Iran’s revolutionary guards announced the arrest of “a network of homosexuals and satanists” in the western city of Kermanshah, close to the country’s border with Iraq, according to The Guardian.
The arrests took place on Tuesday in a ceremony hall, where 80 people were said to be celebrating a birthday. 17 people reportedly had their cellphones confiscated before being blindfolded and taken into custody at an undisclosed location.
A number of foreign nationals, including Iraqis, were among those detained, the report said, adding that eight of 17 were married to each other.
In Iran, anyone suspected or confirmed of being gay, or being associated with homosexuality in any way, can be punished.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
For gay men charged with sodomy, the one playing the “passive role” (aka bottom) is put to death and the person playing the “active role” (aka top) is flogged 100 times.
For lesbian women, the punishment is 100 lashes for all individuals involved, but it can lead to the death penalty if the act is repeated more than three times.
The arrests have prompted more alarm over the treatment of LGBT people in the Islamic republic. Authorities there have previously likened homosexuals to satanists in an effort to further smear them in the eyes of the country’s religious conservatives.
In September 2007, Iran’s former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad famously denied homosexuals existed in the Islamic republic, telling an audience in New York: “In Iran we don’t have homosexuals.”
In more recent years, the government has maintained a policy of ignoring LGBT people, but revolutionary guards and the informal religious militia, who are independent of the government but close to the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have actively tracked down LGBT people and punished them.
It is not yet clear where the 17 individuals arrested Tuesday are currently being held or what they will be charged with.
Photo credit: The Guardian.
2eo
islam, like all religion is not compatible with the world going forward. I fear the next world war will not be with islam, but an amalgam of the violent faiths versus the people who are for bettering our planet.
That aside, islam and the systems its follower foist on people are disgusting, its leaders should be executed immediately, everywhere on earth.
Ogre Magi
I Hate Muslims
andy_d
@Ogre Magi: Way to stoop to the radical’s level.
@2eo: It is the radical fundamentalist sects of all religions – including catholicism – that are the true problem. There are many forward thinking denominations and one comes to mind the Universal Unitarian Church (UUC, or “Unitarians”), from what I have learned and experienced ind dealings with them (and I am NOT a member of the church, nor do I go to their worship services.)
mikeysexc
I hope the Pink Mafia busts them out of jail but im sure its just another sad story of ignroant people blinded by uneducated thinking… Its not really these peoples fault for being the way they are.. the radicals who hurt homosexuals, its very similar to gangs in america, where kids learn from the older kids and its just what they are exposed to… it doesnt make it right and its horrible and I DONT SUPPORT IT, im just saying i can understand how people get to be the way they are and hope they change over time
NormanJones
my Aunty Hannah got a fantastic white Acura TSX Sport Wagon just by some parttime working online… read this post here,,, smarturl.it/bhtmj6
Stache1
“A number of foreign nationals, including Iraqis, were among those detained”.
Once again more to this then meets the eye or their official story.
DarkZephyr
Islam really is a horrible religion.
I know many gay Muslim men and for the most part you canNOT have a relationship with them because of their religion. They will fuck you, but you better not expect or hope for anything more because they are terrified of angering their families and being vilified by their co-religionists. And this article helps me to understand why they all seem to be tops too.
Fortunately my fiance, who is Muslim, has a more progressive attitude about life. I adore him. <3 <3 <3
Billysees
@andy_d:
A good, intelligent, common sense comment —
” It is the radical fundamentalist sects of all religions – including catholicism – that are the true problem. “
Polaro
This story is very troubling. Seeing the picture of the two men they hung for being gay has to have been one of the worst things I have ever seen or had to live with.
Billysees
@Polaro:
” Seeing the picture of the two men they hung for being gay…”
Aren’t you referring to the “two young boys” instead of two men ?
Didn’t this occur a couple of years ago ?
In a sense, it doesn’t matter whether two boys or two men.
The almost greater tragedy were the families that must have reported
their own children to the authorities.
That’s “extremely” troubling.