radio program by email to people inside Iran.
G.R.: Do you have any further details on what happened on July 19th except what was published in the international media?
MAHA: Unfortunately not much. The authorities try to give as little information as possible about issues which may cause international reaction. And as you may know there is already a worldwide reaction and protests against the execution of the two boys.
We know that the two boys (with the names of Mohammad Askari and Ayad Marhuni) belonged to Iran’s Arab minority, which live in Khuzestan province, a province bordering Iraq. During the 8 years war between Iran and Iraq, the Arabs were forced to leave their home and some of them went to Mashhad in North East of Iran. The two boys were from one of these families.
We also know that the authorities have been giving conflicting messages. Some are denying that the boys were persecuted because of being gays and they put more emphasize on the boy’s crime (allegedly they have raped a 13 years old boy), but according to the boys lawyer the boys had said that they did not know that such acts (sexual relations with the person of the same sex) were punished by execution. It shows that the boys were executed because of having same-sex intercourse.
The problem in Iran is that there is no harmonised authority in the country and one local authority sometimes makes a decision contrary to the other part of the country.
G.R.: Do you see a possible link with the killing and the result of the recent presidential elections?
MAHA: It’s hard to say and it’s too early to see such a link. We know that the newly elected president is a conservative hardliner, we know that while he was a mayor of Tehran he was very much against cultural activities (such culture activities that promote modern western life style). But we also know that he could not resist the democracy movement and NGO, as we would like to do as the desire for democracy, freedom and separation of religion from politics is indeed strong in Iran.
G.R.: Was this execution event reported in the media in Iran or not?
MAHA: Yes, it was reputed and even some of international reaction to the event was reported but as you can guess the media is controlled by the regime to a large extent.
However, inside Iran, there is a large number of NGO like children’s rights, women’s rights, human rights groups etc. but also Ms. Shirin Ebedadi (peace Noble prize winner) protested against the execution. The situation in Iran is so that no one can talk openly about GLBT rights so those who protested, they protested against execution of children (one of the boys was clearly under 18 years old). The other problem is the conflicting messages from authorities, so no one wants to defend someone who raped a young 13 years old boy, as authority claims now.
G.R.: What is the situation of gays in Iran? How can gays live in the atmosphere of constant fear?
MAHA: The GLBT situation in Iran has changed over the past 26 years. The regime does not systematically persecute gays anymore, there are still some gay websites, there are some parks and cinemas where everyone knows that these places are meeting places for gays, furthermore it is legal in Iran that transsexual applies for sex change and it is fully accepted by the government. There are some medias which sometimes (not often) write about such issues. Having said that, the Islamic law, according to which gays punishment is death is still in force but it is thought not much followed by the regime nowadays.
You may remember the Soviet days, there was not much info about homosexuality in your country, families and the society could not accept it and the regime did not allow GLBT to have their organisations or to spread info about the issue. The situation is pretty much the same in Iran today. But thanks to Internet and contact with the International community, people get the info and Iran society has changed a lot and support for GLBT rights is growing in Iran though we still have a long way to go.
In the recent elections there was a candidate who put “RESPECT FOR DIFFERENT LIFE STYLES” in his program. And it was something new. We do not know if he really meant gay life but we know that his front is not anti gay. In addition there is a famous political person, Mr. Akbar Ganji, who also openly talks about RESPECT FOR DIFFERENT LIFESTYLES. Add to that GLBT which is still in the beginning of its journey but it is young and determined to fight for GLBT rights. There are also opposition political groups in exile and some of them voiced their support for GLBT rights in their program.
So, on the whole, we are optimistic about the future as Iran’s situation can not continue like that and people are pushing for reforms and changes.
G.R.: How do Iranian gays live knowing that they fear death penalty in their motherland and that in other countries same sex marriages are already allowed?
MAHA: Life is not easy, it is mixed with fear, uncertainty and self oppression. The biggest problem we are facing is that GLBT do not have info about their sexual desire. They simply can not find explanation to it. Why they feel as they feel (feeling for persons of the same sex), they do not know what it is. What it’s called etc. but when they get the knowledge, then it is becoming much easier. Not all Iranians have access to the Internet, there are no gay bars or clubs, so creating a network of GLBT is very difficult. Bear in mind that after 8 months of publishing MAHA, still a great number of GLBT people have not got the news.
Many GLBT people are living with denial of their own sexuality, or they get married in hope to disguise and hide their deep homosexual desire or in hope to be cured of it.
