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| '''Mahmoud Asgari''' ({{PerB|محمود عسگري}}) and '''Ayaz Marhoni''' ({{PerB|عياض مرهوني}}) were ]ian teenagers from the province of ] who were publicly ] in Edalat (Justice) Square in ], northeast ], on ] ]. | '''Mahmoud Asgari''' ({{PerB|محمود عسگري}}) and '''Ayaz Marhoni''' ({{PerB|عياض مرهوني}}) were ]ian teenagers from the province of ] who were publicly ] in Edalat (Justice) Square in ], northeast ], on ] ]. | ||
| The case attracted the attention of the international media because of deeply disturbing photographs of the two as they were taken to be hanged. Many human rights activists found them a powerful, emotional indictment of the death penalty. First reports in the Western media gave rise to an initial belief that the boys had been executed for engaging in consensual ]. However, |
The case attracted the attention of the international media because of deeply disturbing photographs of the two as they were taken to be hanged. Many human rights activists found them a powerful, emotional indictment of the death penalty. First reports in the Western media gave rise to an initial belief that the boys had been executed for engaging in consensual ]. However, most human rights organizations, including ] and the ], concluded that they were in all probability executed for the rape of a 13-year-old boy. <ref name="nationkim">Kim, Richard. (2005.) . ''The Nation''. Retrieved December 31, 2006.</ref> Human Rights Watch stated that "The bulk of evidence suggests that the youth were tried on allegations of raping a 13-year-old, with the suggestion that they were tried for consensual homosexual conduct seemingly based almost entirely on mistranslations and on cursory news reporting magnified by the Western press." <ref name="HRWletter"> "Response to Peter Tatchell's 'Open Letter,'" distributed on e-mail by Scott Long, Human Rights Watch, July 18, 2006. </ref> ] of Human Rights Watch stated that "crying wolf is a bad strategy for achieving change," and that "if human rights advocates don't deal in facts instead of speculation, they lose all credibility in future crises." Condemning "misrepresentations" in Western accounts of the case, he also observed that Human Rights Watch was "deeply disturbed by the apparent indifference of many people to the alleged rape of a 13-year old." | ||
| <blockquote>Nothing justifies torture and the death penalty. They are utterly unacceptable punishments for any crime. Still, many advocates around the Mashhad case disagree with this--or feel they cannot condemn the treatment of the two executed youths unless they were "gay" in a Western sense, and demonstrably "innocent." Some campaigners as a result simply dismiss the possibility of violent sexual assault against another child. This is not a matter to be passed over lightly. <ref> Memorandum by Scott Long, Human Rights Watch, "Iran, July 19: Some Thoughts and Facts," distributed on e-mail on July 11, 2006 </ref></blockquote> | |||
| Asgari and Marhoni were believed to have been ]s at the time of the offense, and one is believed to have been a juvenile at the time of his execution. Iran frequently executes people for offenses committed as children, a practice condemned by international human rights treaties. <ref name="HRWpress"> Human Rights Watch (2005.). Retrieved December 31, 2006. </ref> | |||
| The facts of the case are still subject to heated debate. The British activist ], known for his militant statements opposing Iran and Islam, has accused activists who have suggested the two were charged with rape of being "western left-wing and Islamist apologists" of the "Iranian regime." <ref>Peter Tatchell, quoted in . Outrage! press release, June 26, 2006. Retrieved January 7, 2007. </ref> Some of the reports that were first used to discredit the rape charges originated with an Iranian dissident group accused of serious human-rights violations, one that is classified as a terrorist organization by the United States and several European countries.<ref></ref> | The facts of the case are still subject to heated debate. The British activist ], known for his militant statements opposing Iran and Islam, has accused activists who have suggested the two were charged with rape of being "western left-wing and Islamist apologists" of the "Iranian regime." <ref>Peter Tatchell, quoted in . Outrage! press release, June 26, 2006. Retrieved January 7, 2007. </ref> Some of the reports that were first used to discredit the rape charges originated with an Iranian dissident group accused of serious human-rights violations, one that is classified as a terrorist organization by the United States and several European countries.<ref></ref> | ||
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| <blockquote>“Death is an inhumane punishment, particularly for someone under eighteen at the time of his crimes,” said Hadi Ghaemi, Iran researcher for Human Rights Watch. “All but a handful of countries forbid such executions. Iran should as well.<ref name="HRWpress"/></blockquote> | <blockquote>“Death is an inhumane punishment, particularly for someone under eighteen at the time of his crimes,” said Hadi Ghaemi, Iran researcher for Human Rights Watch. “All but a handful of countries forbid such executions. Iran should as well.<ref name="HRWpress"/></blockquote> | ||
