OutRage! News Service June 26th 1127am

Details of Iran embassy for letters etc within text and details of demos, so far, at end...............


Iran: Stop Killing Gays & Kids!

19 July 2006

International Day of Action Against Homophobic Persecution in Iran
(IDAAHOPI)

London – 26 June 2006

To mark the first anniversary of Iran's hanging of two gay teenagers,
Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni, gay campaign groups OutRage! and
IDAHO have declared 19 July 2006 an International Day of Action
Against Homophobic Persecution in Iran (IDAAHOPI).

They are calling for worldwide protests against the “murderous
homophobic Iranian regime” and “in commemoration of Asgari and
Marhoni, the two gay teenagers executed in the city of Mashhad on 19
July last year.”

Shocking new revelations concerning the executions follow below.

Photos of the hanging of Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni:

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/outrage/sets/72157594175121502/

Already, 19 July protests are confirmed in five cities: Amsterdam,
London, Provincetown, San Diego and San Francisco (full details
below).

In London, on 19 July at 6.30pm there will be a public meeting at
House of Commons, in Committee Room 12, with guest speakers: Chris
Bryant MP, Jean Lambert MEP, an Iranian gay activist, Simon Forbes and
Peter Tatchell. All welcome.

The demand of the global 19 July protests is:

Iran: Stop Killing Gays! Stop Killing Kids!

Some groups, like OutRage! in London, are also urging:

1. End all executions in Iran, especially the execution of minors.

2. Stop the arrest, torture and imprisonment of Iranian lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender people and repeal the Iranian penal code’s
criminalisation of same-sex relationships.

3. Halt the deportation to Iran of LGBT asylum seekers and other
victims of Tehran’s persecution.

4. Support Iranians struggling for democracy, social justice and human
rights.

5. Oppose foreign military intervention in Iran; regime change must
come from within – by and for the Iranian people themselves.

“OutRage! believes the queer rights struggle in Iran should be part of
- not separate from - the broader democratic and human rights
struggle,” said Peter Tatchell, spokesperson for OutRage!

"When protesting against the executions last year, we received strong
support from the Iranian women’s movement and from Iranian political
dissidents and labour movement activists. Linking up with these
progressive social forces within Iran is the key to advancing LGBT
human rights in that country.

“We urge lesbians and gays, and our straight allies, to organise
protest actions on 19 July in cities all over the world.

“Protest outside the Iranian Embassy. Bombard the Iranian Ambassador
with protest letters, faxes and emails,” urged Mr Tatchell.

Louis-Georges Tin, coordinator of the International Day Against
Homophobia (IDAHO), who is also calling for global protests, added:

“Something special has happened since 19 July 2005: an international
movement is emerging in solidarity with the two boys and all the
victims of Iran’s homophobic regime.

"The political and religious authorities in Iran should understand
that their homophobia is now regarded as an international scandal.

“On 19 July, we are standing for life, for liberty, and for love. We
are
standing in commemoration of Mahmoud and Ayaz and all the victims of
Tehran’s homophobic tyranny. We also stand in hope, looking forward to
a better future for the gays and lesbians of Iran," stated Mr Tin.

The US coordinator of the 19 July protests, Michael Petrelis of San
Francisco, said: "Only one American city joined last year’s the
international protests against Iran's hanging of the two gay
teenagers."

"This year, gays in at least three US cities will take to the streets
on July 19. We hope more cities will join us and organise vigils for
gay and lesbian Iranians.

“American gay rights organisations should devote more energy to
tackling homophobic persecution beyond our borders. The protests on
July 19 are a step towards greater US support for the global struggle
for queer freedom," concluded Mr Petrelis.

In the UK, email, phone, fax and write your protests to the Iranian
Ambassador:

 info@iran-embassy.org.uk

Tel: 020 7225 3000
Fax: 020 7589 4440

Iranian Ambassador
Embassy of Iran
16 Prince’s Gate
London SW7 1PT

Further information from OutRage! in London: Brett Lock 0770 843 5917


New revelations about the execution of Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni
in the Iranian city of Mashhad on 19 July 2005, based on research by
Simon Forbes of OutRage! and information from contacts inside Iran:

“A year-long investigation into this case has revealed that the
regime’s allegations against the two hanged youths, Mahmoud Asgari and
Ayaz Marhoni, are riddled with contradictions, implausibilities and
outright lies,” according to Peter Tatchell of OutRage!.

“At first it was claimed by Iranian officials that they were aged 18
and 19, then that they were 19 and 21, then aged 18 and 20, and
finally they made the claim that they were both above 18 at the time
of their alleged crimes.

“However, the best evidence is that both youths were aged 17 when they
were executed and therefore minors, aged 15 or 16, at the time of
their alleged crimes. This execution of minors is in flagrant breach
of international agreements the Tehran regime has signed.

“The method of hanging was specifically designed to cause a slow,
painful death by strangulation.

“Concerning their crimes: at first it was claimed that they committed
one rape and were child molesters, then that they had committed
several rapes. By the autumn of 2005, the supporters of the regime
were spreading rumours that they were serial child killers.

“Local sources in Mashhad state that Mahmoud and Ayaz were lovers, not
rapists or child abusers – contrary to the homophobic propaganda of
the Iranian regime and its western left-wing and Islamist apologists.

“Witnesses report seeing them together and obviously in love at a
private party in 2003.

“Mahmoud and Ayaz were charged with the capital crime of homosexuality
after a disapproving family member reported their relationship to the
police.

“At least one, and possibly both, of the hanged boys were members of
Iran’s persecuted Arab minority. Racism appears to have played a part
in the stereotypical way they were portrayed by the regime as being
‘underclass’ thieves and hooligans.

“Informants inside Iran make it clear that the boys were of good
character and that they came from decent, law-abiding families whose
fathers had good jobs.

“The execution of Mahmoud and Ayaz conforms to a pattern of state
torture and murder of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)
people by the Iranian clerical regime.

“In recent years, public executions for consensual gay sex have been
rarer than in the past; apparently because the regime does not want to
draw attention to its failure to eradicate same-sex behaviour in the
‘Islamic paradise’ of Iran.

“In publicised executions of gay couples, the men are often accused of
the kidnap and rape of a younger male. All such allegations need to be
treated with extreme scepticism, as they tend to follow a suspiciously
stereotypical formula.

“By instituting charges of kidnap and rape, the Iranian authorities
apparently hope to discredit the victims, discourage public protests
and deflect international condemnation. They calculate that there will
be little Iranian or international sympathy for people hanged for
crimes like abduction and sexual assault,” said Mr Tatchell.

19 July protest info:

Five cities are organising protests:

Amsterdam
Location: Homomonument
Time: To be announced
Contact: Mike Tidmus,  tidmus@mac.com

London:
Location: House of Commons, Committee Room 12
Guest Speakers: Chris Bryant MP, Jean Lambert MEP, Iranian gay
activist, Simon Forbes and Peter Tatchell
Time: 6:30 pm
Contacts: Peter Tatchell,  peter@tatchell.freeserve.co.uk
& Brett Lock,  brettlock@gmail.com

Provincetown
Location: Town Hall Square
Time: To be announced
Contact: Andrew Sullivan,  andsul@aol.com

San Diego
Location: U.S. Federal Building
Time: 4:00 pm
Contact: Michael Mussman,  michaelmussman@yahoo.com

San Francisco
Location: Harvey Milk Plaza, Castro and Market Streets
Time: 5:00 pm
Contact: Michael Petrelis,  mpetrelis@aol.com

How about organising a protest in your city?

Ends



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