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Filed under: Lifestyle, National News, World News
Thu. May 28, 2009 8:19:53 AM
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Baghdad, Iraq — Baghdad's militias are conducting a violent and often deadly crackdown on homosexuals in Iraq according to a report from ABC News.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs confirmed that gay Iraqis have been targeted for kidnapping and murder because of their sexual orientation. It's believed as many as 30 people have been killed over the last three months in Iraq because they were gay or were perceived to be gay.
ABC says police confirmed two gay men were killed in a Baghdad slum and that they found the bodies of four more men all killed during a 10-day crackdown on homosexuals. The bodies reportedly had pieces of paper bearing the word "pervert" attached to them and all showed signs of torture.
In a letter to Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, Amnesty International called for "urgent and concerted action". The human rights organization also criticized the government's failure to condemn the killings.
The letter also raised concerns that religious leaders may be inciting violence against members of Iraq's gay community.
Gay activists have claimed that more than sixty gay men have been murdered in Iraq so far this year. They also assert the U.S. has ignored the murders because the government doesn't want to upset the religious authorities in Iraq.
Violence against gays in Iraq has increased dramatically as religious militias have gained power since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Amnesty has called on the Iraqi government to afford effective protection to the gay community.
Video: Fears over Iraq gay killing spate, from the BBC
me0595 on Saturday, 5/30/2009
If the Iraq government can't condemn these murders for fear of angering religious leaders, then Iraq really doesn't have a government and it's the depraved religious leaders who are actually in charge.
This Chicago Pride website is so entertaining because commenters say such crazy shit.
Um, what is Nofueltoflytheplane@rocketmail talking about? I wasn't aware that this country was brimming with gay conservatives from Mexico and Africa. "And no man rooms, please!" - WTF?
nofueltoflytheplane@rocketmail.com on Thursday, 5/28/2009
I think that it is a shame that things like that happen, however a gay magazine like this shouldn't spend it's time on foreign issues. The more this country gets polluted with gay conservatives, the more all of us are going to suffer. We do this time and time again. We feel sorry for the gays in other countries, CONSERVATIVE countries, then we say why don't all of you poorer gay people come to our country to live. First it was the Mexicans, then it was the Africans. We have enough gay conservatives already in this country! We don't need anymore! And no man rooms, please!