{"id":3318,"date":"2022-07-28T14:49:46","date_gmt":"2022-07-28T14:49:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/6rang.org\/english\/?p=3318"},"modified":"2022-07-29T12:37:07","modified_gmt":"2022-07-29T12:37:07","slug":"along-with-54-organisations-ilga-asia-called-for-the-immediate-release-of-sareh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/6rang.org\/english\/3318\/","title":{"rendered":"ALONG WITH 54 ORGANISATIONS, ILGA ASIA CALLED FOR THE IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF SAREH"},"content":{"rendered":"

28 July 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n

In October 2021, an LGBTIQ+ rights activist Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani, also known as Sareh, was arrested by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in Iran while she was attempting to cross the border to seek asylum in Turkey. She was charged<\/strong><\/a> with crossing the border illegally, and targeted for participating in an interview with BBC Persian and speaking up on the situation of LGBTIQ+ persons in Erbil, Iraq.<\/p>\n

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In a statement<\/strong><\/a>, the IRGC accused Sareh of: \u201cPromoting homosexuality, gambling, fraud, and promoting illicit sexual relations and publishing them on the Internet.” No evidence has been offered by the IRGC to substantiate these baseless accusations, nor has Sareh benefitted from any due process. Reports<\/strong><\/a> indicate that Sareh was coerced into confessing to these \u201ccrimes\u201d, potentially through acts of torture, including solitary confinement and threats that the State will take custody of her two children.<\/p>\n

We expressly condemn the unjust and cruel arrest and detention of Sareh by the IRGC, and equally condemns the accusations of \u2018spreading corruption on earth,\u2019 including through \u2018promoting homosexuality\u2019. We are critically aware and alarmed that these accusations can lead to a criminal conviction in Iran that could lead to capital punishment.<\/p>\n

The risk that Sareh may be executed is real and therefore we call for all charges against Sareh to be dropped and for her immediate release from Urmia prison in Iran.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We reiterate this urgent message from 6Rang, the Iranian Lesbian and Transgender Network:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is clear to all of us that what has taken place is not due process, but a re-run of a show familiar to many of us who grew up in the suffocating atmosphere of the Islamic Republic. Sareh must be released immediately and unconditionally. We ask all human rights organizations and the media not to ignore Sareh\u2019s detention, and to work for her freedom.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

In Solidarity,<\/p>\n