Two Iranians sentenced to death, including LGBTQ activist

[The Siren 30,521]

Quote

 

Two Iranians were sentenced to death by a court for “corruption on earth,” Iran’s state news agency IRNA said Monday.

One of them, Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani, was described by Amnesty International earlier this year as a gender nonconforming person and LGBTI activist who was detained by authorities “due to her real or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as her social media posts and statements in defense of LGBTI rights.”

Elham Chobdar was also charged and convicted as part of the same case and sentenced to death, Iranian state media reported.

The two were accused of “trafficking young women” in Iran’s West Azerbaijan province and unnamed other parts of the country, according to the report from IRNA.

Amnesty said Tuesday it was “outraged” by the sentences and called on Iran’s authorities to immediately “quash the convictions and death sentences” and release Sedighi-Hamadani and Chobdar, the statement said. The sentences are being appealed in Iran’s Supreme Court, it added.

Amnesty said in January that Sedighi-Hamadani, who also uses the name Sareh, was first detained in October 2021 in Erbil, Iraq, in connection to an appearance she made in a BBC documentary, speaking about abuses of the LGBTQ community in the region.

After her release in Iraq, Sedighi-Hamadani attempted to cross into Turkey from Iran to seek asylum, Amnesty said, but in November, the Intelligence Organization of the Revolutionary Guards said that a “leader” of a human trafficking network “involved in smuggling Iranian girls and women” to neighboring countries and directing them to homosexual groups under “protection of [foreign] intelligence agencies” had been caught.

Amnesty believes the statement by the Revolutionary Guards referred to Sedighi-Hamadani and called the allegations “spurious and baseless.”

Before allegedly attempting to cross into Turkey, Sedighi-Hamadani said she was “journeying toward freedom” in a video released by the Iranian Lesbian and Transgender Network, also known as 6Rang, in December of 2021 and referenced by Amnesty the following month.

“If I make it, I will continue to look after LGBT people. I will be standing behind them and raising my voice. If I don’t make it, I will have given my life for this cause,” she said in the video.

In a letter sent to the Chief Justice of Iran, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, Amnesty said Sedighi-Hamadani was accused in January by the prosecutor in Urumieh of “spreading corruption on earth” including through “promoting homosexuality,” “communication with anti-Islamic Republic media channels,” and “promoting Christianity.”

Iranian state media said that Sedighi-Hamadani and Chobdar’s sentences were related to trafficking, without referring to Sedighi-Hamadani’s charges or her activism, or further details on Chobdar.

“Contrary to reports published on social media, the area of charges against these individuals is related to the trafficking of women and young girls with the hope of education and promise of employment to a regional country and they were also abused and that led to the suicide of a number of these girls,” IRNA said, without providing details.

CNN has reached out to the Iranian government about the allegation that Sedighi-Hamadani’s sexual minority status was the reason for her conviction. It was not immediately clear whether Sedighi-Hamadani and Chobdar had attorneys.

 

 

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/09/06/middleeast/iran-death-sentence-lgbtq-activist-intl/index.html

[Mer 61,735]

Regime change is needed. I cannot believe the democrats are willing to legitimize this backwards, hateful, theocracy by bringing them to the negotiation table. The Americans and the Brits started this mess, and they need to use their influence to change it. 

[house of balloons 12,792]

the land of Cyrus the Great, the first to establish human rights and to protect minorities

[Mer 61,735]

32 minutes ago, djurdjura said:

the land of Cyrus the Great, the first to establish human rights and to protect minorities

 

Spoiler

bc it was back when Zoroastrians ran the show. 

 

[Wait For Life 16,786]

Human traffickers don’t have my sympathy even if ur an lgbtq activist 

[Mer 61,735]

Just now, Wait For Life said:

Human traffickers don’t have my sympathy even if ur an lgbtq activist 

 

um. they're calling them a "human trafficker" bc they were helping other LGBTQ youth escape Iran to Turkey. I think that's pretty clear. 

 

Revolutionary Guards said that a “leader” of a human trafficking network “involved in smuggling Iranian girls and women” to neighboring countries and directing them to homosexual groups under “protection of [foreign] intelligence agencies”

 

It's very clear to me what's happening here. 

[Wait For Life 16,786]

1 minute ago, Mer said:

 

um. they're calling them a "human trafficker" bc they were helping other LGBTQ youth escape Iran to Turkey. I think that's pretty clear. 

 

Revolutionary Guards said that a “leader” of a human trafficking network “involved in smuggling Iranian girls and women” to neighboring countries and directing them to homosexual groups under “protection of [foreign] intelligence agencies”

 

It's very clear to me what's happening here. 

OH jdjshshs I’m stupid 😭

[Mer 61,735]

5 minutes ago, Wait For Life said:

OH jdjshshs I’m stupid 😭

 

not at all. it's the backwards laws and definitions in Iran of these terms that confuse people. In a country like Iran, a "human trafficker" helping smuggle people out of the country is probably doing more good than any politician. Same with how an "enemy of the state" is usually just someone who's non-muslim. 
 

That said, unfortunately, even if what these two did were "good" in our eyes, I really don't see them appealing their case. Sadly, I think unless something dramatic happens, the story is already over. 

[house of balloons 12,792]

21 minutes ago, Mer said:

 

  Hide contents

bc it was back when Zoroastrians ran the show. 

