Iranian President ridiculed in protest at lgbt persecution

by Bazooka Joe Tue Jul 08, 2008 20:16

George Galloway described Thatchell as "an agent provocateur to soften up the public for war with iran." Galloway says Thatchell is the 'Pink end of the Khaki war machine".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou1es7fNTpk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXZh8FUWnyg%20

Thatchell can be seen protesting with ZionistS, Iranian Communists and Royalists against Palestinian Rights even though he says he supports Palestine! He went to the Palestinian rally in London to disrupt the demonstration, as did his fellow protestors, the Zionists and Communist. He was escorted away by police for causing a public nuisance.

http://www.inminds.co.uk/article.php?id=10214

Thatchell spreads false information, claiming gays in Iran are hung for being gay. They are not, as George Gallowoy points out. This is an attempt to form negative public opinion against Iran.

Please do your own research and do not believe whatever Tatchell is telling you or anything that comes from the same source as this 'story'. They have an agenda. Do your research before you believe what this 'pink end of the khaki war effort' is telling you.

http://www.monthlyreview.org/mrzine/pourzal220507.html

Thatchell, the Communist Party of Great Britain and HOPOI should be carefully examined and one should consider carefully what they say, their motivation, their backers and their agenda and then if you still wish to swallow their line please do so with a large pinch of salt.

Coincidence? Thatchell poses with another target of British Intelligence

by Desmond O'Toole - The Labour Party Tue Jul 08, 2008 20:22

Peter Tatchell does a willy-joke and thinks he's deflating a tyrant. Someone should really have a quiet natter with him about the real world.

by pat c Wed Jul 09, 2008 10:34

Here are some more pertinent quoptes from Peter Tatchell on Iran:

The leftwing US journalist, Doug Ireland, has documented (1) cases of the flogging and execution of men who have sex with men in Iran. These are just the cases we know about. It is likely that some similar executions never get media coverage in Iran and are therefore unknown to the outside world.

The Iranian Queer Rights Organisation (2) also confirms that homosexuality is a capital offence and that gay Iranians are subjected to brutal punishments, including torture and hanging.

The government of Iran admits that it has the death penalty for homosexuality. Gay people are sometimes tortured to make confessions - even false confessions. Iranian law makes no distinction between consensual and non-consensual same-sex relations. Both are punishable by execution.

If Iran doesn't execute queers, why does it need to retain the death penalty for same-sex relations? Why doesn't it repeal a law it supposedly never enforces? Why doesn't it announce a moratorium on hangings for homosexuality?
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/peter_tatchell/2008....html

1. http://www.petertatchell.net/international/iranhomophob...d.htm

2. http://www.irqo.net/

Despite all the lies spread by the friends of the mullahs, in reality Peter Tatchell opposes any Imperialist asggression towards Iran:

The Iranian regime is neo-fascist. It is notorious for bans on non-Islamist political parties, the violent suppression of protests and strikes, and the persecution of left-wingers, trade unionists, students, feminists, gays and religious and ethnic minorities.

The case for regime change is overwhelming, but it must come from within not as a result of US aggression. Many Iranians are hoping for Czech-style ‘people power’ democratic revolution, involving mass protests by socialists, secularists, democrats, women, students, trade unionists and minority nationalities.

US military intervention would strengthen the position of Ahmadinejad, allowing him to play the nationalist card. It would also give him an excuse to further crack down on dissent, using the pretext of safeguarding national security.

by pat c Wed Jul 09, 2008 13:07

Human Rights Watch on Iran:

Iranian law provides punishments up to death for penetrative same-sex sexual activity between men on the first conviction, and punishes non-penetrative activity with up to 100 lashes.Homosexual conduct between women is punishable with death on the fourth conviction. Iran’s Penal Code requires four reiterated confessions, or the testimony of four “righteous men” as eyewitnesses, to prove lavat, or sodomy. However, judges are permitted to accept circumstantial evidence or inference.
http://hrw.org/

by Bazooka Joe Wed Jul 09, 2008 16:55

Human Rights Watch has said it cannot fully document any executions in Iran in recent years carried out solely for the crime of consensual adult homosexual sex. The executions that are reported by Thatchell were for the rape of a 13 year old child and not because of consensual sex among gay men.

http://www.qx.se/english/6072/iranian-fears-execution-i...-home

In February 2006, Dutch Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk declared “It appears that there are no cases of an execution (in Iran)on the basis of the sole fact that someone is homosexual".

