Iran: Two
More Executions for Homosexual Conduct
(New York, November 22, 2005) – Iran’s
execution of two men last week for homosexual conduct highlights a pattern of
persecution of gay men that stands in stark violation of the rights to life and
privacy, Human Rights Watch said today.
On Sunday, November 13, the
semi-official Tehran daily Kayhan reported that the Iranian government
publicly hung two men, Mokhtar N. (24 years old) and Ali A. (25 years old), in
the Shahid Bahonar Square of the northern town of Gorgan.
The government reportedly executed the two men for the crime of "lavat."
Iran’s
shari`a-based penal code defines lavat as penetrative and
non-penetrative sexual acts between men. Iranian law punishes all penetrative
sexual acts between adult men with the death penalty. Non-penetrative sexual
acts between men are punished with lashes until the fourth offense, when they
are punished with death. Sexual acts between women, which are defined differently,
are punished with lashes until the fourth offense, when they are also punished
with death.
“The execution of two men for consensual sexual activity is an outrage,” said
Jessica Stern, researcher with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights
Program at Human Rights Watch. “The Iranian government’s persecution of gay men
flouts international human rights standards.”
In addition to the two executions last week, there have been other cases of
persecution and execution of gay men in Iran in recent years.
• In September 2003, police arrested a group of men at a private gathering in
one of their homes in Shiraz
and held them in detention for several days. According to Amir, one of the men
arrested, police tortured the men to obtain confessions. The judiciary charged
five of the defendants with “participation in a corrupt gathering” and fined
them.
• In June 2004, undercover police agents in Shiraz arranged meetings with men through
Internet chatrooms and then arrested them. Police held Amir, a 21-year-old, in
detention for a week, during which time they repeatedly tortured him. The
judicial authorities in Shiraz
sentenced him to 175 lashes, 100 of which were administered immediately.
Following his arrest, security officials subjected Amir to regular surveillance
and periodic arrests. From July 2005 until he fled the country later in the
year, police threatened Amir with imminent execution.
• On March 15, 2005,
the daily newspaper Etemaad reported that the Tehran Criminal Court sentenced
two men to death following the discovery of a video showing them engaged in
homosexual acts. According to the paper, one of the men confessed that he had
shot the video as a precaution in case his partner withdrew the financial
support he had been providing in return for sex. In response to the man’s
confession, his partner was summoned to the authorities and both men were
sentenced to death. As the death penalty was pronounced against both men, it
appears to have been based on their sexual activity.
“These abuses have created an atmosphere of terror for lesbians, gays,
bisexuals and transgender people throughout Iran,” said Stern. “But arrest,
torture and execution are not limited to gays and lesbians. Any group of people
deemed ‘immoral’ becomes subject to state-sanctioned persecution and even
murder.”
In Iran,
executions and lashings are regular means of punishment for a broad range of
crimes, not merely same-sex acts. Judges often accept coerced confessions, and
security officials routinely deny defendants access to counsel. Late last year,
the Iranian judiciary, which has been at the center of many reported human
rights violations, formed the Special Protection Division, a new institution
that empowers volunteers to police moral crimes in neighborhoods, mosques,
offices and any place where people gather. The Special Protection Division is
an intrusive mechanism of surveillance that promotes prosecution of citizens
for behavior in their private domain.
Human Rights Watch called upon the Iranian government to decriminalize
homosexuality and reminded Iran
of its obligations under Toonen v. Australia (1994), the Human Rights
Committee’s authoritative interpretation of the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, to which Iran
is party. Toonen v. Australia extends recognition of the right to
privacy and the right to freedom from discrimination on the grounds of sexual
orientation throughout human rights law.
Furthermore, Human Rights Watch urged Iran to reform its judiciary in accordance
with principles for fair trials enshrined in both the Iranian constitution and
international human rights law. Finally, Human Rights Watch called upon Iran to
cease implementation of capital punishment in all circumstances because of its
inherent cruelty, irreversibility, and potential for discriminatory
application.
From: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/11/21/iran12072.htm
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2003, Human Rights Watch 350
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