Reports suggest Iran executed LGBT singer Mohsen Lorestani 6 December

“Mohsen Lorestani, a Kurdish singer from Kermanshah, was charged with ‘corruption on earth’ in a public complaint. His lawyer told Kurdistan Human Rights Network, ‘The alleged incidents happened in a private chat.’ If convicted, this charge could result in death sentence.”

The Tehran court alleged that the singer posted ‘immoral’ content which seems to indicate flirting.

Iranian law appears to allow the execution of allegedly gay men despite no evidence of actual sexual activity.

Indeed, the Iranian Foreign Minister defended the executions of gays and lesbians earlier this year.

“Our society has moral principles and we live according to these principles.”

Posts from Kurdish social media accounts suggest that Iran executed singer Mohsen Lorestani on 6 December. Although authorities detained the singer in March, news of his arrest only surfaced in October.

He appeared in court before the notorious hanging judge Mohammad Moqisseh, infamous for his role in torturing and executing political prisoners as far back as the 1980s.

At the time, Mohsen Lorestani’s lawyer reported he faced charges of ‘corruption on Earth’ stemming from a conversation on social media. ‘Corruption on Earth’ can incur the death penalty in Iran.

The singer’s lawyer stated after the court case that authorities only notified him of the trial following its completion. The court made no announcement of any verdict at the time.

On 4 December, Mohsen’s lawyer stated the singer had again appeared in court and again without his knowledge.

During this appearance, authorities alleged the ‘corruption on Earth’ charge pertained to the singer setting up an Instagram group for trans persons. That seems inexplicable as the Iranian regime approves of trans men and women, despite the persecution of gays and lesbians.

Later in December, Kurdish social media accounts reported that Iran executed Mohsen on 6 December.

“He has been convicted of “fasad fil arz” meaning he had girlfriend or boyfriend. Is this a crime? If yes, does it deserve execution? Or were there other reasons behind this? He was famous among Kurdish people and this terrorist regime is scared of famous Kurdish.”

Iranian crackdown on dissent

The murderous Islamic Republic of Iran currently faces the biggest crisis in its 40 years of existence. US sanctions against the country caused an 80% drop in oil exports during the last two years. As a result, the regime increased the price of petrol, previously heavily subsidised.

When protests broke out across Iran as a result, the supreme leader, 80-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered a brutal crackdown. Dissident twitter accounts carry reports of new deaths every day, including of children.

Iranian authorities have also carried out a policy of disrupting internet services to stop news of their murderous brutality spreading.

With Khamenei in poor health and elections due, Iranians hold little hope for the future. The self-righteous murderous conservative Muslim leaders continue to hold the country in a firm grip. Indeed, the US estimates Khamenei’s personal wealth at US$200 billion. No doubt, there’ll be plenty willing to do whatever it takes to seize the top job and continue the repression and plunder when the despot dies.

Although twelve jurisdictions worldwide prescribe the death penalty for homosexual acts only the Islamic dictatorships of Iran and Saudi Araba are known to have carried out executions for homosexuality in recent years.

Source: qnews.com.au, Destiny Rogers, December 26, 2019

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