G.R.: What can we do from abroad to help you?
MAHA: You have already done too much for us and we are very thankful for it. Iran’s GLBT struggle is in its beginning and no doubt that we have a lot of challenges in front of us and there are a lot of obstacles we have to overcome. The authorities are not going to accept our right easily. And they may even take a hard stand against us. So we are indeed in need of International GLBT support. Please do keep an eye on Iran and demand a better life and respect for Iranian GLBT. Your support means a lot for us and gives us energy and encouragement. Despite the fact that you may not hear from Iran GLBT regarding your support, please rest assured that we hear about it and we welcome it but sometimes it is not easy to work and be in touch with our friends abroad. We would like to take the opportunity and via you say a big THANK YOU to ALL GLBT groups and individuals worldwide who are thinking of us and supporting us.
G.R.: Thank you very much for your answers in such a difficult time. We are here to support you and please do not hesitate to ask for any help you might need.
07/25/2005 16:55:33
Exclusive interview with gay activists in Iran on situation of gays, recent executions of gay teens and the future
GayRussia.Ru, interview conducted by Nikolai Alekseev
Project GayRussia.Ru asked people to sign the letter to the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran and to the Russian President Vladimir Putin against barbarism that took place in Iran, the execution of two young gays on 19 July 2005. The letters were sent last Saturday.
When we ask people to support and join our actions and when we ourselves responded to the international appeal of the British gay group Outrage!, we also have the obligation to provide you with some follow up and further investigation into what happened. Here now we offer you the testimony of our contacts inside Iran. For their own safety, we will not publish their photo or contact details.
But if you want to send a message to them please e-mail to contacts@gayrussia.ru and we will forward your message to Iran. Our contacts in Iran also collect information on the actions of support from different countries connected with the executions of teen gays. Please send us the information you published or campaigns you conducted locally or internationally. We will transfer everything to our contacts in Iran. After that they will be able to include all the information concerning support in the next issue of their electronic magazine. It will show to local Iranian gays and lesbians that they are not alone as they do not have much information from other sources! Write to us at contacts@gayrussia.ru
We conducted the interview with the publishers and distributors of MAHA, Iran’s Homosexual E-Magazine in Persian (it also means “We” or “Us” in Persian language). They are located in Iran and they gladly answered to our questions about the situation of homosexuals in Iran as well as the perception of the recent event that sparked international outrage with Iranian policy.
GayRussia: Can you tell us a bit about the situation in Iran in terms of access to the information for sexual minorities? And also we would like to know about your own MAHA magazine.
MAHA: Last year, the Persian Internet operator company shut down 15 gay websites in Iran. To strike back and to provide information about GLBT rights in Iran, and to help to create a nationwide network for GLBT in the country, a few gays decided to start publishing a newspaper without a website, as they knew that the authority would close down their website, so they decided to publish a PDF format magazine and send it by email to their readers.
After 8 months of hard work, 8 issues and 4 supplements appeared, covering issues such as gay and family, depression among GLBT, a report about lesbians in Iran, etc. MAHA also publishes a separate supplement for gay aid and to help GLBT to find a friend. Today MAHA has two editors, one gay and one lesbian, and MAHA’s readers are all over the country and even some Iranian GLBT in exile. Currently 600 subscribers receive our magazine and we know that more than 1000 people are reading it. This number is growing every day!
PGLO (Persian gays and lesbians organisation) is an Iranian GLBT organisation working from abroad. They publish a PDF format magazine and most important they send a weekly radio program by email to people inside Iran.
G.R.: Do you have any further details on what happened on July 19th except what was published in the international media?
MAHA: Unfortunately not much. The authorities try to give as little information as possible about issues which may cause international reaction. And as you may know there is already a worldwide reaction and protests against the execution of the two boys.
We know that the two boys (with the names of Mohammad Askari and Ayad Marhuni) belonged to Iran’s Arab minority, which live in Khuzestan province, a province bordering Iraq. During the 8 years war between Iran and Iraq, the Arabs were forced to leave their home and some of them went to Mashhad in North East of Iran. The two boys were from one of these families.
We also know that the authorities have been giving conflicting messages. Some are denying that the boys were persecuted because of being gays and they put more emphasize on the boy’s crime (allegedly they have raped a 13 years old boy), but according to the boys lawyer the boys had said that they did not know that such acts (sexual relations with the person of the same sex) were punished by execution. It shows that the boys were executed because of having same-sex intercourse.