 

Spoiler

the og

 

[honey dew 11,776]

Cant wait for the gender goblins to make this about themselves

[The Siren 30,521]

1 hour ago, honey dew said:

Cant wait for the gender goblins to make this about themselves

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[baddisease 17,924]

19 hours ago, Mer said:

Regime change is needed. I cannot believe the democrats are willing to legitimize this backwards, hateful, theocracy by bringing them to the negotiation table. The Americans and the Brits started this mess, and they need to use their influence to change it. 

 

American regime changes fail. Almost every single time. And the overthrow of Mohammad Mossadegh indirectly led to where we are now.

 

18 hours ago, honey dew said:

Cant wait for the gender goblins to make this about themselves

 

Uhhh, you referring to trans people her? That's fucked up.

[Mer 61,735]

2 hours ago, baddisease said:

American regime changes fail. Almost every single time. And the overthrow of Mohammad Mossadegh indirectly led to where we are now.

 

 

Do not use "we" if you are an American with no family living in Iran. There is no "we" and you do not speak for us. 

[baddisease 17,924]

1 hour ago, Mer said:

 

Do not use "we" if you are an American with no family living in Iran. There is no "we" and you do not speak for us. 

I wasn't trying to. When I say "we", I mean the entire world.

Also I'm not an American. 

[Mer 61,735]

11 minutes ago, baddisease said:

I wasn't trying to. When I say "we", I mean the entire world.

Also I'm not an American. 

 

My point is it is not your place to tell Iranians what they want. I would take regime change (and btw, I said "influence", not "American lead") over what is currently happening in the country I so wish I could proudly have lived in. 

 

I am not suggesting that American soldiers helicopter in and hand out guns, but even just a bit of economic pressure and media scrutiny from the West could create a ripple effect that finally allows one of the many protests in the last 5 years to really take off. When was the last time a story like this was even mentioned in a visible way in Western news? That is a large part of the problem, you have to go searching for these stories. There is not enough pressure put on the govt from outside sources to rile up the protest inside Iran (which there were during the lead up to the 1979 revolution, with some ridiculous and false narratives that the Shah had his food flown in from Paris via Concorde and that the Empress bathed in milk).

 

I'm also keenly aware that without a Pro-American Regime in Iran, the alternative is a Pro-China and Pro-Russia regime which would be disastrous for the Iranian people and the world. Yes the overthrow of Mossadegh was a mistake and the beginning of the end for Iran, but it would be foolish to think that The Shah's government would be worse than the current one. 

[baddisease 17,924]

3 hours ago, Mer said:

 

My point is it is not your place to tell Iranians what they want. I would take regime change (and btw, I said "influence", not "American lead") over what is currently happening in the country I so wish I could proudly have lived in. 

 

I am not suggesting that American soldiers helicopter in and hand out guns, but even just a bit of economic pressure and media scrutiny from the West could create a ripple effect that finally allows one of the many protests in the last 5 years to really take off. When was the last time a story like this was even mentioned in a visible way in Western news? That is a large part of the problem, you have to go searching for these stories. There is not enough pressure put on the govt from outside sources to rile up the protest inside Iran (which there were during the lead up to the 1979 revolution, with some ridiculous and false narratives that the Shah had his food flown in from Paris via Concorde and that the Empress bathed in milk).

 

I'm also keenly aware that without a Pro-American Regime in Iran, the alternative is a Pro-China and Pro-Russia regime which would be disastrous for the Iranian people and the world. Yes the overthrow of Mossadegh was a mistake and the beginning of the end for Iran, but it would be foolish to think that The Shah's government would be worse than the current one. 

 

With all due respect, do you not see how this issue is far bigger than Iran? If the current Iranian regime falls - be it bc of American influence, American leading, or just American whispering) - the world would be changed and not in a good way. It would empower the USA in a deeply negative way. All of America's "enemies" have one thing in common and its their position in standing against American capitalism-imperialism. Now if there were a working class revolution, I'd support that.

 

Edit: I HATE the Islamic Republic, btw. 

[DeadSeaOfMercury 22,939]

21 minutes ago, baddisease said:

 

With all due respect, do you not see how this issue is far bigger than Iran? If the current Iranian regime falls - be it bc of American influence, American leading, or just American whispering) - the world would be changed and not in a good way. It would empower the USA in a deeply negative way. All of America's "enemies" have one thing in common and its their position in standing against American capitalism-imperialism. Now if there were a working class revolution, I'd support that.

 

Edit: I HATE the Islamic Republic, btw. 

This sounds a bit Anti American,

[Liz Taylor Blues 18,738]

On 9/12/2022 at 4:58 PM, Mer said:

Regime change is needed. I cannot believe the democrats are willing to legitimize this backwards, hateful, theocracy by bringing them to the negotiation table. The Americans and the Brits started this mess, and they need to use their influence to change it. 

Im not convinced more regime change will help any. It might even make it worse. Twice. This is what regime change gets. US Imperialism has not been successful since Japan

Edited September 14, 2022 by Pretty On The Indide
Misread Mers comment initially. Edited to reflect what was actually said

[Liz Taylor Blues 18,738]

On 9/12/2022 at 4:58 PM, Mer said:

Regime change is needed. I cannot believe the democrats are willing to legitimize this backwards, hateful, theocracy by bringing them to the negotiation table. The Americans and the Brits started this mess, and they need to use their influence to change it. 

I don’t disagree that they are bad let me be clear. Im just not hopeful sanctions will do anything. It also doesn’t make sense to crack down on Iran when Saudi Arabia is arguably way worse and we consider them allies

[Liz Taylor Blues 18,738]

The death penalty is never justified even when people are guilty as sin. That said these are obviously bogus charges.