July 19 = Vancouver, Vienna & Frankfurt

Today's July 19 updates are brought to us by the letters V and F, representing Vancouver, Vienna and Frankfurt, plus newly revised information from the letter B, as in Berlin, as they would say on "Sesame Street."

Our Vancouver pal Finn Kovaltsenko has confirmed the time and location of his event. Finn blogs at his political site, and last year he knocked himself out informing Canadians, gay and straight, about the plight of gay Iranians. He also pushed his government to condemn the hangings in Mashad, Iran.

And thanks to our friend K.O. in Vienna, who asked the leaders of HOSI Wien to organize an event, gay Austrians are now on board. Kurt Krikler of HOSI Wien emailed this morning to announce their participation.

Doug Ireland says this morning that the LSVD, the Lesbian and Gay Federation in Germany, is pulling together an action in Frankfurt, and one event for Berlin, more information coming shortly.

Feels very empowering to add these cities from Austria, Canada and Germany to the expanding number of places joining this global effort for gay Iranians and against the death penalty.

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

Latest cities listed below and the full updated list is posted here. Please link to the update list page. Thanks.

Berlin
Location: To be announced
Time: To be announced
Contact: Lesben- und Schwulenverband in Deutschland e. V. or just LSVD, http://typo3.lsvd.de/229.0.html

Frankfurt
Location: To be announced
Time: To be announced
Contact: Lesben- und Schwulenverband in Deutschland e. V. or just LSVD, http://typo3.lsvd.de/229.0.html

Vancouver
Location: Vancouver Art Gallery - Robson Plaza
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Contact: Finn Kovaltsenko, aidengreer@shaw.ca

Vienna
Location: To be announced
Time: To be announced
Contact: Kurt Krikler, Kurt.Krickler@hosiwien.at

Reuters photo: Tatchell Slams Pope "Betty" Benedict

Get a load of OutRage!'s Peter Tatchell at EuroPride held over the weekend in London. That queen just can't keep herself out of the news with her trouble-making.

(Credit: REUTERS/Stephen Hird)

(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.

-

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

US Reps to Putin: We Condemn Moscow Gay Bashing

I am not in the habit of sharing press releases from politicians on my blog, but this one from Barney is well worthing posting, in full.

What a great treat it is that as the USA begins the 4th of July weekend and celebration of America's founding, dozens of our congressmembers are signing their names to a statement standing up for gay rights and deploring the attacks on our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters in Moscow in May.

I offer heartfelt gratitude to Barney and his staff, not to mention the signatories, for speaking out about gay issues beyond America's borders.

Barney, thank you.

Barney Frank
Congressman, 4th District, Massachusetts
2252 Rayburn Building · Washington, D.C. 20515 · (202) 225-5931
www.house.gov/frank

For Immediate Release
Contact: Daniel McGlinchey 202.225.3548
June 30, 2006

HOUSE MEMBERS CONDEMN GAY BASHING IN RUSSIA

With Russian President Vladimir Putin about to step onto the international stage as his country prepares to host the G-8 summit in St. Petersburg next month, a bipartisan group of U.S. House members today focused attention inside Russia as they condemned the recent anti-gay violence that occurred during the country's first gay pride festival in the Russian capital.

Joining international criticism of the brutal attacks against gay and lesbian marchers by skinheads and radical nationalists in Moscow last month, 50 federal lawmakers today sent a letter to Putin denouncing the violence and criticizing the actions of Moscow's mayor, which they believe helped stoke an atmosphere of hostility against gays.

Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov officially cited the threat of violence when denying the parade permit, but his subsequent public statement that "such a parade is inadmissible in our country above all for moral reasons," as well as the deputy mayor's description of gay festivals as "propaganda of immorality," revealed entrenched anti-gay animus. Some religious leaders also led a pressure campaign against the march, with the leader of Russia's Muslims calling for a "violent mass protest," adding that "if they come out into the streets anyway, they should only be beaten up."

In their letter to Putin, the U.S. lawmakers say, in part, "We believe that the mayor's public statements and his banning of the parade itself -- as well as the fact that provocative and violently anti-gay statements by religious leaders and others went unrepudiated by elected officials -- helped create a situation in which violence against gay and lesbian people was in fact more likely to happen, if not inevitable."

Calling violence against people based on sexual orientation outrageous and unacceptable, the lawmakers urge Putin to "publicly make clear this sentiment to those who would seek to do harm to gay and lesbian individuals, to public officials and civil leaders who provoke or inadequately respond to such violence, and to the gay and lesbian citizens of Moscow and beyond who deserve to live, gather and associate without fear of violence."

