Comments on: Home Office's "Iranian propaganda" over gay hangings http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-7208.html/ PinkNews.co.uk Gay News (UK and world) from Pink News - all the gay news for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community in the UK and beyond- thegaynews from Pink News Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:54:57 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Kayvan http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-7208.html/comment-page-1/#comment-29377 Kayvan Wed, 26 Mar 2008 21:16:00 +0000 http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-7208.html#comment-29377 I am Iranian and follow the news avidly. I don't have rose-tinted glasses about our government, and I know that there are laws that allow capital punishment as a MAXIMUM penalty for homosexuality. But, I am not aware of any executions for consensual adult homosexuality in Iran for perhaps over 20 years.The tragic case of the young man executed in December 2007 for alleged sexual assault on young boys when he himself was a minor was an exception. He was tried by a provincial court and in fact, Iran's Chief Justice had ordered a stay of execution and review of his case. Still, the local judge ordered carried out his hanging DESPITE this order from Tehran. The last I heard was that his family's lawyer was offering to file a criminal complaint against the judge for this illegal act.I personally know of active homosexuals who were even discovered and yet they were not punished severely. One was a conscript who was simply discharged from the military on "medical grounds" without any further legal steps against him. Where there are allegations of child rape, it is difficult to fabricate such charges by the state, as there must be private plaintiffs, corroborated by the medical examiner's report. No-one takes lightly complaining about being subject to sexual abuse because of social stigmas and court cross-examinations. Therefore in many cases families of children who have been victims of abuse prefer to remain silent. So, when someone is punished for child rape, it is unlikely that the charges are fabricated. It is fantastic to assume that the State - in order to execute a homosexual - would go about finding private plaintiffs to file false complaints against this person and to be subject to intrusive physical and mental examinations, only to secure an execution. The law against homosexuality is there anyway, and the prosecutors do not need such justifications to prosecute, if they are inclined to do so. As anyone familiar with Iranian society knows, there are many homosexuals and, as long as one is discreet, then no-one is going to bother looking too closely into their private affairs. The Iranian State even pays for some 2000 sex-change operatons every year, according to a recent statement by the Minister of Welfare, and a recent BBC documentary showed this to be true.I must agree with George Galloway that these days Iran is being attacked on all fronts. And the gay rights organisations are being drawn (perhaps unwittingly) into this general propaganda onslaught. The justification for attacking and harming Iran and Iranians does not come from the Neo-Conservatives only, but also the 'liberal imperialists' who are often misinformed about the realities of Iranian society, and secondly too willing to believe the worst. They have a civilisational agenda, where they consider imposition of their own values on others as morally right, the same way that in previous centuries, missionaries provided the moral justification of colonial expansionism.Finally, in the case of the young Iranian man seeking asylum, I very much doubt that his alleged boyfriend ("Mehdi" - one of the most pupular forenames in Iran) even existed, let alone executed. No paper has actually bothered to find out whether such a person ever existed. Any good journalist can find the records of executions, yet none has bothered to make the query. I am Iranian and follow the news avidly. I don't have rose-tinted glasses about our government, and I know that there are laws that allow capital punishment as a MAXIMUM penalty for homosexuality. But, I am not aware of any executions for consensual adult homosexuality in Iran for perhaps over 20 years.The tragic case of the young man executed in December 2007 for alleged sexual assault on young boys when he himself was a minor was an exception. He was tried by a provincial court and in fact, Iran's Chief Justice had ordered a stay of execution and review of his case. Still, the local judge ordered carried out his hanging DESPITE this order from Tehran. The last I heard was that his family's lawyer was offering to file a criminal complaint against the judge for this illegal act.I personally know of active homosexuals who were even discovered and yet they were not punished severely. One was a conscript who was simply discharged from the military on "medical grounds" without any further legal steps against him. Where there are allegations of child rape, it is difficult to fabricate such charges by the state, as there must be private plaintiffs, corroborated by the medical examiner's report. No-one takes lightly complaining about being subject to sexual abuse because of social stigmas and court cross-examinations. Therefore in many cases families of children who have been victims of abuse prefer to remain silent. So, when someone is punished for child rape, it is unlikely that the charges are fabricated. It is fantastic to assume that the State – in order to execute a homosexual – would go about finding private plaintiffs to file false complaints against this person and to be subject to intrusive physical and mental examinations, only to secure an execution. The law against homosexuality is there anyway, and the prosecutors do not need such justifications to prosecute, if they are inclined to do so. As anyone familiar with Iranian society knows, there are many homosexuals and, as long as one is discreet, then no-one is going to bother looking too closely into their private affairs. The Iranian State even pays for some 2000 sex-change operatons every year, according to a recent statement by the Minister of Welfare, and a recent BBC documentary showed this to be true.I must agree with George Galloway that these days Iran is being attacked on all fronts. And the gay rights organisations are being drawn (perhaps unwittingly) into this general propaganda onslaught. The justification for attacking and harming Iran and Iranians does not come from the Neo-Conservatives only, but also the 'liberal imperialists' who are often misinformed about the realities of Iranian society, and secondly too willing to believe the worst. They have a civilisational agenda, where they consider imposition of their own values on others as morally right, the same way that in previous centuries, missionaries provided the moral justification of colonial expansionism.Finally, in the case of the young Iranian man seeking asylum, I very much doubt that his alleged boyfriend ("Mehdi" – one of the most pupular forenames in Iran) even existed, let alone executed. No paper has actually bothered to find out whether such a person ever existed. Any good journalist can find the records of executions, yet none has bothered to make the query.

(Report comment to the moderator)

]]> By: Robert, ex-pat Brit http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-7208.html/comment-page-1/#comment-29378 Robert, ex-pat Brit Tue, 25 Mar 2008 17:56:00 +0000 http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-7208.html#comment-29378 I suppose Lord Spithead believes Iran's President Ahmadinejad's claim that there are no gays in Iran. Jacqui Smith should stop burying her head in the sand and wake up, ditto Spithead et al. Denial is not the solution, action is. I suppose Lord Spithead believes Iran's President Ahmadinejad's claim that there are no gays in Iran. Jacqui Smith should stop burying her head in the sand and wake up, ditto Spithead et al. Denial is not the solution, action is.

(Report comment to the moderator)

]]>