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Contents:

• ALIREZA FAZELI MONFARED WANTED TO LIVE AS A EE GAY MAN THE WT. HIS FAY IRAN BEHEAD HIM DAYS BEFORE HIS DREAM ME TE, SAY ACTIVISTS.
• WHAT 'S LIKE TO BE GAY IRAN
• Y, THERE ARE GAY PEOPLE IRAN
• GAY FLUENCER ALLEGEDLY KILLED BY FAY FOR ‘HONOR’
• WHO WAS ALI FAZELI MONFARED? MAN ALLEGEDLY BEHEAD BY HIS FAY FOR BEG GAY
• A RD EXEMPTED A GAY MAN OM SERVG IRAN’S ARY. IT MAY HAVE ST HIM HIS LIFE
• INSI THE SECRET GAY NEIGHBORHOOD IN TEHRAN, IRAN WHERE PEOPLE ARE RISKG THEIR LIV FOR THEIR EXPRSN
• GAY IRANIAN, 20, 'BEHEAD BY HIS BROTHER AND S AFTER THEY DISVERED HIS SEXUALY'
• AN AWARD-WNG PHOTOGRAPHER LEFT IRAN TO BE GAY. TWO MONTHS AFTER FDG LOVE, HE DIED OF CORONAVIS.
• GAY IRANIAN MAN AD ALLEGED 'HONOR KILLG,' RIGHTS GROUP SAYS
• KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY
• JAGUARS STRENGTH COACH KEV MAXEN COM OUT AS GAY
• DIPLOMATIC TENSN REPORTEDLY RISG BETWEEN UNED STAT AND JAMAI OVER GAY AMERIN DIPLOMAT
• TWO GAY MEN ARE HANGED IRAN SIX YEARS AFTER THEY WERE JAILED ON 'SODOMY' CHARG

ALIREZA FAZELI MONFARED WANTED TO LIVE AS A EE GAY MAN THE WT. HIS FAY IRAN BEHEAD HIM DAYS BEFORE HIS DREAM ME TE, SAY ACTIVISTS.

Alireza Fazeli Monfared, a 20-year old Iranian man, was behead what an Iranian human-rights group says was an "honor killg" by fay members after they learned he was gay.

"The Internatnal Day Agast Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia' is g up on Monday (May 17), " Okan Sengun, the executive director and founr of the LGBT Asylum Project, said.

WHAT 'S LIKE TO BE GAY IRAN

Homosexualy is nsired a psychologil disease IranWhile beg gay is forbidn Iran and punishable by ath, the law allows gay men to fo ary service.

"Homosexualy is also nsired a psychologil disease Iran, and the ary's ary board n exempt a gay man om service if they are emed homosexual after an examatn, " she add.

Y, THERE ARE GAY PEOPLE IRAN

"I thk their hate of homosexualy was so huge that they cid to kill him, " she May 4, Monfared ma the fal preparatns for his parture. The activist hop the vios rm people of queer people's liv Iran, where punishments for beg gay range om 100 lash of the whip to, the munitns director for the Center for Human Rights Iran, said homophobia was wispread the untry.

GAY FLUENCER ALLEGEDLY KILLED BY FAY FOR ‘HONOR’

"In the days followg the killg, Okan Sengun of the LGBT Asylum Project said he received many emails om gay Iranians who were heartbroken by Monfared's ath.

Which is fe, bee I don't really re, but do kd of annoy me that even wh my own muny there's still a stigma when to homosexualy, porn, and sex work.

Sexual teractn between two women is punishable by vast majory of media reports about homosexualy Iran are based on acunts of torment and opprsn om gays and lbians who have fled the untry. And while their experienc are reprentative for some of Iran's homosexuals, they are hugely different om those of the people who choose to stay the untry, or don't have the opportuny to om lower class and ral areas, where stigmatizatn is often most severe, rarely have the abily to move out of the hoe before marriage, let alone leave the untry. There is generally ltle acceptance of homosexualy, but some middle- and upper-class Iranians have the means to create parallel liv, out of sight of their relativ or iends.

WHO WAS ALI FAZELI MONFARED? MAN ALLEGEDLY BEHEAD BY HIS FAY FOR BEG GAY

"Nety-five percent of gays Iran will never e out, " Saeed says over pasta at one of northern Tehran's ffee shops, where the atmosphere is relatively permissive. | (VOCATIV/SUNE ENGEL RASMUSSEN)"The number one threat to gays and lbians Iran is the fay, " agre Hosse Alizah of the Internatnal Gay & Lbian Human Rights Commissn (IGLHRC), and himself an Iranian.

"The Iranian thori ually turn a bld eye to the gay muny's pas, but much like the telligence servic the former Soviet Unn, Iranian telligence is believed to pile large fil on many cizens, which they n e to build a legal se agast people who might be ught engagg polil activi. The park is also one of the most popular pickup spots for Tehran's gay dk, Maseratis, BMWs and the ocsnal Porsche circle the park; you don't have to wa long to spot one of them slow to a halt and pick up a sgle man cisg the g.