Putin has always been silent on gay issues, and the Kremlin has maintained its reticence even in the wake of the recent attacks.

"It would be particularly appropriate," added Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA), "for President Putin to speak out against these attacks and help prevent future abuses now that Russia holds the chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers within the Council of Europe, a body dedicated to defending human rights and promoting rule of law."

The letter was organized by Cong. Frank, the senior Democrat on the Committee on Financial Services, and was signed by a number of leading House members on international affairs and human rights issues, including Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the second ranking Democrat in the House; Tom Lantos (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the International Relations Committee; Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) and Nita Lowey (D-NY), the chairman and ranking Democrat, respectively, on the House Appropriations subcommittee on foreign aid; James Leach (R-IA), a senior Republican on the International Relations Committee; and Chris Shays (R-CT) and Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), the chairman and ranking member, respectively, of a subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats, and International Relations.

A copy of the letter is attached.

June 30, 2006

His Excellency Vladimir V. Putin
President of the Russian Federation
4 Staraya Square
Moscow 103132 Russia

Dear President Putin,

We write as members of the United States Congress to express our dismay over the riots and violence against gay and lesbian marchers in Moscow during a gay pride parade in late May.

It seems to us evident that any government of the people would seek to protect all people, so we were very disappointed that Moscow mayor Luzhkov claimed in denying the parade permit that he would not be able to ensure the safety of the marchers.

We believe that the mayor's public statements and his banning of the parade itself -- as well as the fact that provocative and violently anti-gay statements by religious leaders and others went unrepudiated by elected officials -- helped create a situation in which violence against gay and lesbian people was in fact more likely to happen, if not inevitable.

In fact, given reports that some police stood by while gay and lesbian marchers were attacked, it is difficult for us to believe that the police were unable to protect the marchers, but instead were simply unwilling to do so.

We hope you agree that violence against people based on sexual orientation -- people who are doing no harm to anyone else - is outrageous and not acceptable. We urge you to publicly make clear this sentiment to those who would seek to do harm to gay and lesbian individuals, to public officials and civil leaders who provoke or inadequately respond to such violence, and to the gay and lesbian citizens of Moscow and beyond who deserve to live, gather and associate without fear of violence.

REP. BARNEY FRANK
REP. SHERWOOD BOEHLERT
REP. STENY H. HOYER
REP. TOM LANTOS
REP. MICHAEL N. CASTLE
REP. JAMES A. LEACH
REP. NITA M. LOWEY
REP. GARY L. ACKERMAN
REP. CHRISTOPHER SHAYS
REP. CAROLYN B. MALONEY
REP. JOSEPH CROWLEY
REP. DENNIS J. KUCINICH
REP. JAMES P. McGOVERN
REP. STEVEN R. ROTHMAN
REP. JERROLD NADLER
REP. LOIS CAPPS
REP. MICHAEL R. McNULTY
REP. DONALD M. PAYNE
REP. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY
REP. RUBÉN HINOJOSA
REP. SAM FARR
REP. TAMMY BALDWIN
REP. LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD
REP. RUSH D. HOLT
REP. LUIS V. GUTIERREZ
REP. MARTIN T. MEEHAN
REP. FRANK PALLONE, JR.
REP. EDOLPHUS TOWNS
REP. PETER A. DeFAZIO
REP. STENY H. HOYER
REP. JIM KOLBE
REP. HOWARD L. BERMAN
REP. ROBERT WEXLER
REP. MAXINE WATERS
REP. EARL BLUMENAUER
REP. ELIOT L. ENGEL
REP. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN
REP. RAÚL M. GRIJALVA
REP. MARY BONO
REP. CAROLYN McCARTHY
REP. JIM McDERMOTT
REP. SHERROD BROWN
REP. BARBARA LEE
REP. KENDRICK B. MEEK
REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ
REP. GWEN MOORE
REP. ZOE LOFGREN
REP. JOHN W. OLVER
REP. LINDA T. SÁNCHEZ
REP. WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT

Stockholm, Marseilles Join July 19 Vigils for Gay Iranians

I've been informed by Doug Ireland in NYC that two more cities have been added to the expanding list of cities participating in the July 19 actions and vigils for gay Iranians.

Doug has received word from veteran global gay activist Bill Schiller in Stockholm that a vigil will happen in that city at the Iranian Embassy, and Doug has also heard from Louis-George Tin, leader of IDAHO, International Day Against Homophobia, that an event will take place in Marseilles, location and time to be determined.