While many of us deplore the death penalty we also deplore child rapists. For gay Iranian asylum seekers to claim refuge by twisting the truth is one thing and for Islamophobes to use 'gay issues' or 'workers issues' to carry on a campaign of anti-Islamic propaganda is another.

Defending Asgari and Marhoni who were hanged for the rape at knifepoint of a child, Peter Thatchells OutRage organisation described the rape of a 13 year old boy thus:

"It could be that the 13-year-old was a willing participant but that Iranian law (like the laws of many Western nations) deems that no person aged 13 is capable of sexual consent," says OutRage!'s Brett Lock, "and that therefore even consensual sexual contact is automatically deemed in law to be statutory rape."

This implies OutRage believes 13 year old boys can give consent and we know OutRage has been campaigning for a lowering of the age of consent. But if the boy was giving consent, why did the gang hold a knife to his neck? Will we be told "he liked it that way, he really wanted it, he asked for it"?

OutRages account of the executions of Asgari and Marhoni in 2005 following an ISNA report has been challenged by Human Rights Watch's Scott Long, director of HRW's GLBT rights project. Long says the archaic term used to the descrige the mens conviction suggests forced sodomy "lavat beh onf" and has nothing to do with consensual sex as it was translated by OutRage.

A Mashad newspaper quoted the father of the 13 year old boy describing how his son was led from a shopping area to a deserted alley where five other boys were waiting. They forced him to have sex at knife-point. Passersby said that when they tried to intervene they and their cars were attacked.

Amnesty International and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), agreed that the Mashad executions of Asgari and Marhoni were not gay-related. Paula Ettelbrick, executive director of the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission, told the press, “It was not a gay case”.

Outrage's portrayal of them as "gay teenagers" is incorrect. How would anyone in Ireland like it if groups of young men were raping children at knife-point? Would they be called "gay teenagers" or rapists and predators? It is deeply disturbing that Thatchell and OutRage remain indifferent to the rape of a 13-year old child and that Thatchell has described those of us who do care as, "Western left-wing and Islamist apologists" of the "Iranian regime."

OutRage which Peter Thatchell helped form has long been campaigning to lower the age of concent for homosexual sex and as we know he turns up to protest against Palestianian rights while claiming to support them, so I would ask you again to look closely at these people who contort the truth to serve their own agenda. Also consider that when Thatchell, Outrage and others close to them were using this story to spread anti-Iranian propaganda their 'story' had partially come from the People's Mojahedin (MEK or MKO), a communist group which gets support for its campaign against the Iranian government from the US government. Their convenient mistranslation of the words "forced anal sex" being the basis for the OutRage protests and reams of propaganda ever since. They passed the ball to Thatchell who ran with it and ran with it and he even outraged and conviced others to follow him into this folly.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmoud_Asgari_and_Ayaz_Ma...rhoni
http://www.guidemag.com/content/index.cfm?ID=250

Don't be fooled again!
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/77340

by pat c Wed Jul 09, 2008 18:39

Iranian law provides punishments up to death for penetrative same-sex sexual activity between men on the first conviction, and punishes non-penetrative activity with up to 100 lashes.Homosexual conduct between women is punishable with death on the fourth conviction. Iran’s Penal Code requires four reiterated confessions, or the testimony of four “righteous men” as eyewitnesses, to prove lavat, or sodomy. However, judges are permitted to accept circumstantial evidence or inference.
http://hrw.org/

by pat c Wed Jul 09, 2008 18:45

For over 30 years I have supported the Palestinian struggle for national liberation, but it would be wrong to remain silent while the PLO, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority are abducting, brutalising and murdering lesbian and gay Palestinians. Freedom for Palestine must be freedom for all Palestinians - straight and gay.

Unless we challenge the abuse of queer human rights now, this violent homophobia will become entrenched in a new Palestinian state and Palestinian leaders will be emboldened to abuse the rights of other Palestinian citizens", said Tatchell.

http://www.outrage.org.uk

by pat c Wed Jul 09, 2008 19:20

Extracts from a report. Full text at link.

The Iranian penal code makes particular types of same-sex sexual relations capital offences under the category of hodoud crimes – crimes against divine will, for which the penalty is prescribed by Islamic law.

