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Contents:

• HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: ANTI-GAY LAWS PROMOTE VLENCE, DISCRIMATN ST. VCENT
• IRAN EXECUT 2 GAY MEN OVER SODOMY CHARG, RIGHTS GROUP SAYS

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: ANTI-GAY LAWS PROMOTE VLENCE, DISCRIMATN ST. VCENT

Augt 26, 2021—In a new LGBTQ Fact Sheet published today by the Center for Human Rights Iran (CHRI), the extreme rights vlatns and adly vlence perpetrated by both the state and society agast the LGBTQ muny (lbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer) Iran are highlighted a ncise, accsible format for rearchers, journalists, and policymakers.

IRAN EXECUT 2 GAY MEN OVER SODOMY CHARG, RIGHTS GROUP SAYS

Homosexualy⚢✖ Illegal (ath penalty as punishment)Censorship✖ Other punishmentChangg Genr✖ Legal, but requir surgeryNon-bary genr regnn✖ Not legally regnizedDiscrimatn✖ No protectnsEmployment Discrimatn✖ No protectnsHog Discrimatn✖ No protectnsDonatg Blood✖ Banned (fe ferral)Conversn Therapy✖ Not banned. UnregnizedUnr the Shah's le, the last monarch of the Pahlavi dynasty, homosexualy was crimalised, though was mostly tolerated even to the pot of allowg news verage of a mock same-sex weddg between two men. Human RightsIran mt immediately stay the executns of two women sentenced to ath for supportg the human rights of lbian, gay, bisexual, trans and genr-diverse (LGBT) people, a large group of UN-appoted pennt human rights experts said on Wednday.

The Hengaw Organizatn for Human Rights reported that they were acced of promotg homosexualy, promotg Christiany and munitg wh media opposed to the Islamic 's judiciary later nfirmed the sentenc, but said they were nnected to human traffickg and not activism.

It ced her as sayg that she was forcibly disappeared for 53 days, durg which an IRGC agent allegedly subjected her to "tense terrogatns acpanied by verbal abe" and "threatened to execute or otherwise harm her and take away the ctody of her two young children" January, Seddiqi Hamedani was brought before a prosecutor Urmia, the largt cy Wt Azerbaijan, and told that she was acced of "spreadg rptn on Earth", cludg through promotg homosexualy, munitg wh hostile media and promotg Christiany, acrdg to group said the first two accatns stemmed om her public fence of LGBT rights on social media and her appearance a May 2021 BBC documentary about ab that LGBT people were sufferg Iraq's semi-tonomo Kurdistan Regn, where she had been Iranian law, same-sex sexual nduct is a crimal offence, wh punishments rangg om floggg to the ath penalty.

Homosexualy ntu to be crimalized the former Brish lony after many hundreds of years, leavg LGBTQ dividuals wh ltle if any legal protectns while vlent crim were beg mted wh impuny, the report said.

"The crimalizatn of gay sex giv tac state sanctn to the discrimatn and vlence that LGBT people experience their daily liv and pels many to look abroad to live eely and fulfill their dreams, " said Cristian González Cabrera, gay rights rearcher at Human Rights Watch.

Six other Wtern natns -- cludg Domi, Grenada, Guyana, Jamai, and Sat Lucia -- ntue to crimalize gay sex, wh penalti as weighty as a prison for "gross cency wh another person of the same sex. 1 This note provis an asssment of the general suatn of persons who are known to be, or are likely known to be, gay men, lbian, bisexual, trans or tersex – that is those who are open, or are likely to be pelled to be open, about their sexual orientatn and/or genr inty or exprsn (SOGIE) – as well as those perceived as such bee of their appearance, attus and/or behavur.

Milary exemptn rds, an accepted form of intifitn issued to gay and trans dividuals, directly disclose the persons sexual orientatn or genr inty and may put them at further risk of vlence and discrimatn for ‘outg’ them and / or bee beg gay or trans is classed as a mental illns (see Milary exemptn, Genr reassignment surgery, Threats, harassment and vlence and Treatment by fay members). 3 The same source noted that Article 7 of the regulatns, which addrs the issue of exemptn for gay men, stat, ‘“perversns that vlate the social and ary of nduct (such as sexual perversn and homosexualy) [warrant] a six-month ferment. ‘While this provisn is discrimatory and gradg towards gay, transgenr and other genr non-nformg persons, and treats homosexualy as a form of mental illns or psychopathology spe of clear statements to the ntrary om var psychiatry bodi across the world and the World Health Organizatn, is monly ed by gay, transgenr and genr non-nformg persons Iran to seek an exemptn om pulsory ary service to protect themselv om homophobic and transphobic ab prevalent ary settgs.