The problem in Iran is that there is no harmonised authority in the country and one local authority sometimes makes a decision contrary to the other part of the country.
G.R.: Do you see a possible link with the killing and the result of the recent presidential elections?
MAHA: It’s hard to say and it’s too early to see such a link. We know that the newly elected president is a conservative hardliner, we know that while he was a mayor of Tehran he was very much against cultural activities (such culture activities that promote modern western life style). But we also know that he could not resist the democracy movement and NGO, as we would like to do as the desire for democracy, freedom and separation of religion from politics is indeed strong in Iran.
G.R.: Was this execution event reported in the media in Iran or not?
MAHA: Yes, it was reputed and even some of international reaction to the event was reported but as you can guess the media is controlled by the regime to a large extent.
However, inside Iran, there is a large number of NGO like children’s rights, women’s rights, human rights groups etc. but also Ms. Shirin Ebedadi (peace Noble prize winner) protested against the execution. The situation in Iran is so that no one can talk openly about GLBT rights so those who protested, they protested against execution of children (one of the boys was clearly under 18 years old). The other problem is the conflicting messages from authorities, so no one wants to defend someone who raped a young 13 years old boy, as authority claims now.
G.R.: What is the situation of gays in Iran? How can gays live in the atmosphere of constant fear?
MAHA: The GLBT situation in Iran has changed over the past 26 years. The regime does not systematically persecute gays anymore, there are still some gay websites, there are some parks and cinemas where everyone knows that these places are meeting places for gays, furthermore it is legal in Iran that transsexual applies for sex change and it is fully accepted by the government. There are some medias which sometimes (not often) write about such issues. Having said that, the Islamic law, according to which gays punishment is death is still in force but it is thought not much followed by the regime nowadays.
You may remember the Soviet days, there was not much info about homosexuality in your country, families and the society could not accept it and the regime did not allow GLBT to have their organisations or to spread info about the issue. The situation is pretty much the same in Iran today. But thanks to Internet and contact with the International community, people get the info and Iran society has changed a lot and support for GLBT rights is growing in Iran though we still have a long way to go.
In the recent elections there was a candidate who put “RESPECT FOR DIFFERENT LIFE STYLES” in his program. And it was something new. We do not know if he really meant gay life but we know that his front is not anti gay. In addition there is a famous political person, Mr. Akbar Ganji, who also openly talks about RESPECT FOR DIFFERENT LIFESTYLES. Add to that GLBT which is still in the beginning of its journey but it is young and determined to fight for GLBT rights. There are also opposition political groups in exile and some of them voiced their support for GLBT rights in their program.
So, on the whole, we are optimistic about the future as Iran’s situation can not continue like that and people are pushing for reforms and changes.
G.R.: How do Iranian gays live knowing that they fear death penalty in their motherland and that in other countries same sex marriages are already allowed?
MAHA: Life is not easy, it is mixed with fear, uncertainty and self oppression. The biggest problem we are facing is that GLBT do not have info about their sexual desire. They simply can not find explanation to it. Why they feel as they feel (feeling for persons of the same sex), they do not know what it is. What it’s called etc. but when they get the knowledge, then it is becoming much easier. Not all Iranians have access to the Internet, there are no gay bars or clubs, so creating a network of GLBT is very difficult. Bear in mind that after 8 months of publishing MAHA, still a great number of GLBT people have not got the news.
Many GLBT people are living with denial of their own sexuality, or they get married in hope to disguise and hide their deep homosexual desire or in hope to be cured of it.
G.R.: What can we do from abroad to help you?
MAHA: You have already done too much for us and we are very thankful for it. Iran’s GLBT struggle is in its beginning and no doubt that we have a lot of challenges in front of us and there are a lot of obstacles we have to overcome. The authorities are not going to accept our right easily. And they may even take a hard stand against us. So we are indeed in need of International GLBT support. Please do keep an eye on Iran and demand a better life and respect for Iranian GLBT. Your support means a lot for us and gives us energy and encouragement. Despite the fact that you may not hear from Iran GLBT regarding your support, please rest assured that we hear about it and we welcome it but sometimes it is not easy to work and be in touch with our friends abroad. We would like to take the opportunity and via you say a big THANK YOU to ALL GLBT groups and individuals worldwide who are thinking of us and supporting us.
G.R.: Thank you very much for your answers in such a difficult time. We are here to support you and please do not hesitate to ask for any help you might need.
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.
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
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.
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