| In Tehran, Nobel Peace laureate ] decried the imposition of the death penalty on minors but did not comment on the nature of the charges in this case. <ref> The group Outrage!, and some U.S. and British , reported inaccurately that Ebadi had endorsed claims that the two were executed for consensual sex. In fact, even Iran Focus made it clear that Ebadi made no such claim and that her condemnation was based on longstanding opposition to the death penalty for crimes committed by minors: www.iranfocus.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2955 .</ref> | In Tehran, Nobel Peace laureate ] decried the imposition of the death penalty on minors but did not comment on the nature of the charges in this case. <ref> The group ], and some U.S. and British , reported inaccurately that Ebadi had endorsed claims that the two were executed for consensual sex. In fact, even Iran Focus made it clear that Ebadi made no such claim and that her condemnation was based on longstanding opposition to the death penalty for crimes committed by minors: www.iranfocus.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2955 .</ref> | ||
| The first reports in the Iranian media, including the highly respected ISNA, had all identified the hangings as the result of a rape conviction. However, these reports only came to light after later English-language accounts had suggested the two might have been killed for being gay. This made it appear plausible to some that the rape charges might have been simply a "cover story" put out later by the Iranian government--even though the story of rape had actually been the first one told. Several bloggers promoted the story heavily and gave wide coverage to the horrifying pictures of the hanging. U.S. blogger ] referred to the charges of rape as "the Iranian government's story."<ref name="Ireland1"/> | The first reports in the Iranian media, including the highly respected ISNA, had all identified the hangings as the result of a rape conviction. However, these reports only came to light after later English-language accounts had suggested the two might have been killed for being gay. This made it appear plausible to some that the rape charges might have been simply a "cover story" put out later by the Iranian government--even though the story of rape had actually been the first one told. Several bloggers promoted the story heavily and gave wide coverage to the horrifying pictures of the hanging. U.S. blogger ] referred to the charges of rape as "the Iranian government's story."<ref name="Ireland1"/> | ||
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| Within weeks of the hangings, both reporters and human rights organizations--while continuing to condemn the brutality of the hangings--began to produce more nuanced accounts. Paula Ettelbrick, executive director of the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission, told the press, “It was not a gay case”<ref></ref> | Within weeks of the hangings, both reporters and human rights organizations--while continuing to condemn the brutality of the hangings--began to produce more nuanced accounts. Paula Ettelbrick, executive director of the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission, told the press, “It was not a gay case”<ref></ref> | ||
| The U.S. periodical ] published a lengthy investigation of the story. It criticized the role of ] and ] in spreading the belief the executed youths were gay before it had examined the evidence. The article concluded that, given ]'s "recent statements, it seems likely that his ideological disposition caused him to look past or dismiss information that cast doubt on the 'gay teenagers' story." <ref name="nationkim"/> | The U.S. periodical ] published a lengthy investigation of the story. It strongly criticized the role of ] and ] in spreading the belief the executed youths were gay before it had examined the evidence. The article concluded that, given ]'s "recent statements, it seems likely that his ideological disposition caused him to look past or dismiss information that cast doubt on the 'gay teenagers' story." <ref name="nationkim"/> | ||
| ], founder of the lesbian and gay ] group ], published an opinion piece claiming that: | ], founder of the lesbian and gay ] group ], published an opinion piece claiming that: | ||
