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(London) A gay Iranian group has released photos
and details of a 22 year old man it says was given 100 lashes for being
gay. The exiled Persian Gay & Lesbian Organization identifies the man
only as "Amir".
The group said in a statement
Tuesday that "Amir" escaped Iran following his
incarceration and after he was threatened with rearrest and
execution but did not identify the country where he now is
living.
The Persian Gay & Lesbian
Organization said that because of his sexuality
Amir experienced continued
homophobia during his university studies.
He was arrested at a party, was convicted and had to pay a fine.
On several more occasions he was arrested and put in custody by
police, the Basij - the fundamentalist militia - and the Revolutionary Guard.
During his last jailing he was
whipped with a lash 100 times as part of his
sentence.
The organization said that
authorities have infiltrated
gay sites on the internet posing as gays and entrapping others.
"This is a further example of the violent homophobia of the Iran’s
Islamic fundamentalist regime," said Brett Lock of the British LGBT rights
group OutRage!
Another exiled Iranian gay
rights group, Homan, claims the Iranian government has
executed at least 4,000 gays since 1979.
Last month the third gay man in
a month was executed. (story)
On July 19 two gay teenagers
were executed in the northeastern city of Mashhad. (story)
The hangings sparked international outrage.
The Iranian government
maintains the teens had raped a 13 year old boy - an
allegation that many international rights groups discount.
Several European Union countries have placed a moratorium
on deporting gays who entered their countries illegally as a result of concerns
over the treatment of gays in Iran.
©365Gay.com 2005
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