These cities have been added to the updated list. If your city is not on the list, how about organizing a vigil or speak out where you live? There is plenty of time before July 19 to pull together an event. Send me an email if you need assistance in organizing something on that day.

Marseilles
Location: To be announced
Time: To be announced
Contact: To be announced

Stockholm
Location: Iranian Embassy
Time: to be announced
Contact: Bill Schiller and Tupilak, bill.schiller@sr.se

Tehran Gays Light Candles on July 19; Sacramento Vigil Announced

The following statement was issued today by Mr. Arsham Parsi, spokesperson for the Persian Gay and Lesbian Organization, after I requested he work with me to find a way for gay and lesbian Iranians, and their allies to participate in the July 19 day of global actions, that does not jeopardize the lives and liberties of gays and lesbians in Iran, and we agreed on a simple idea: the lighting of candles.

"Individual gays and lesbians in Iran, in the privacy and safety of their homes, on July 19, will light candles in solidarity with the global vigils for the two gay teenagers hanged in Mashad," Parsi commented. "Even though they can't gather in public to demand respect of their human rights, gay and lesbian Iranians will participate in the worldwide action by lighting candles, symbolizing freedom and democracy."

Mr. Arsham Parsi, an Iranian gay man now living in Toronto, where he will stage a vigil on July 19, place and time to be announced, said on behalf of his group PGLO:

“We enthusiastically support the call for demonstrations on July 19, and we are very grateful to our brothers and sisters around the world for organizing these demonstrations for beleaguered Iranian gay people, who retain hope for change."

Tehran now becomes the eighth city participating in the July 19 action.

And thanks to veteran observer of the right wing fundamentalist network and gay activist Jerry Sloan, an event will take place in Sacramento, at the Lambda Community Center, 1927 L Street. If you live near Sacramento, the ninth city to participate, please join Sloan for his vigil.

The following listings have been added to the updated list posted here.

Sacramento
Location: Lambda Community Center, 1927 L Street
Time: To be announced
Contact: Jerry Sloan, projtocsin@yahoo.com

Tehran
Location: Not to be announced
Time: All day and evening
Contact: arsham@pglo.net

Gay Iranian Leader's Plea: Toronto Vigil Help Needed

This plea for help comes from our friend, the very brave gay Iranian leader Arsham Parsi, who recently moved to Toronto. He needs help organizing a vigil on July 19 in his new city. If you live in Toronto and can assist Arsham to get the ball rolling up there, please contact him directly. His email is at the end of his appeal. Let's all pitch in and do what we can for Arsham and gay Iranians on the day of global actions.

My name is Arsham Parsi -- I am a gay Iranian refugee, recently granted political asylum in Canada, and I am the human rights secretary of the Persian Gay and Lesbian Organization (PGLO), the largest gay Iranian group with some 29,000 people on our mailing list both inside and outside Iran.

I am writing to request your help on behalf of gay Iranians. July 19 is the first anniversary of the execution by public hanging of two gay Iranian teenagers, killed by the Islamic Republic of Iran because they were homosexual. Demonstrations and vigils are being organized all over the world on July 19 at the call of, and sponsored by, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), the Paris-based International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO), the British gay rights group OutRage, and the PGLO.

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.

I need your organization's help, or any individual's help in organizing demonstrations and vigils here in Canada. Because I am only a new resident of your beautiful and free country (I've only been here two months), I do not have the knowledge or the contacts necessary for me and the handful of my gay Iranian friends already refugees here in Canada to organize such a vigil or demonstration by
ourselves alone.

We gay Iranians urgently need your help. Can you contact me by e-mailing me at hrc@pglo.net -- or, since time is of the essence given the rapid approach of July 19, it is even better if you can telephone me here in Toronto at 416-985-PGLO.

I thank you in advance for your cooperation in standing up for persecuted gay Iranians, and I look forward to speaking with you and working with you.

Sincerely Yours,
Arsham PARSI
Spokesperson
Email: arsham@pglo.net
Persian Gay & Lesbian Organization

IGLHRC Organizes July 19 NYC Action at Iran's UN Mission

The momentum by US gay groups and individuals to organize actions to remember Iran's hanging of two gay teenagers last summer and support Iranian gays and lesbians continues to grow.

I received a call from friends at IGLHRC informing me they're organizing a protest at Iran's mission to the UN on July 19. Yes, we now have our seventh city on the growing list of places where actions are scheduled.