6 In s annual report for 2021, Amnty Internatnal noted that, ‘Milary exemptn rds issued to gay and transgenr dividuals directly disclosed their sexual orientatn or genr inty whout their nsent, puttg them at risk of vlence. ‘Acrdg to rmatn received om Iranian gay men and reports by human rights groups, seekg exemptn om ary service on the basis of their sexual orientatn or genr inty, gay, transgenr and genr non-nformg dividuals are generally forced to unrgo huiatg and gradg physil and psychologil tts, cludg anal examatns, which amount to torture, as well as terrogatns by officials durg which they are forced to answer timate qutns about their genr and sexualy such as their preferenc for sexual posns. 12 6Rang stated that the exemptn regulatn ‘… allows gay dividuals to be intified by the police, judicial thori, employers and those rponsible for tnal centr who n simply look at their ary exemptn rds, which functns as one of the few forms of acceptable IDs Iran.

1 Acrdg to 6Rang, ‘Sce the tablishment [of] the Islamic Republic 1979, state officials Iran have nsistently portrayed homosexualy as a “viant” sexual proclivy that has a rptg effect on society.

As one example, the former Print of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadezhad, rponse to qutns about “homosexuals” or “gays” the USA most notorly stated “we do not have the hamjensbāz (translated to dience as “homosexuals”) like you have your untry” and that “absolutely such a thg do not exist as a phenomenon” Iran. The aim is to firstly raise awarens that this is the flag of “Sodomians” and puttg gay men and women potential dangers of gettg reported if they are anyway g this sign for social purpos (In Iran a large number of gay people e the flag sign orr to fd each other and socialize). This time, the fai cludg children have participated this event and were holdg signs such as “Two people of the same sex do not make a uple”, “We are the fenrs of prophet Lut” and “homosexualy, the morn barbarism”, as well as tramplg the flag (Halalzaha, 2021).

5 Acrdg to Amnty Internatnal, wrg 2021 followg the murr of Alireza Fazeli Monfared, a gay man, ‘LGBTI people Iran face pervasive discrimatn, live the nstant fear of harassment, arrt and crimal prosecutn, and rema vulnerable to vlence and persecutn based on their real or perceived sexual orientatn and genr inty. 6 In January 2021 the Special Rapportr on the suatn of human rights Iran siarly stated that, ‘… dividuals who intify as lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr experience human rights vlatns and wispread discrimatn…. ‘The crimalizatn of same-sex nsensual acts legimiz vlence by State actors and private dividuals, cludg the e of torture, beatgs and rape by law enforcement and vigilant… Lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr persons face regular harassment and, if arrted, are nied the right to a fair trial… The acts rema largely unrreported due to the victims’ fear of persecutn.

Mohammadi, who was arrted 2018[footnote 67], was acced of: ‘1- Assembly and lln agast natnal secury to crimalize homosexualy (Normalizg homosexualy), 2- Elimatg the ugls and famy of homosexualy, 3- Makg homosexualy acceptable, pecially llaboratn wh relig and nscience anizatns, 4- Makg the Islamic Republic of Iran rponsible for extensive human rights ab (Lack of regnn of homosexualy). 2 The USSD stated s 2020 human rights report that ‘While few tails were available for specific s, lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and tersex (LGBTI) activists exprsed ncern that the ernment executed LGBTI dividuals unr the pretext of more severe, and possibly spec, crimal charg such as rape. As a rult, if a nsensual homosexual relatnship is disvered by law enforcement, the passive partner has a signifint centive to claim that he has been raped as this may be the only way to enable him to pe a ath sentence.

The report noted that the paratively high levels of executns rerd for same-sex sexual acts the years immediately followg the revolutn (144 total between 1979 and 1982[footnote 79]) ‘… may not reprent the actual number of executns, as the Iranian thori ed homosexual and other pal offenc as a ver to execute opponents. Once arrted, the Penal Co has a perverse effect of enuragg false accatns of rape: centivis persons alleged to have engaged nsensual acts to “acce their partner of rape to save their [own] liv”… In addn to avoidg the ath penalty, a false rape accatn may also be motivated by a sire to avoid the stigma associated wh beg gay… The Penal Co uld also disurage genue accatns of rape: victims face the risk of beg disbelieved about the ercive nature of the sexual act, which uld rult an executn.