There is a story that you'll be hard pressed to find in the UK Press. It is the story of Nemat Safavi, who is only 21. At the age of 16 he was arrested and charged with the crime of Lavat (sex with another man). On the 31 October he was finally sentanced for his crimes, the penalty is death.
Iran has signed two treaties on the treatment of juveniles and has promised not to execute any minor for a crime. However, Nemat though his 'crime' was committed while he was a minor is now of age, Iran are twisting the rules. Detaining people until they are old enough, to sentance them for something that is who they are, not what they do.
Many of the claims of Lavat have for obvious reasons not been proven by actual evidence it is largely circumstantial. But young men are disappearing all the time in Iran under a cloud of this change. The Islamic Republic of Iran like to boast that there are no homosexuals in Iran. However, there clearly are they are just not tolerated and allowed to be who they are.
Last year many of us were up in arms about the case of Mehdi Kazemi who was being deported back to Iran for the same fate. Amnesty International, the European Parliament and the UN are already on this case as well but why don't you also apply your own pressure, find out how on the Facebook Group.
Hattip to The Wardman Wire
Thanks for the link.
ReplyDeleteMuch appreciated.
Paul Canning at http://www.paulcanning.blogspot.com/ is very good on this subject, and on Twitter at @paulocanning.