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| <blockquote> "very few people took the time to research the details of the case or even consult with experts who deal with such news on a daily basis. In fact it was almost a week later that we began to read more accurate accounts of why the teens were executed from international human rights groups including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission – all of whom have contacts in Iran and ways to confirm news of such incidents from independent sources. While no one will ever know why these two young men were executed in Iran, what remains clear is that the hysteria surrounding the executions was enormous and only fed to the growing Islamaphobia and hatred towards Muslims and the Islamic world."<ref>Alam, F. (2005.) Retrieved November 12, 2006 </ref></blockquote> | <blockquote> "very few people took the time to research the details of the case or even consult with experts who deal with such news on a daily basis. In fact it was almost a week later that we began to read more accurate accounts of why the teens were executed from international human rights groups including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission – all of whom have contacts in Iran and ways to confirm news of such incidents from independent sources. While no one will ever know why these two young men were executed in Iran, what remains clear is that the hysteria surrounding the executions was enormous and only fed to the growing Islamaphobia and hatred towards Muslims and the Islamic world."<ref>Alam, F. (2005.) Retrieved November 12, 2006 </ref></blockquote> | ||
| ] and ] continued to defend their initial claim that the two victims were hanged because they were lovers. Outrage! frequently attacked activists who took a different perspective. It accused them of being "apologists" and of giving the "Iranian government the benefit of the doubt."<ref>Outrage! press release (August 4, 2005.) Retrieved December 1, 2006.</ref> Other gay and human rights groups that had researched the case had condemned the killings as gross rights violations. Nonetheless, ] of Outrage! wrote that those groups "showed little concern" about human rights violations in Iran: | ] and ] continued to defend their initial claim that the two victims were hanged because they were lovers. ] frequently attacked activists who took a different perspective. It accused them of being "apologists" and of giving the "Iranian government the benefit of the doubt."<ref>Outrage! press release (August 4, 2005.) Retrieved December 1, 2006.</ref> Other gay and human rights groups that had researched the case had condemned the killings as gross rights violations. Nonetheless, ] of ] wrote that those groups "showed little concern" about human rights violations in Iran: | ||
| <blockquote>"OutRage! is appalled that large sections of liberal and left opinion in the West shows little concern regarding the murderous brutality of the clerical fascist regime in Tehran. We deplore the gullibility of many gay, left and human rights groups concerning the abuse of LGBT human rights in Iran. ... They have long swallowed Iran's homophobic propaganda."<ref>Outrage! press release (September 20, 2005).. Retrieved December 12, 2006.</ref></blockquote> | <blockquote>"OutRage! is appalled that large sections of liberal and left opinion in the West shows little concern regarding the murderous brutality of the clerical fascist regime in Tehran. We deplore the gullibility of many gay, left and human rights groups concerning the abuse of LGBT human rights in Iran. ... They have long swallowed Iran's homophobic propaganda."<ref>Outrage! press release (September 20, 2005).. Retrieved December 12, 2006.</ref></blockquote> | ||
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| == Cultural references == | == Cultural references == | ||
| The album '']'' by the British musical group ] is "Dedicated to Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni". | - The album '']'' by the British musical group ] is "Dedicated to Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni". | ||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
Revision as of 20:57, 3 January 2008
Mahmoud Asgari (Template:PerB) and Ayaz Marhoni (Template:PerB) were Iranian teenagers from the province of Khuzestan who were publicly hanged in Edalat (Justice) Square in Mashhad, northeast Iran, on July 19 2005.
The case attracted the attention of the international media because of deeply disturbing photographs of the two as they were taken to be hanged. Many human rights activists found them a powerful, emotional indictment of the death penalty. First reports in the Western media gave rise to an initial belief that the boys had been executed for engaging in consensual homosexual sex. However, most human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, concluded that they were in all probability executed for the rape of a 13-year-old boy. Human Rights Watch stated that "The bulk of evidence suggests that the youth were tried on allegations of raping a 13-year-old, with the suggestion that they were tried for consensual homosexual conduct seemingly based almost entirely on mistranslations and on cursory news reporting magnified by the Western press." Scott Long of Human Rights Watch stated that "crying wolf is a bad strategy for achieving change," and that "if human rights advocates don't deal in facts instead of speculation, they lose all credibility in future crises." Condemning "misrepresentations" in Western accounts of the case, he also observed that Human Rights Watch was "deeply disturbed by the apparent indifference of many people to the alleged rape of a 13-year old."
