Iran: Dozens Released from Detention after Arrested for Homosexuality and Satanism

6Rang, 16 October 2013: Dozens of people recently arrested in Kermanshah, Iran have all been reportedly released on bail. IRGC Intelligence agents had raided the home last week during a birthday party and charged the dozens arrested with “Homosexuality and Satanism.

On October 10, 2013, the IRGC website in Kermanshah said: “A gang of a few dozen homosexuals and Satanists along with some foreign nationals from Iraq and neighbouring countries, [all] who have been under the monitoring and surveillance of IRGC security forces [for some time], have been arrested and ravaged…Eight of the homosexuals in this group were *married to each other…from some time ago foreigners have deployed people from satanic and homosexual groups to the country in an attempt to spread disgusting behaviour.”

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian and Trasngender Network), dedicated to raising awareness on LGBT issues in Iran, says these recent arrests mark the first time that the Islamic Republic of Iran has officially declared and confirmed an arrest for charges regarding same-sex relations. 6RANG says this is also the first time the IRGC has openly declared responsibility for confronting a community described as belonging to “homosexuals” and “satanists”. In the past, police and Basij forces were reportedly the forces responsible for raiding house parties and assaulting, harassing, and arresting guests for same-sex relations or “Actions against chastity”.

Last month, following the publication of the latest human rights violations report of UN Special Rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed, Mohammad Javad Larijani– Head of the Iranian Judiciary’s Human Rights Headquarters– said in an interview with state media: “In our establishment, homosexuality is a very bad disease. Gathering or promoting [homosexuality] is completely illegal and there are strict consequences and laws against it.

In the past Islamic Republic of Iran authorities have denied the persecution of gays and lesbians, but at the same time have issued the charge of “Lavat” (a penetrative or non-penetrative sexual act between men), listed as a “crime” in Iran’s Islamic Penal Code, in order to justify execution and flogging sentences. Under the Islamic Penal Code, consensual intercourse between men carries mandatory death penalty and between women is punishable by 100 lashes; and by death if repeated for the fourth time. The Penal Code also states that two men women caught engaging in non-penetrative acts are to be punished with flogging, but the fourth offense carries the death penalty.

6Rang is deeply worried about the well-being and fate of individuals in Iran who belong to the LGBT community. They are at high risk of long-term detention, psychological and physical torture, and death. 6Rang calls on the international community– including concerned citizens, world officials, and human rights activists and organizations– to help spread widespread awareness on LGBT-related issues in order to prevent the persecution and deaths of members of the LGBT community in Iran.

*According to Iranian laws, it is illegal and impossible for same-sex partners to get married.