It also provis a temptg e, for gays and straights alike, an enomy bet by flatn and though the typ of -person enunters are a way to elu virtual spi, they are still ght wh risk. He was jt strangled to ath, " says Saeed, who has bee more ut about meetg up wh strangers bee of siar 's parks are always crowd, and particularly around dk, many of them bee popular cisg spots for gay men.

A RD EXEMPTED A GAY MAN OM SERVG IRAN’S ARY. IT MAY HAVE ST HIM HIS LIFE

| (VOCATIV/JANUS ENGEL RASMUSSEN)So naturally, when Naeem* met Behram* four years ago on gay datg se Manjan, which is also monored, he was ially hant. Seven months later, they rented an apartment wtern Tehran; they both still live at home and when Naeem here, he tells his parents he is gog out of town wh challenge of fdg a steady partner weighs heavily on Iranian gays; many speak of prsn, lonels and paranoia as almost permanent mental stat. She's a big gay in, and Febary she me out explic support of gay rights wh a vio for the song "Behht, " pictg a lbian uple love.

(In a male-domated society like Iran, homosexual women have even ls privacy than men, and often risk beg shunned by neighbors if they rent an apartment whout a hband. "I thk she tri to not watch the clip so she always chang the channel or pretends that she don't watch the TV, " he of the stigma agast homosexuals is trsic to the Persian language, which has two different words for homosexualy. "Yet the problem for men like Naeem and Behram is there's no real outlet to bate semantics: Although homosexualy n be punished, 's not somethg that is officially regnized.

While the new centrist ernment unr Print Hassan Rouhani matas a siar rea as s precsor, foreign-based media outlets like BBC Persian, Rad Zaman and Voice of Ameri e non-rogatory language about homosexuals, and is slowly tricklg down to reformist outlets si the untry, and to young Iranians, says spe s often venomo rhetoric, the Iranian regime silently accepts that gays do exist, and tak a few pragmatic steps to acunt for that Quran, the foundatn of Iranian law, explicly bans homosexualy. If a man n get a doctor to ttify he is gay, he will be exempt om ary, the small ncsns hardly amount to any sort of tangible eedom for Iran's gays, many of whom ntue to fight their own sexualy.

INSI THE SECRET GAY NEIGHBORHOOD IN TEHRAN, IRAN WHERE PEOPLE ARE RISKG THEIR LIV FOR THEIR EXPRSN

Through onle activism, publishg poetry, lerature and artwork onle, and engagg wh global gay culture through televisn and the ter, gay Iranians are g of age, spe the myriad of rtrictns they still face Iranian society and at the hands of the state. Mehdi Hamzad is young gay man his early thirti who has recently fished higher tn; he liv Tehran, and has braved g out to his iends, though not to his fay.

We spoke to him about what life is like the days for gay, lbian, bisexual and transgenred Iranians, and whether is even possible to live a fulfilled, secure life as a gay person a untry such as Iran:.

Unr the current circumstanc, Iranian youth, whether gay or straight, face many different obstacl, some of which have to do wh the regime (social rtrictns and iologil and polil prsure or the enomic suatn), and some to do wh public culture (a lack of acceptance of different liftyl and closed, tradnal thkg).

GAY IRANIAN, 20, 'BEHEAD BY HIS BROTHER AND S AFTER THEY DISVERED HIS SEXUALY'

The suatn wh my iends is the bt, as they are eher homosexuals themselv, or have accepted homosexualy and feel fortable wh me this rpect. There will always be teractns among -workers, people on the street and the bazaar, and gathergs that will have trac of homophobia them, and which will create an unwanted distance between a homosexual and his environment.

AN AWARD-WNG PHOTOGRAPHER LEFT IRAN TO BE GAY. TWO MONTHS AFTER FDG LOVE, HE DIED OF CORONAVIS.

Wh all the media attentn around this subject (pecially onle, satelle televisn programs, and foreign films and seri), homosexuals make peace wh themselv rather quickly and relatively easily, but there are problems, too. One major problem is the tradnal and relig upbrgg of the society, and the patriarchal state propaganda that alienat homosexuals and acceptance of homosexualy to take a lot of time and energy. Homosexuals who live small towns, more sular environments, and those who e om lower social levels and don’t have sufficient avenu for accsg rmatn and fdg others wh siar characteristics, or fdg a more accurate unrstandg about themselv, face other problems.

Those who have known about my homosexualy om the begng, and those who learned about later, have approached wh acceptance and support. In alg wh myself, I have fully accepted my homosexualy, but alg wh the outsi world, wh people and the society, I am always led to circumstanc where I am willgly or unwillgly remd of my homosexualy. [I see homophobia] jok, nversatns, socializg, or judgments, which often refer to homosexuals gradg, sultg, il, pathetic, disgtg, or immoral ways.

