CRIME
Gay Man Allegedly Beheaded in Iran
Ali Fazeli Monfared, 20, was murdered after his sexuality was revealed
BY TAT BELLAMY-WALKER
A young Iranian gay man
was killed in an alleged
anti-LGBTQ account after
his family members
discovered he was gay, according
to 6Rang, an Iranian Lesbian and
Transgender Network.
Ali Fazeli Monfared, 20, of
southwest Iran, known as Alireza
by close friends and family, was
killed in what activists and experts
called an “honor killing,” or
an act of violence against a relative
for disgracing the family. The victim’s
sexuality was revealed after
his brother found his military exemption
card that said he was absolved
from the military because
he was an LGBTQ person, according
to 6Rang.
Due to growing pressure from
family members and anti-LGBTQ
culture, Monfared was preparing
to fl ee his home country to live with
his partner in Turkey, BBC Persian
reported. Instead, male family
members allegedly kidnapped him
and brought him to a rural town
near Ahvaz, where they beheaded
him and subsequently notifi ed his
mother, according to NBC News.
While 6Rang noted that police arrested
three individuals in connection
to Monfared’s death, Amin
told NBC that no arrests have been
made.
In a statement, Gissou Nia, a
human rights lawyer and senior
fellow at the Atlantic Council Strategic
Litigation Project, said homophobia
often leads to deadly violence
in the country.
“Cultural attitudes in society towards
Ali Fazeli Monfared was allegedly killed by his family members because he was gay.
homosexuality are a literal
life or death problem,” Nia said.
“What compounds the problem is
when the laws of a state do not provide
any protection.”
In Iran, same-sex relations
are illegal and are criminalized
through corporal punishment, imprisonment,
and even death. Additionally,
an anti-LGBTQ law labels
LGBTQ individuals as mentally
ill and bans them from enlisting
in the military. In a statement on
Twitter, Nia demanded that legislators
pass comprehensive non-discrimination
protections and repeal
measures targeting the LGBTQ
community.
“The explicit criminalization of
these acts contributes to an intense
sense of fear and shame for
individuals who wish to be themselves
and live freely,” Nia wrote in
a Tweet. “It also creates a culture
of impunity for families who frown
upon their LGBTQI family members.”
In a statement, 6Rang acknowledged
the dangers posed to gay
men in Iran, but also said “gay
women, along with the Iranian
trans community, experience all
TWITTER/GISSOU NIA
kinds of violence and coercion on
a daily basis.”
“6rang would fi rst like to offer
its condolences to Alireza’s family
and friends,” the group wrote in a
statement. “We cannot imagine the
pain that you are feeling, and we
want you to know that we stand
in solidarity with you. Additionally,
6rang hereby declares that it
will work tirelessly to ensure that
there will be a thorough investigation
into Alireza’s murder and will
continue the work of bringing the
cultural and legal roots of this evil
in Iranian society to light.”
The group added, “6rang calls
upon everyone to utilize this horrendous
tragedy as motivation to
make long-overdue demands and
inquiries into the human rights
abuses towards the Iranian LGBTQI
community.”
May 20 - June 2,24 2021 | GayCityNews.com
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