Petrelis Files

Victory! U.N. Grants Asylum Status to Gay Iranian

Do you recall Doug Ireland's reporting last September about Amir, a gay Iranian arrested and tortured by Iran's police forces? Amir was lashed 100 times for the crime, as the cops cracked down on gays using the web to find each other. A very depressing story, right?

Well, there's finally some good news to share about the case. An email arrived today from our friends at the Persian Gay & Lesbian Organization, with excellent news about Amir and his bid for asylum with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Here is the full-text of the email:

Amir was recognized as a refugee.

Amir is a 23-year-old gay man who was persecuted and arrested in Iran and tolerated 100 lashes and had fled to the UNHCR in Turkey and looked for asylum, after 7 months waiting the UNHCR recognized him on Feb, 25, 2005 and he is going to be sent to the 3rd safe country.

Today Amir in his last talk to the PGLO's representative said:

"I am so thankful for UNHCR and each person's efforts and supports and I will never forget you" also he replied:

"I am so happy. I thank God to save me from stress. Right now I can feel a new calm life. I am indebted to the PGLO, Ms. Jessica Stern and Scott Long from HRW, Mr. Ally from IGLHRC, Mr. Doug Ireland the American journalist and thousands of friends who sent their support letters to the UNHCR."

This is a very hopeful event for sexual minorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran. During last months the PGLO could have some meetings with the UNHCR and successfully saved some Iranian LGBT people.

Persian Gay & Lesbian Organization is thankful to all those people who have supported us by their letters, email, fax, specially HRW, IGLHRC, IOIR, IFIR and wishes one day that there is no refugee seeker in the world.

Please visit our website and sign our petition. (www.pglo.org)

Best regards,
Taraneh FOROUHAR
Second Secretary of the PGLO

This victory for Iranian gays and lesbians and human rights activists around the world should be widely celebrated. However, we must not forget all of the other gays and lesbians in Iran who live in fear and daily risk being tortured or executed.

We all remember the two gay teenagers publicly hanged in July in Mashad for the "crime" of being homosexual. This act of barbarism was carried out because of Islamic law prohibiting gay love. The PGLO dutifully reminds us of what the law actually says:

Article 111: Lavat is punishable by death so long as both the active and passive partners are mature, of sound mind, and have acted of free will.


But this law is still not enough to force two American gay groups, the Washington-based Human Rights [sic] Campaign and the gay Muslim group Al-Fatih to adopt formal written positions opposing the death penalty. How many gays must first be executed before these organizations join the civilized world and demand an end to capital punishment?