GAY IRANIAN MAN AD ALLEGED 'HONOR KILLG,' RIGHTS GROUP SAYS

In my opn, there are two ways to rce this homophobia: for people to see more and more homosexuals around themselv as cizens, and to fd more awarens about sexual orientatn. How do you answer those iends and acquatanc who mistakenly tell you that homosexualy is not natural, and that even animals don’t do this way bee do not lead to procreatn? There are those like [Islamic philosopher Abdolkarim] Soroh, who haven’t yet thought about homosexualy; there are those like the [progrsive theologian-cleric Mohsen] Kadivar who, if we nsir him an tellectual, support Islamic punishment agast homosexualy, and others like Akbar Ganji, Ram Jahanbegloo, Arash Naraghi, and others who fend the rights of homosexuals.

KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY

Overall you n feel that the different issu of homosexuals have no space the mds of most tellectuals and they see no reason to pay attentn to . Discrimatn between the active and the passive partners, opposg transsexuals, misogyny, ternalized homophobia, a tradnal and biased view towards two people’s relatnship, lack of sufficient emotnal matury, and over-emotnalism are some of the thgs that n more or ls be seen among homosexuals. Sometim the tense prsure the homosexual experienc over time ph him on a path where he may lack sufficient strength and patience to ntually evaluate himself and to ratnally manage his relatnships.

There is no official dissematn of rmatn for homosexuals and the only way to reach awarens about such issu is dog personal rearch, talkg to other homosexuals, and ocsnally gettg profsnal unselg.

What kds of psychologil and mental problems do an Iranian homosexual face when she is forced to hi her real self society and among her fay?

JAGUARS STRENGTH COACH KEV MAXEN COM OUT AS GAY

When you live for many years wh Iranian homosexuals, you will learn that there is no shortage of prsn, dissatisfactn, psychologil tensn, and even attempted suici among them.

The other issue is the emotnal problems of homosexuals, who nnot share their joy and sadns wh their fay and iends the way they like. Homosexuals Iran have a different set of thoughts and ncerns, thgs that would be meangls to those who live a more open and advanced society. At the same time there is more social acceptance and rpect for other mori the untri and most of them there are varyg gre of legal mechanisms for support of homosexuals and observatn of their rights.

In the middle of the fierce nontatn of polil activists wh the regime, many believe that this is not the appropriate time to be raisg the mands of homosexuals.

DIPLOMATIC TENSN REPORTEDLY RISG BETWEEN UNED STAT AND JAMAI OVER GAY AMERIN DIPLOMAT

It is not necsary for all of to talk or take actn about the rights of Baha’is or homosexuals; but if someone has somethg to say or wish to take a step, we should all support him or her. Homosexualy is, however, grounds for exemptn om ary service, so long as a mtee agre that the claim is genue; the ernment classifi homosexualy as a mental illns.

Monfared had nvced the mtee of his homosexualy and was wag for nfirmatn he uld leave the untry when his half-brother reportedly tercepted the letter ntag release paperwork. Human rights groups, activists, lawyers and policians have nmned the killg of Fazeli Wiener, a member of California's State Senate, wrote on Twter on May 10: "Another LGBTQ Iranian has been btally murred—pated by his fay—for beg a gay man. "Alireza's killg as a rult of his sexual orientatn beg stated on his ary service [exemptn] rd has once aga provid proof for our warng several years ago about the risks ed by the ary service exemptn procs for gay Iranian men and unrl the need for legislatn to prevent the safety risks, " LGBT Iranians have fled over the borr to Turkey recent years, hopg to ga asylum Europe.

TWO GAY MEN ARE HANGED IRAN SIX YEARS AFTER THEY WERE JAILED ON 'SODOMY' CHARG

The 20-year-old Iranian had hoped to pe the untry, where he felt stifled by the Iranian regime’s rtrictns on homosexualy, and had dreams of molg or beg a make-up artist, his partner Aghil Abiat told CNN. But on May 4, Fazeli-Monfared was killed, possibly after his extend fay disvered that he was gay through a ary service exemptn rd that arrived the mail, acrdg to Abiat and the Iranian LGBTQ anizatn 6Rang. Always seethg the background, however, was buildg fay prsure and Iran’s dranian laws agast homosexualy that make same-sex relatns a potential pal offense.

The most obv one is by law but there is also a lot of homophobia society pendg on where you are and which mographic you belong to … the fay n sometim be the most dangero place, ” Tara Sepehri Far, Iran rearcher at HRW. Some folks might qutn the necsy for a space specifilly for gay men, but is clear om the recent sentencg of two Iranian activists that there is still a lot of ntempt for anyone who is not straight and/or cisgenr. Iran’s Supreme Lear Ali K lled Wtern civilizatn “a new age of ignorance”, and referred to homosexualy as a “severe moral privatn” a televised speech, acrdg to US News.