Below is the editorial that will appear in Gay City News tomorrow, announcing IGLHRC's coming on board and urging all New Yorkers to show up at Iran's mission in three weeks.

I am also linking to Doug Ireland's latest column on Iran that will be in the same issue of GCN, which he is sharing on his blog. It's terrific recap of the tragic hangings and efforts to help our Iranian brothers and sisters.

From GCN:

JOIN THE JULY 19 DEMONSTRATION AT THE IRANIAN U.N. MISSION

Over the past year, Gay City News has devoted considerable space to reporting and documenting the horrific reign of terror that the Islamic Republic of Iran is inflicting on its gay and lesbian citizens. This campaign includes Internet entrapment, blackmail to force arrested gays to inform on others, torture and executions of those found guilty of engaging in "homosexual acts" and of gays who have been forced to confess to "crimes" they never committed.

As Doug Ireland reports on this page, July 19 marks the first anniversary of the inhuman public hanging of two gay teenagers—an act that symbolizes the anti-gay brutality of the Tehran regime.

Gay City News urges New Yorkers to join those around the world who will be protesting on July 19 in solidarity with gay Iranians, and endorses those demonstrations and vigils worldwide.

We urge all New Yorkers, gay and straight, to join the demonstration organized here by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission in front of the Iranian Mission to the United Nations at 622 Third Avenue, at 5 p.m. on Thursday, July 19. Gay City News believes that it would be shameful and tragic if—in the city where the modern gay movement began with the Stonewall Riots 37 years ago—the LGBT community remained silent and immobile in the face of the lethal wave of anti-gay repression unfolding in Iran.—The Editors

Follow this link to the list of seven cities now participating in the July 19 actions. I will update this page when more cities get organized.

DC's July 19 Vigil for Gay Iran Organized by New Republic's Anderson

I am very pleased to announce that a sixth city, Washington, DC, has been added to the list of cities organizing events on July 19 to commemorate the two gay teenagers hanged by Iran last summer, and to support gays and lesbians and human rights advocates inside Iran.

Rob Anderson, a writer at the New Republic and a gay man, has stepped forward to pull together an action on July 19 in the nation's capitol, in Dupont Circle at 5 pm at the fountain in the park.

You may recall that Anderson last October wrote a profound article for the New Republic about Iran's gay population and how US gay groups are not doing all they can to assist gays and lesbians in Iran.

If you haven't read Anderson's excellent column, you should, if only to see how little has changed in the months since he wrote it. And if you did read it, check it out again because it is still very relevant. Click here to read it.

Here is the updated list of cities participating in the July 19 actions:

Amsterdam
Location: Homo-Monument
Time: To be announced
Contact: Mike Tidmus, tidmus@mac.com

London
Location: House of Commons, Committee Room 12
Guest Speakers: Chris Bryant MP, Jean Lambert MEP, Iranian gay activist, Simon Forbes and Peter Tatchell
Time: 6:30 pm
Contacts: Peter Tatchell, peter@tatchell.freeserve.co.uk
& Brett Lock, brettlock@gmail.com

Provincetown
Location: Town Hall Square
Time: To be announced
Contact: Andrew Sullivan, andsul@aol.com

San Diego
Location: U.S. Federal Building
Time: 4:00 pm
Contact: Michael Mussman, michaelmussman@yahoo.com

San Francisco
Location: Harvey Milk Plaza, Castro and Market Streets
Time: 5:00 pm
Contact: Michael Petrelis, mpetrelis@aol.com

Washington, DC
Location: Dupont Circle Fountain
Time: 5:00 pm
Contact: Rob Anderson, rcand@mac.com

There's still plenty of time for other cities and activists to join us on July 19. Why not organize an event in your city?

Iran: Stop Killing Gays & Kids!

19 July 2006 = International Day of Action Against Homophobic Persecution in Iran

(London – 26 June 2006) To mark the first anniversary of Iran's hanging of two gay teenagers, Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni, gay campaign groups OutRage! and IDAHO, International Day Against Homophobia, have declared 19 July 2006 an International Day of Action Against Homophobic Persecution in Iran (IDAAHOPI).

They are calling for worldwide protests against the “murderous homophobic Iranian regime” and “in commemoration of Asgari and Marhoni, the two gay teenagers executed in the city of Mashhad on 19 July last year.”

Shocking new revelations concerning the executions follow below.

Photos of the hanging of Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni can be found here.