Nothing justifies torture and the death penalty. They are utterly unacceptable punishments for any crime. Still, many advocates around the Mashhad case disagree with this--or feel they cannot condemn the treatment of the two executed youths unless they were "gay" in a Western sense, and demonstrably "innocent." Some campaigners as a result simply dismiss the possibility of violent sexual assault against another child. This is not a matter to be passed over lightly.
Asgari and Marhoni were believed to have been juveniles at the time of the offense, and one is believed to have been a juvenile at the time of his execution. Iran frequently executes people for offenses committed as children, a practice condemned by international human rights treaties.
The facts of the case are still subject to heated debate. The British activist Peter Tatchell, known for his militant statements opposing Iran and Islam, has accused activists who have suggested the two were charged with rape of being "western left-wing and Islamist apologists" of the "Iranian regime." Some of the reports that were first used to discredit the rape charges originated with an Iranian dissident group accused of serious human-rights violations, one that is classified as a terrorist organization by the United States and several European countries.
Background
Under some interpretations, Shari'a (Islamic Law) permits the death penalty for homosexual acts, but the Convention on the Rights of the Child, of which Iran is a signatory, forbids the execution of juveniles. According to Asgari's lawyer, Rohollah Razaz Zadeh, "death sentences handed to children by Iranian courts are supposed to be commuted to five years in jail" , but the Supreme Court in Tehran upheld the death sentence. The ages of the boys remain unclear, with some sources claiming they were fourteen and sixteen at the time of their arrests and sixteen and eighteen when executed. By Iranian law, males are considered adult at age 15.
On July 19, 2005, the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) posted an article in Persian describing the execution of the two youths. Its headline stated that they had been executed for "lavat beh onf," which means "sodomy/homosexual sex by force" and is a legal term used for rape of men by men. Earlier that day--on the morning of the executions--Quds, the local daily newspaper in Mashhad, had published a report on the executions. It gave a detailed account of how the two had allegedly raped a 13-year-old boy, and included statements by the father of the rape victim.
The ISNA article became the center of the dispute. The gay-rights group OutRage!, led by Peter Tatchell, published its own free translation of the article on July 21. Either deliberately or through a mistranslation, it ignored the phrase "lavat beh onf" and used the story to claim that the two youths had been executed for consensual sex with one another.
Two news sources heavily involved in Iranian exile politics had meanwhile contributed to the spread of the story in English. On July 20, 2005, an Iranian opposition group, the National Council of Resistance, the political wing of the People's Mojahedin (also known as the Mojahedin Khalq Organization or MKO), released a press release about the executions. It stated that: "The victims were charged with disrupting public order among other things." It did not mention the charges of rape. Iran Focus, a news website that is widely regarded as an affiliate of the People's Mojahedin, also published an article about the hangings, mentioning no charges at all. In a report, Human Rights Watch has accused the People's Mojahedin of grave human rights violations against its members and others, and some other Iranian exile groups accuse it of distorting facts to serve its political agenda.
International concern
On July 22 2005, Amnesty International issued a news release saying:
"According to reports, they were convicted of sexual assault on a 13-year-old boy and had been detained 14 months ago. Prior to their execution, the two were also given 228 lashes each for drinking, disturbing the peace and theft."
On July 27, 2007, after researching reports on the hangings, Human Rights Watch released letters to Iran's President and the head of the judiciary. In writing to the Iranian leadership, Human Rights Watch condemned the use of the death penalty in Iran. It stated that the two "were put to death on July 19 after they were found guilty of sexually assaulting a thirteen-year-old boy some fourteen months earlier," but did not address whether those charges were accurate. Its public statement noted:
“Death is an inhumane punishment, particularly for someone under eighteen at the time of his crimes,” said Hadi Ghaemi, Iran researcher for Human Rights Watch. “All but a handful of countries forbid such executions. Iran should as well.
