FEATURED POST

Japan | Hakamada found religion, but then felt under attack by ‘the devil’

Published
Image
Editor's note: This is the last in a four-part series on letters that Iwao Hakamada wrote while on death row. About a decade after cursing God, Iwao Hakamada was baptized Catholic at the Tokyo Detention House on Dec. 24, 1984. “Since I have been given the Christian name Paul, I am keenly feeling that I should be aware of the greatness of Paul.” (June 1985)

Three More Possible Death Sentences for Homosexuality in Iran

Published
Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees – The Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees (IRQR) recently received reports from Iran regarding three more possible death sentences for homosexuality, one man receiving 74 lashes for his homosexual act, and the murder of a 23 year old bisexual man by the Iranian security forces.

We asked our representative in the city of Sari (the capital of the northern Iranian province of Mazandaran) to find out more.

Here is his report:

Reza, 23, and Alireza, 28, are boyfriends who live together in a small rental apartment in Sari. Alireza works at his father’s real estate office. Reza stays at home, as his more outwardly ‘feminine’ behavior attracts homophobic comments from neighbors. Neither of the men’s families accept their sexuality or their consequent decision to live together as a loving couple.

On May 27, 2010, Iranian security forces raided Reza and Alireza’s apartment and arrested both men along with guests who were visiting. Their computer and personal belongings were confiscated as evidence.

The guests were released by security forces a few days later after being forced to testify that Reza and Alireza live together as lovers. They say that during their arrest they heard rumors that the police were responding to a complaint by the mens’ families about their sons. Reza and Alireza remain in custody.

Reza and Alireza were sent to the Revolutionary Court of Sari located in Artesh Blvd. We do not know what sentence they received but it is rumored that they have been sentenced to death.

Also in Sari in May 2010, a well-known businessman, Hamid, 40, was arrested for having a sexual relationship with a 17 year old man. The arrest took place after Hamid’s wife called the police.

Hamid received 74 lashes. There are some reports that he has also been sentenced to death, but we have been unable to confirm this. There is no news regarding the 17 year old man.

Amir Hossein, 23, known among his friends in Sari for his bisexuality, was arrested by Basij security forces while having dinner with his girlfriend. While in the custody of the Iranian security forces, he was beaten to death.

IRQR condemns the arrest, torture and murder of Iranian queers by the Iranian security forces as a breach of internationally-recognized human rights and we urge the Iranian government to take action to stop these abuses.

We also ask international organizations, especially Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to support IRQR in conducting further investigations into all of these cases.

Source: IRQR, June 20, 2010
Related content:

Most Viewed (Last 7 Days)

First Third Of 2024 In Saudi Arabia: Executions Rise By 189% And Portend Another Bloody Year. At Least 71 Currently Facing Execution.

Published
Image
Since the beginning of 2024 until the end of April, the Ministry of Interior in Saudi Arabia announced the execution of 55 individuals. This figure constitutes a 189% increase compared to the executions in the first third of 2023, which witnessed 19 executions. The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights views these numbers as a clear indication of the Saudi government's continued approach towards executing and issuing death sentences, and that the promises made in recent years have become elusive.
Read more

Cruel and Unusual: Documentary explores epicenter of Texas’ prison system

Published
Image
Every few years, from childhood until my late teens, my granddad would take me along with him to the small Texas town where he grew up—Normangee, population 522—to visit old relatives and even older graves. The drive took us up I-45, beyond the Houston sprawl, past pine forests, and eventually through Huntsville, epicenter of the state prison system. One of the city’s seven prisons was just off the interstate, and as we passed by I’d stare at the guard towers and barbed wire before turning my attention across the street to the Texas Prison Museum, which had its own mock guard towers in the parking lot. (“Prison” and “museum” were words that never seemed to go together.) Later, I learned that the museum’s central attraction was the wooden electric chair the state used for executions until 1964.
Read more

Saudi authorities agree to postpone execution of Kenyan national

Published
Image
NAIROBI, Kenya, May 13 – Saudi Arabia has acceded to Kenya’s request to postpone the execution of Stephen Munyakho that was set for Wednesday to allow for further negotiations between all parties. According to Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’Oei, Kenya will be engaging stakeholders in Nairobi and Riyadh, including religious leaders, to agree on the next urgent steps.
Read more

Missouri | Man Facing Execution Next Month Is Hospitalized With Heart Problem

Published
Image
David Hosier, who is weeks away from execution, is in a hospital after suffering what a Missouri Department of Corrections spokeswoman described as a “medical emergency." ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Missouri death row prisoner who is due to be executed next month has been hospitalized because of a “medical emergency,” a spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Corrections said.
Read more

20 Minutes to Death: Witness to the Last Execution in France

Published
Image
The following document is a written record of convicted killer Hamida Djandoubi's last moments before he was guillotined in a Marseilles prison on September 10, 1977. This written record -- dated September 9 -- was written by a judge appointed to witness the execution. Djandoubi's execution was the last execution carried out in France before capital punishment was abolished in 1981. Then-President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, who had voiced his "loathing for the death penalty" before he was elected to office, flatly turned down Djandoubi's appeal for clemency and chose to let "Justice run its course", as he did on two previous instances ( Christian Ranucci , executed on July 28, 1976 and Jérôme Carrein , executed on June 23, 1977). Hamida Djandoubi , a Tunisian national, was sentenced to death for killing his former lover, Elisabeth Bousquet. He was executed in Marseilles' Baumettes prison in September 1977. The following text was writ
Read more