Here is the updated list of cities participating in the July 19 actions. The time for each event is local time. Please link to this page for updates on the day of protests:

Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Location: Homo-Monument(Keizersgracht canal near Westerkerk)
Time: 9 pm
Contacts: René van Soeren of COC, rvansoeren@coc.nl, Mike Tidmus, tidmus@mac.com

Brussels, Belgium
Location: Brussels Stock Exchange
Time: 8:00 pm
Contact: Stephen Barris, stephenbarris@ilga.org

Chicago, Illinois
Location: Millennium Park (Pritzker Pavilion entrance)
Time: 5:30
Contact: Gay Liberation Network, LGBTliberation@aol.com

Dublin, Ireland
Location: Dublin City Centre, The Central Bank, Dame Street
Time: 5:30 pm. Speakers to include gay Senator David Norris
Contact: BeLonG To Youth Project, belongto@eircom.net

Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Location: To be announced
Time: To be announced
Contact: Michael James, MJames@OurIndependent.com

London, United Kingdom
Location: House of Commons, Committee Room 12
Time: 6:30 pm
Contacts: Peter Tatchell, peter@tatchell.freeserve.co.uk
& Brett Lock, brettlock@gmail.com

Marseilles, France
Location: Le Vieux Port
Time: 7 pm
Contacts: Philippe Colomb, philippe.colomb@si-lgbt.org , and Hussein Bourgi husseinbourgi@hotmail.com

Mexico City, Mexico
Location: Contempo Cine, Londres 161
Time: 7:00 pm
Contact: Enkidu Magazine, info@enkidumagazine.com

Moscow, Russia
Location and Time to be announced in Moscow at the last minute, to prevent disruption by fascists or police
Contact: Nicolas Alexeyev, nicolas_alexeyev@yahoo.com

New York, New York (Action #1)
Location: Iranian Mission to the U.N., 622 Third Avenue (at 40th St)
Time: 5:00 pm
Contact: Andy Humm, andyhumm@aol.com

New York, New York (Action #2)
Location: LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th Street
Time: 6:00 pm
Contact: Lisa Levy, llevy@iglhrc.org

Provincetown, Massachusetts
Location: Town Hall
Time: 5:00 pm
Contact: Andrew Sullivan, andsul@aol.com

San Diego, California
Location: U.S. Federal Building, 880 Front Street
Time: 4:00 pm
Contact: Michael Mussman, michaelmussman@yahoo.com

San Francisco, California
Location: Harvey Milk Plaza, Castro and Market Streets
Time: 5:00 pm
Contact: Michael Petrelis, mpetrelis@aol.com

Seattle, Washington
Location: Seattle Central Community College Plaza, Pine and Broadway
Time: 7:00 pm
Contact: George Bakan, sgn2@sgn.org

Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Location: Calvary Cathedral, 500 S. Main Avenue
Time: 9:00 pm
Contact: Kathy Knobloch, thecenter.colc@midconetwork.com

Stockholm, Sweden
Location: Iranian Embassy, Elfviksvägen Västra Yttringe gård Lidingö
Time: 5:00 pm
Contact: Bill Schiller, bill.schiller@sr.se

Tehran, Iran
Location: Not to be announced
Time: All day and evening
Contact: Arsham Parsi, arsham@pglo.net

Toronto, Canada
Location: University of Toronto Hart House, 7 Hart House Circle
Time: 5:00 pm
Contact: Arsham Parsi, arsham@pglo.net

Tulsa, Oklahoma
Location: Tulsa County Courthouse Place
Time: 8:30 pm
Contact: Laura A. Belmonte, Ph.D., President, Tulsa
Oklahomans for Human Rights, mobile 918-906-2134

Vancouver, Canada
Location: Vancouver Art Gallery - Robson Plaza
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Contact: Finn Kovaltsenko, aidengreer@shaw.ca

Vienna, Austria
Location: Office of IranAir, A-Wien 1010 Opernring
Time: To be announced
Contact: Kurt Krikler, Kurt.Krickler@hosiwien.at

Warsaw, Poland
Location: 22 Królowej Aldony Street
Time: 9 P.M.
Contact: Lukasz Palucki, luke.santi@eranet.pl

Washington, District of Columbia
Location: Dupont Circle Fountain
Time: 5:00 pm
Contact: Rob Anderson, rcand@mac.com

The demand of the global 19 July protests is:

Iran: Stop Killing Gays! Stop Killing Kids!

Some groups, like OutRage! in London, are also urging:

1. End all executions in Iran, especially the execution of minors.

2. Stop the arrest, torture and imprisonment of Iranian lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and repeal the Iranian penal code’s criminalisation of same-sex relationships.