In Tehran, Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi decried the imposition of the death penalty on minors but did not comment on the nature of the charges in this case.
The first reports in the Iranian media, including the highly respected ISNA, had all identified the hangings as the result of a rape conviction. However, these reports only came to light after later English-language accounts had suggested the two might have been killed for being gay. This made it appear plausible to some that the rape charges might have been simply a "cover story" put out later by the Iranian government--even though the story of rape had actually been the first one told. Several bloggers promoted the story heavily and gave wide coverage to the horrifying pictures of the hanging. U.S. blogger Doug Ireland referred to the charges of rape as "the Iranian government's story."
The hangings quickly became a political issue in disputes over U.S. and European policy toward Iran. The conservative U.S. commentator Andrew Sullivan posted the photographs in an entry on his blog called "Islamists versus Gays." Seeing the hangings as a reason gay people should support U.S. military action, he quoted a gay U.S. soldier who wrote him that:
"Your post on the Islamo-fascist hanging/murder of the two gay men confirmed for me that my recent decision to join the U.S. military was correct. I have to stuff myself back in the closet - something I thought I left a decade ago - but our war on terror trumps my personal comfort at this point. Whenever my friends and family criticize - I'll show 'em that link."
The Log Cabin Republicans, a conservative U.S. gay group, issued a statement reading, "In the wake of news stories and photographs documenting the hanging of two gay Iranian teenagers, Log Cabin Republicans re-affirm their commitment to the global war on terror."
Controversy
Within weeks of the hangings, both reporters and human rights organizations--while continuing to condemn the brutality of the hangings--began to produce more nuanced accounts. Paula Ettelbrick, executive director of the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission, told the press, “It was not a gay case”
The U.S. periodical The Nation published a lengthy investigation of the story. It strongly criticized the role of Peter Tatchell and Outrage! in spreading the belief the executed youths were gay before it had examined the evidence. The article concluded that, given Peter Tatchell's "recent statements, it seems likely that his ideological disposition caused him to look past or dismiss information that cast doubt on the 'gay teenagers' story."
Faisal Alam, founder of the lesbian and gay Muslim group Al-Fatiha Foundation, published an opinion piece claiming that:
"very few people took the time to research the details of the case or even consult with experts who deal with such news on a daily basis. In fact it was almost a week later that we began to read more accurate accounts of why the teens were executed from international human rights groups including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission – all of whom have contacts in Iran and ways to confirm news of such incidents from independent sources. While no one will ever know why these two young men were executed in Iran, what remains clear is that the hysteria surrounding the executions was enormous and only fed to the growing Islamaphobia and hatred towards Muslims and the Islamic world."
Outrage! and Peter Tatchell continued to defend their initial claim that the two victims were hanged because they were lovers. Outrage! frequently attacked activists who took a different perspective. It accused them of being "apologists" and of giving the "Iranian government the benefit of the doubt." Other gay and human rights groups that had researched the case had condemned the killings as gross rights violations. Nonetheless, Brett Lock of Outrage! wrote that those groups "showed little concern" about human rights violations in Iran:
"OutRage! is appalled that large sections of liberal and left opinion in the West shows little concern regarding the murderous brutality of the clerical fascist regime in Tehran. We deplore the gullibility of many gay, left and human rights groups concerning the abuse of LGBT human rights in Iran. ... They have long swallowed Iran's homophobic propaganda."
Peter Tatchell accused those who disagreed with him over the case of "racism." Outrage cited the case to “urge the international community to treat Iran as a pariah state." Tatchell stated, "There can be no normal relations with an abnormal regime "
Outrage! vigorously defended the National Council of Resistance (NCRI) against charges that it had abused human rights, as well as charges that it represented a "terrorist" organization. Outrage! referred to this as the "US State Department's smear." Peter Tatchell alleged that the NCRI was "heroic" and "is no more a terrorist organisation than the African National Congress in South Africa or the anti-Nazi resistance in occupied Europe during World War Two. While there have been allegations of human rights abuses by the NCRI, these pale into insignificance by comparison to the butchery of the Iranian regime."