As hodoud crimes are regarded as a crime against God, they are not open to pardon by the Supreme Leader on the recommendation of the Head of the Judiciary in the same way as are ta’zir or discretionary punishments. However, if the person has confessed and repented (publicly sought forgiveness from God), then the judge in the case has the power to seek a pardon from the Supreme Leader or to insist on the implementation of the verdict. (Articles 81, 126 and 133 of the Islamic Penal Code.)

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/POL30/003/2008/...35anc

by Bazooka Joe Thu Jul 10, 2008 00:56

Is the tactic of flooding with bold lettered text a Communist or a Marxist-Leninist tactic in the absence of a Stalinist censorship regime? Isn't the truth a tiresome reality in the face of an invented myth? Lol

by Aragon Thu Jul 10, 2008 06:54

Pat C - why no answer to the facts described by Bazooka Joe? Have you any evidence to prove he is wrong? If not, it seems there has been a lot of pretty serious minisformation about this execution. I don't think execution is ever justified but there is a big difference between a knife-point rape and consensual sex.

by Furlong Thu Jul 10, 2008 09:10

This wouldnt have anything to do with Iran test firing medium range missiles on Tuesday now would it. The internet has been flooded with anti iranian and anti islamic tripe since then.

As always Pat your timing is more than suspect.

As for Thatchell, he is largely a discredited harpy. And he has called for the US and UK forces to stay in Iraq until the job is done, hardly the position of a principled activist.
He wants regime change for Iran, redin between the lines its clear he views a US invasion as the lessor of two evils in this regard despite his protests at such an intervention.

by pat c Thu Jul 10, 2008 12:37

BJ is as usual totally distorting things. There is some debate about whether or not the two men in question were solely executed for consensual sexualactivities. But Irish LGBT organisations believe in the mens innocence and organised a memorial meeting for them.

Here is an extract from the report of the meeting:

In 2005 two Iranian teenagers, Mahmoud Asgari (16) and Ayaz Marhoni (18), were both sentenced to death for what some human rights groups claimed was "consensual gay sex". Today, on the first anniversary of the executions a protest meeting was held outside the Central Bank in Dame to commemorate the event. The meeting was organised by the BeLonG To youth project. Oisin O'Reilly from BeLonG To addressed the meeting saying, "Mahmmoud and Ayaz were born in Iran and they were executed for who they were and how they loved."

Reports that they were executed for the rape of a 13-year-old were dismissed by Colm O'Gorman, founder of One-In-Four, who also addressed the meeting saying, "Iranian officialdom would have us believe that these two children, and they were children, were executed for the rape of a 13-year-old. There's extensive evidence to completely dismiss that assertion. These two boys were in some type of loving relationship. It's also clear they were involved with a group of other teenagers who identified as gay.."

Senator David Norris complimented the "brilliant group" BeLonG To for their work and said "The one thing I regret about this demonstration is that it is not right outside the Iranian embassy to let them know what we think about them and their filthy work."

Between 1979 and 1990 107 people were executed in Iran on charges related to homosexuality. In January 1990 2 lesbian women and three gay men were the publicly beheaded as a result of charges relating to homosexual behaviour.
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/77340

Ailbhe Smyth Chair of PBPA also spoke at this meeting. If there is any doubt then surely the benefit of the doubt belongs to the 2 teenagers who were hanged. Do you believe David Norris and Ailbhe Smyth or do you believe the anonymous BJ?

You may read more from BeLong To on this case at:
http://www.belongto.org/article.aspx?sectionid=2

I have put the quotes from HRW and Iran in Bold because BJ claims that lgbt people are not executed in Iran. Amnesty and HRW make it clear that the opposite is the case

by pat c Thu Jul 10, 2008 13:23

This is an Amnesty report on the hanging of the two youths:

Ayaz Marhoni and Mahmoud Asgari, both Iranian Arabs, were publicly hanged in a square in Mashhad on 19 July 2005. Amnesty International believes that Mahmoud Asgari was 15 or 16 and Ayaz Marhoni was 16 or 17 at the time of the crime. Both were flogged 228 times before their execution. The true nature of their alleged crime is disputed.

Photographs of the two boys being transported to their execution and of the execution itself were publicized around the world, and prompted international condemnation. One photo shows them crying while being interviewed by journalists en route to their hanging.

Amnesty International is not in a position to make a judgement about the true reason for the execution. It is denied research access to Iran and therefore could not meet those close to the case. No court documents were ever made available, and it is believed that the trial was closed. The case, and the controversy surrounding it, demonstrates the difficulties in gathering and verifying information on Iran.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE13/059/2007/en