3. Halt the deportation to Iran of LGBT asylum seekers and other victims of Tehran’s persecution.

4. Support Iranians struggling for democracy, social justice and human rights.

5. Oppose foreign military intervention in Iran; regime change must come from within – by and for the Iranian people themselves.

“OutRage! believes the queer rights struggle in Iran should be part of - not separate from - the broader democratic and human rights struggle,” said Peter Tatchell, spokesperson for OutRage!

"When protesting against the executions last year, we received strong support from the Iranian women’s movement and from Iranian political dissidents and labour movement activists. Linking up with these progressive social forces within Iran is the key to advancing LGBT human rights in that country. We urge lesbians and gays, and our straight allies, to organise protest actions on 19 July in cities all over the world. Protest outside the Iranian Embassy. Bombard the Iranian Ambassador with protest letters, faxes and emails,” urged Mr Tatchell.

Louis-Georges Tin, coordinator of the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO), who is also calling for global protests, added:

“Something special has happened since 19 July 2005: an international movement is emerging in solidarity with the two boys and all the victims of Iran’s homophobic regime. The political and religious authorities in Iran should understand that their homophobia is now regarded as an international scandal. On 19 July, we are standing for life, for liberty, and for love. We are standing in commemoration of Mahmoud and Ayaz and all the victims of Tehran’s homophobic tyranny. We also stand in hope, looking forward to a better future for the gays and lesbians of Iran," stated Mr Tin.

The US coordinator of the 19 July protests, Michael Petrelis of SanFrancisco, said: "Only one American city joined last year’s the international protests against Iran's hanging of the two gay teenagers. This year, gays in at least three US cities will take to the streets on July 19. We hope more cities will join us and organise vigils for gay and lesbian Iranians. American gay rights organisations should devote more energy to tackling homophobic persecution beyond our borders. The protests on July 19 are a step towards greater US support for the global struggle for queer freedom," concluded Mr Petrelis.

In the UK, email, phone, fax and write your protests to the Iranian Ambassador:

info@iran-embassy.org.uk

Tel: 020 7225 3000
Fax: 020 7589 4440

Iranian Ambassador
Embassy of Iran
16 Prince’s Gate
London SW7 1PT

Further information from OutRage! in London: Brett Lock 0770 843 5917

New revelations about the execution of Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni in the Iranian city of Mashhad on 19 July 2005, based on research by Simon Forbes of OutRage! and information from contacts inside Iran:

“A year-long investigation into this case has revealed that the regime’s allegations against the two hanged youths, Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni, are riddled with contradictions, implausibilities and outright lies,” according to Peter Tatchell of OutRage!.

“At first it was claimed by Iranian officials that they were aged 18 and 19, then that they were 19 and 21, then aged 18 and 20, and finally they made the claim that they were both above 18 at the time of their alleged crimes.

“However, the best evidence is that both youths were aged 17 when they were executed and therefore minors, aged 15 or 16, at the time of their alleged crimes. This execution of minors is in flagrant breach of international agreements the Tehran regime has signed.

“The method of hanging was specifically designed to cause a slow, painful death by strangulation.

“Concerning their crimes: at first it was claimed that they committed one rape and were child molesters, then that they had committed several rapes. By the autumn of 2005, the supporters of the regime were spreading rumours that they were serial child killers.

“Local sources in Mashhad state that Mahmoud and Ayaz were lovers, not rapists or child abusers – contrary to the homophobic propaganda of the Iranian regime and its western left-wing and Islamist apologists.

“Witnesses report seeing them together and obviously in love at a private party in 2003.

“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.

“Informants inside Iran make it clear that the boys were of good character and that they came from decent, law-abiding families whose fathers had good jobs.

“The execution of Mahmoud and Ayaz conforms to a pattern of state torture and murder of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people by the Iranian clerical regime.

“In recent years, public executions for consensual gay sex have been rarer than in the past; apparently because the regime does not want to draw attention to its failure to eradicate same-sex behaviour in the ‘Islamic paradise’ of Iran.

“In publicised executions of gay couples, the men are often accused of the kidnap and rape of a younger male. All such allegations need to be treated with extreme scepticism, as they tend to follow a suspiciously stereotypical formula.

“By instituting charges of kidnap and rape, the Iranian authorities apparently hope to discredit the victims, discourage public protests and deflect international condemnation. They calculate that there will be little Iranian or international sympathy for people hanged for crimes like abduction and sexual assault,” said Mr Tatchell.

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