Human Rights Watch has called the NCRI the "political wing" of the People's Mojahedin. It has documented how members were "tortured, beaten and held in solitary confinement for years at military camps in Iraq after they criticized the group’s policies and undemocratic practices." Human Rights Watch has stated that "it would be a huge mistake to promote an opposition group that is responsible for serious human rights abuses.”
Both Outrage! and blogger Doug Ireland have claimed secretive sources inside Iran to support their continuing assertion that Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni were hanged solely for being gay. Their source is Somalia-born activist Afdhere Jama, who lives in San Francisco in the U.S. According to Outrage!, Jama has told them that he has spoken to three people from Mashhad who maintain that Mahmoud Asgari, Ayaz Marhoni, and five other friends were originally accused of committing consensual homosexual acts on each other.
Scott Long of Human Rights Watch noted in 2006 that Afdhere Jama's sources "have refused to speak to anyone else, including human rights investigators," and that allegations of a huge crackdown against gay people in Iran based on their evidence are third-hand at best. Long wrote:
-It is impossible to reach a final conclusion about the criminal trial in Mashhad, given the opacity of the Iranian justice system and the authoritarian system in general, media censorship included.
-The preponderance of evidence suggested that the youth were tried on allegations of rape, with the suggestion that they were tried for consensual homosexual conduct seemingly based almost entirely on mistranslations and on cursory news reporting magnified by the Western press.
-There is no basis for imputing a Westernized "gay" identity to these youths. We have no idea what their behavior was or how they would have identified themselves, given the complexities around identity and sexuality in Iran..
Aftermath
In addition to Human Rights Watch, Paula Ettelbrick, executive director of the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission, has also said "It was not a gay case." Ettelbrick has also said she was also disturbed by the charged language used by some gay rights groups to condemn the execution, pointing to Peter Tatchell's statement, "This is just the latest barbarity by the Islamo-fascists in Iran." .
Both Sweden and The Netherlands responded to the stories around the Mashhad executions by announcing that they would immediately halt extraditions of LGBT asylum claimants to Iran. The Dutch government also announced that its Ministry of Foreign Affairs would investigate the treatment of gays and lesbians in the country. Civil rights groups in the U.S., United Kingdom and Russia have also called for similar policies.
In March 2006 Dutch Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk ("Iron Rita") proposed an end to a moratorium on deporting gay asylum-seekers to Iran, stating that it was now clear "that there is no question of executions or death sentences based solely on the fact that a defendant is gay", adding that homosexuality was never the primary charge against people.. Under parliamentary pressure, and based on evidence from groups including Human Rights Watch that torture of gays in Iran remained endemic, she was forced to extend the moratorium on deportation for a further six months. In late 2006, also due to to lobbying from groups including Human Rights Watch, the Netherlands instituted a new policy of removing the burden of proof from Iranian LGBT refugee claimants.
Scott Long of Human Rights Watch has written that "lesbian and gay Iranians are not abstractions, sheltered from politics—or missiles. Their lives should not be reduced to the agendas of well-meaning strangers in the West." He added, criticizing allegations he considered unsupported, that "If we want to challenge Iran’s government, we need facts. There is enough proof of torture and repression that we can do without claims of 'pogroms.'"
In 2006, the one-year anniversary of the hangings in Mashhad was designated an International Day of Action Against Homophobic Persecution in Iran by OutRage!, with vigils planned for Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Frankfurt, London, Marseille, Mexico City, Moscow, New York, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Stockholm, Tehran, Toronto, Vancouver, Vienna, Warsaw, and Washington, D.C., and with hearings planned in the British House of Commons. These demonstrations saw a renewal of controversy over whether Outrage!'s claims about the case had any basis in fact. Attempts to hold a new series of demonstrations in July 2007 reached only a far smaller number of cities.
Cultural references
- The album Fundamental by the British musical group Pet Shop Boys is "Dedicated to Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni".
See also
External links
- Scott Long, "Debating Iran
- IranAffairs.com: Iran Gays Executed?
