Plea from Iraq to Protest the Massacre of LGBT People

Dear Friends,

We are writing you regarding the massacre against LGBT people in Iraq that started in Baghdad on February 6 and continues to be escalated.  The victims will reach one hundred soon and the government has not only turned a blind eye but denies it altogether. We are working on documenting names\pictures of the victims and circumstances of the killings.

Sign our petition to tell the Iraqi government to stand up for the LGBT community and prosecute those who have a hand in this massacre. Our statement is attached below and is a few days old so the numbers are even higher. Please help us spread the word about these atrocious and unconscionable killings.

As we celebrate International Women’s Day by raising awareness on injustices against women, let us stand with our persecuted brothers and sisters in their struggle for rights and dignity.

Best Regards,

Yanar Mohammed, Organization of Women’s Freedom In Iraq, March 8, 2012

Campaign of Iraqi gay killings by smashing skulls with concrete blocks

New barbaric attacks started against Iraqi LGBT people in many cities, like Baghdad and Basra, using inhumane methods such as hitting the head and body parts of gay victims with building concrete blocks repeatedly till death or by pushing them over high building roof (in Basra city). The killing, torture, and dismemberment of people described as “adulterous” by Islamic Shia militias, as well as hanging lists on the walls of several sections in Al-Sadr city and in Al- Habibea region, are terrorizing the society at large and the Iraqi LGBT community in particular because the attacks are directed against anyone suspected with gay practices or appearance.

The first killings took place on the sixth of February 2012 and have been escalating since. One of the lists hung in Al-Sadr city included the names and addresses of 33 people, while lists in other areas named many more. News has confirmed that 42 gay men were tortured and killed so far, mostly by concrete blocks, while some by dismembering.

Islamic militias in Iraq believe the religious family should consist of a male husband and a female wife, and is the cornerstone of building a pious Islamic society. Such an institution is handed to males to rule and control, and denies the right-to-life, or rather commands a death sentence against all who do not fit under the religious description of a family.

Based on these rules campaigns of honor killings happen against women and LGBT people. Just as women face honour killings as a result of extra marital affairs, lesbian and gay people are persecuted for their sexual orientation and are facing the same fate.

We call on all freedom-lovers of the world, the women’s and human rights organization and governments in the advanced world to put pressure on the Iraqi government to provide protection for LGBT people in Iraq, establish legislation to defend their right to life, and criminalize all aggressions against them. We also demand a full inquiry into the groups and criminals behind the killing campaign and their full punishment from the legal and correctional system.

Iraqi LGBT\ Madi Al Iraq \Ruby Al Hurriya

Organization of Women’s Freedom In Iraq\ Yanar Mohammed

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