87 gay men arrested in Iran

15/5/07

"All my friends were arrested while seven or eight policeman beat them with batons..."

Eighty seven gay men were arrested at a private house party in Iran on May 10th, according to the Toronto-based Iranian Queer Organisation, IRQO.

The group claims that police raided a birthday party for a man named Farhad. According to witnesses, the police brutally assaulted the host, his parents, and the guests. It remains unclear exactly how many people were arrested.

A man identified as Peyman spoke to IRQO and said that he arrived at the house late only to find the police had already arrived.

“As soon as I turned in to their street, I saw police cars parked everywhere," Peyman told IRQO.

"All my friends were arrested while seven or eight policeman beat them with batons. Fearing the usual punishments for attending a party, two had jumped from the second-floor window and were in a bad condition.”

He also said that all communication with the individuals has been cut off. “We have no information about the situation inside the jail,” Payman added.

Another IRQO contact, identified as Kia, reported: “Guests had come from Shiraz, Tehran, Shahin Shahr to Isfahan for Farhad’s birthday. When they were coming out of the house followed by the police, their clothes were ripped, their faces and bodies were covered in blood. They were beaten up badly.”

IRQO cites reports that detainees are being tortured in the jail in Isfahan, and that the courts are not allowing families to visit the arrested.

Some women who attended the party also were arrested, but were released the following day. It is believed that all men attending the party are in jail.

Arsham Parsi, the executive director of the Iranian Queer Organisation said: "Obviously this crackdown is yet another systematic violation of human rights, along with brutal suppression of womens' movements in Iran and must be strongly protested by all human rights organisations as yet another violation of people's private rights and liberties.

"This means that for now, what is urgently needed is to strongly object to this gross violation of human rights and the invasion of young people's lives and dignity."

This latest raid marks the largest single attack on Iran’s gay community, further confirming a disturbing trend of sexual cleansing in the Islamic Republic, made legal through Sharia law. Sodomy is a crime for which both partners can be punished by death, while all types of sexual activity outside a heterosexual marriage are also illegal.