- Original news article from ISNA (in Persian, with three photographs)
- Execution of Gay Teens in Iran (July 19, 2005) (four photo images)
- "In Iran mullahs' henchmen publicly hanged two young boys in Edalat (Justice) Square in Mashhad" - National Council of Resistance of Iran
- "Shocking new photo released in hanging of Iran gay teens" - Direland
- Graphic pictures of hanging of alleged homosexual teenagers
References
Footnotes
- ^ Kim, Richard. (2005.) "Witness to an Execution". The Nation. Retrieved December 31, 2006.
- "Response to Peter Tatchell's 'Open Letter,'" distributed on e-mail by Scott Long, Human Rights Watch, July 18, 2006.
- Memorandum by Scott Long, Human Rights Watch, "Iran, July 19: Some Thoughts and Facts," distributed on e-mail on July 11, 2006
- ^ Human Rights Watch (2005.)"Iran: End Juvenile Executions". Retrieved December 31, 2006.
- Peter Tatchell, quoted in "Iran: Stop Killing Gays and Kids". Outrage! press release, June 26, 2006. Retrieved January 7, 2007.
- The Washington Blade
- http://www.nyblade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=1786
- http://isna.ir/Main/NewsView.aspx?ID=News-556874 (in Persian)
- ^ Cited in Ireland, D. (2005) "Iran Executes 2 Gay Teenagers" , retrieved August 1, 2005.
- http://www.ncr-iran.org/content/view/222/69/
- http://www.iranfocus.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2917
- Human Rights Watch (2005.)"No Exit: Human Rights Abuses Inside the Mojahedin Khalq Camps"
- http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE130382005
- The group Outrage!, and some U.S. and British , reported inaccurately that Ebadi had endorsed claims that the two were executed for consensual sex. In fact, even Iran Focus made it clear that Ebadi made no such claim and that her condemnation was based on longstanding opposition to the death penalty for crimes committed by minors: www.iranfocus.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2955 .
- http://time-blog.com/daily_dish/index.php?dish_inc=archives/2005_07_01_dish_archive.html
- The Washington Blade
- Alam, F. (2005.) "Gay Media's Failure to Accurately Report Adds to Growing Hatred Towards Islamic World" Retrieved November 12, 2006
- Outrage! press release (August 4, 2005.) "Protest at execution of Iranian teenagers" Retrieved December 1, 2006.
- Outrage! press release (September 20, 2005)."OutRage!-Iran state flogging of gay men revealed". Retrieved December 12, 2006.
- "Tatchell's letter to 'The Nation'," circulated by Outrage! on the Euro-Queer e-mail listserve, August 16, 2005.
- Outrage! press release (November 14, 2005.) . Retrieved December 1, 2006.
- Seattle Gay News (October 7, 2005.)"Celebrities join London protest against Iran executions and torture". Retrieved December 1, 2006.
- Outrage! statement (July 28, 2005.) "Flaws in Blade Report of Executions in Iran" Retrieved December 1, 2006.
- Human Rights Watch press release (May 19, 2005.) "Iran: Exiled Armed Group Abuses Dissident Members" Retrieved December 1, 2006.
- Ireland, D. (September 1, 2005.) "Shame of Iran: US Remains Silent on Gay Hangings" LA Weekly, retrieved December 1, 2005. Simon Forbes of Outrage! has written a 100-page document detailing what Outrage! allegedly learned from Jama: http://pglo.net/english/MASHHAD%20PLACE_OF_MARTYRDOM.pdf
- ^ Scott Long, "Iran, July 19: Some thoughts and facts," e-mail memorandum distributed on July 10, 2006
- http://www.365gay.com/newscon05/07/073105holland.htm
- "Netherlands: Asylum Rights Granted to Lesbian and Gay Iranians"
- Scott Long, "Debating Iran
- Scott Long, "Debating Iran
Other Sources
- IranAffairs.com: Iran Gays Executed?
- Iran Executes Two - What Was Their Crime?
- Mixed reports on Iran teen hangings
- The Netherlands Freeze Gay Extraditions To Iran
- Iranian sources confirm trumped up charges
- HOMAGE:Buenos Aires Argentina