Iraq’s anti-gay activists sure are crafty. And fast learners.
According to two gay college students, Ahmed, 23, and 24-year old Zaid, the fundamentalist Mahdi Army uses the internet to lure, capture, torture and sometimes kill queers.
Via Pink News UK:
Ahmed’s and Zaid’s story reveals how Muqtada al-Sadr’s men have adopted a new tactic, borrowed from the Iranian secret police.
They are posing as gays in online chat rooms, in order to lure gay men, arrange dates and kill them.
…
“Ahmed and Zaid had gone online in early May and entered a gay chatroom, where they arranged to meet two men who had asked them for a date,” said Peter Tatchell of LGBTI human rights organisation OutRage!
…
[Say Tatchell,] “Their dates were very good looking men with a brand new car. After chatting for a while, Ahmed and Zaid agreed to go with them in their car. They headed towards the Al-Karada district of Baghdad.“When they got there, the mood changed suddenly. Their dates revealed themselves to be members of the Mahdi Army. They locked the car doors, took out guns and began beating Ahmed and Zaid.
After beating Ahmed and Zaid, the men drove them into a more rural area. Why the men let them live remains unknown. We do know, however, that things aren’t getting any better in Iraq and, quite frankly, it’s beginning to make us crazy. If only Condi Rice would heed Tammy Baldwin and Barney Frank’s call:
We are writing to express our strong concerns regarding recent reports that Iraqi homosexuals have been systematically persecuted in Iraq under a violent campaign led by Islamic groups and militias. We urge the State Department to investigate such allegations and report its findings as part of the annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. We also urge you to raise the issue and express your concerns to Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani, while urging the Iraqi government to step up its protection of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Iraqis and stop these senseless attacks by the militias.
Of course, the Iraqi “government” would first have to start caring about their gay citizens, which they obviously don’t. Nor do the Americans.
hawaiiinsomniac
This doesn’t really surprise me. I’ve been doing more research into Iraq, as I am thinking of visiting next year, and the discrimination against women and gays is inconceivable. There are young women being pulled from their home to be stoned to death for dating.
Paul Raposo
I though things were suppose to be better without Saddam. I thought the military was there to liberate everyone. I thought Theocratic states wee suppose to be a thing of the past. I thought it was 2007, not 1507. My mistake.
BillieXX
At some point we are going to have to move on from some tv scandal (ie: I. Washington) and pay attention to gays and lesbians who live under crazy circumstances.
underbear1
Maybe in Oct 2007 when we send the helicopters to pick up the marines off the green Zone rooftops, they’ll grab some poor gay/lesbian kid into the helicopter with them….but with an all straight volunteers US forces, I won’t be holding my breath.