Iran to execute 18-year-old for sodomy....
Shouldn't we be protesting Iran in gay rights marches???
Eighteen-year-old Ebrahim Hamidi is facing execution in Iran on charges of homosexuality, even though he has no lawyer and is not gay, the Guardian reported Monday. Hamidi was sentenced to death for sodomy based on "judge's knowledge," whereby a judge can use his discretion to decide on a case in which no conclusive evidence exists.
Hamidi allegedly confessed to the crime under torture. Last month, the purported victim of the crime admitted he had been coerced into making false accusations by his parents. Three alleged accomplices of Hamidi were aquitted after they agreed to testify against Hamidi in court, the Guardian said.
Hamidi's lawyer Mohammed Mostafaei, credited with saving 50 people from execution over the course of his career, was forced to flee the country after he sparked international controversy over another client, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, who was sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, according to the Guardian.
Homosexuality can be punished by lashing, hanging, or stoning in Iran, depending on the seriousness of the offense. A rape victim can be lashed as well if he "enjoyed" the experience.
Attorney Mohammed Mostafaei fled to Turkey, where he was arrested briefly before being freed by EU officials, the Guardian said. He plans to continue his work from exile to Norway, where he has obtained a visa. Mostafaei's wife was recently arrested after Mostafaei refused to report to Evin prison for questioning, but was later released, according to the Guardian.
The lawyer said he considered turning himself in to help his wife, but ultimately decided against it because "my wife would never forgive me."
Mostafaei said a friend drove him last week from Tehran to Khoy, in northwestern Iran, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the Turkish border. From there he made his way, by foot and on horseback, into Turkey, he said.
"My greatest hope is that I can go back and continue my work in Iran. If the Iranian authorities will ensure my rights and safety, I'll go back," Mostafaei said through an interpreter. "Right now, I've lost the ability to work on the behalf of my clients. That means I've lost everything. Without that, it doesn't matter whether I'm in heaven or hell."
posted by GayandRight @ 12:06 PM
2 Comments:
This is the most appalling thing: having followed the Iran election debacle and read that the Basiji and IRGC raped both girls and boys with truncheons and bottles, I cannot believe there is so much silence from gay people.
I expected banners naming all those killed where sodomy-rape was responsible in Iran, and yet this boy is probably completely innocent!
Iran has become a true hell!
Israel is the ONLY country in the middle east that does not have an anti-homosexuality policy, in fact, it has pro policies.
But Ignorant people (even most Gays!) support the Islamic, oppressive regimes found in every other Islamic nation. I think feminists and LGBT activists are too quiet on the middle east issue, where it is at its worst.
Countries like Iran should be condemned for their lack of Human Rights, anything that the US or another country in the free world does is nothing in comparison to Iran or other countries like it.
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