Iraqi Gays Suffer Atrocities At The Hands Of Iraqi Militias
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Reports of heinous acts against gays continue to trickle out of Iraq this week, with Towelroad reporting on an Alarabiya translation from the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) that reads:
"A prominent Iraqi human rights activist says that Iraqi militia have deployed a painful form of torture against homosexuals by closing their anuses using 'Iranian gum.' ... Yina Mohammad told Alarabiya.net that, 'Iraqi militias have deployed an unprecedented form of torture against homosexuals by using a very strong glue that will close their anus.' According to her, the new substance 'is known as the American hum, which is an Iranian-manufactured glue that if applied to the skin, sticks to it and can only be removed by surgery.
After they glue the anuses of homosexuals, they give them a drink that causes diarrhea. Since the anus is closed, the diarrhea causes death. Videos of this form of torture are being distributed on mobile cellphones in Iraq.' According to this human rights activist, for the past 3 weeks a crackdown on homosexuals has been going on based on a religious decree that demands their death; dozens have been targeted. She says that the persecution of homosexuals is not confined to the Shiite clerics. Some Sunni leaders have also declared the death penalty for sodomy on satellite channels."
However, it is important to note that the Alarabiya report has not been fully verified by the IGLHRC. IGLHRC writes:"The following is a translation of a story from Alarabiya, a UAE-based media network, which was published on its Arabic website a few hours ago. While IGLHRC has not verified all of the allegations, many are consistent with patterns of human rights violations being reported from within the country."
Other such reports include Iraqi state death sentences for 100 prisoners accused of homosexuality, from PageOneQ; a BBC report of the harassment of a young boy found wearing women's underwear; two gay men killed in Sadr city, following a call by clerics to "crack down", from Reuters; and the kidnapping, rape and terrorizing of a 16-year-old Iraqi boy, reported by CNN last July.
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Huffington Post Stuart Whatley First Posted: 05/22/09 06:12 AM ET Updated: 05/25/11 02:15 PM ET