Islamist militias target Iraqi gays

Submitted by Anon on 13 August, 2006 - 5:24

By Amy Fisher

Islamist violence against LGBT people in Iraq is reaching a new level with the extension of homophobic attacks to children.

An underground network of LGBT activists in Iraq is reporting the execution of an eleven year old boy by Islamist militias for the crime of having been forced into same-sex prostitution. Ameer Hasoon al-Hasani was kidnapped from his home by police. His body was found three days later; he’d been executed with a single shot to the head.

This barbaric action is condoned by the Iraqi government, and represents the gruesome logical extension of the anti-gay rhetoric of Islamist leaders. Militias such as the Badr Brigade continue to abduct and execute LGBT adults, acting with the backing of the Supreme Council of Islamic Revolution in Iraq, (the largest Shia block in Parliament).

One such case is that of Karar Oda, whose family were handed an arrest warrant signed by the Minister of the Interior calling for his execution for homosexuality. His body was found ten days later. Under Iraqi law such government complicity is not illegal; exceptions are written in to allow those who commit ‘honour’ killings to escape justice, basically giving free reign to the Islamist thugs to summarily execute LGBT people and women who transgress a strict moral code.

Under these conditions, it is not surprising that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Iraqis are fleeing to Britain. However, current asylum guidelines lead LGBT activists to believe they will be refused asylum because this would involve the UK government facing up to the level of Islamist aggression in Iraq, and its inability to control it.

More information can be found at www.iraqilgbtuk.blogspot.com - the website of Iraqi LGBT, a UK-based organisation set up to publicise the situation and campaign for gay rights in Iraq.

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