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 Top Judge Halts Iran Execution
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: November 15, 2007 - 11:00 am ET
(New York City) Iran's Chief Justice has
halted the execution of 21 year old man who allegedly had sex with another male
when the accused was only 13 years old an international human rights group
reports.
But Mouloodzadeh's legal problems are not over.
As is usual in Iran when a male is charged with
having sex with another person of the same sex the charge against Makvan
Mouloodzadeh was listed as rape.
Chief Justice
Ayatollah Seyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi in his ruling described the death sentence to be in
violation of Islamic teachings, the religious decrees of high-ranking Shiite
clerics, and the law of the land, the International Gay and Lesbian
Human Rights Commission said.
It is believed to be the first time a sodomy
conviction had been overturned based on Islamic teaching and followed a letter
from the IGLHRC to to the Iranian authorities.
Other human rights
organizations, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the
Iranian Queer Organization also pleaded for Mouloodzadeh's life. At
his trial no witness ever accused Mouloodzadeh of rape. Instead, the prosecution
witnesses all told the court that their statements during the
investigation were either untruthful or coerced. A
review by the IGLHRC of the investigation showed it was riddled with procedural
irregularities the group said in a statement.
"This is a stunning victory for human rights and a reminder of the power of
global protest," said Paula Ettelbrick, IGLHRC's executive director. While
the chief justice's action blocks Mouloodzadeh from being immediately executed
he remains in prison. The ruling sends the case back to the lower court for
retrial.
Under Islamic law sodomy is a capital crime
punishable by public lashings or hanging.
Some international gay rights groups believe that
more than 4,000 lesbians and gay men have been executed since the Ayatollahs
seized power in 1979. The government in Tehran has repeatedly denied the
reports.
Earlier this week it was learned that during a
meeting between British and Iranian politicians a high ranking Iranian cabinet
minister acknowledged for the first time that the Islamic state upholds the
death penalty for homosexuality. (story)
The disclosure was in marked contrast to remarks
in September by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during a speech at Columbia
University when he declared there were no homosexuals in Iran. (story)
"In Iran we don't have homosexuals like you
do in your country. We do not have this phenomenon. I don't know who's
told you that we have it," Ahmadinejad said.
©365Gay.com 2007
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