Thursday, June 04, 2015

Call to Action: July 19 = 10th Anniversary of Iran's Gay Hangings

Dear LGBT Human Rights Advocates and Allies,

On Sunday, July 19, members of Gays Without Borders and the African Human Rights Coalition will hold a vigil at Harvey Milk Plaza in the Castro district of San Francisco, to mark the 10th anniversary of Iran hanging two gay teenagers, Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni.


We will have dual purposes, to condemn the hangings on July 19, 2005, in Mashad, Iran, and the country's oppression of LGBT people, while also expressing deep solidarity with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Iranians.

Global activists are asked to participate in their local city or town on July 19 and stage their own event, especially if they live near an Iranian diplomatic mission.

This list of diplomatic missions is extensive and will help you identify potential sites for an action in your city: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_diplomatic_missions_of_Iran.

We've heard from friends and colleagues in London and Washington expressing interest and strong support for organizing vigils in those cities, with more details to soon follow.

Please join with the LGBT community of San Francisco on July 19 and make it a global day of action and cooperation. Be sure to share this call-to-action via social media far and wide.

Let us know if you and your local activist group will organize an action on this important day. We need you and look forward to hearing from you.

In solidarity,
Melanie Nathan, African Human Rights Coalition
Michael Petrelis, Gays Without Borders

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