April 8, 2009

Gay men executed in Iraq

Per New York Times, as many as 25 men and boys who presumably identified as gay have been found dead in Sadr City in the past two months.

According to the article, Iraqi police suspect the killers to be Shiite death squads as well as tribal and family members ashamed by their gay relatives.

Twitter users reacted:

  1. Salam Pax
    Salam (Baghdad, Iraq) @kuschkusch my worry is that these killings are almost socially acceptable. And I thought those clerics had bigger concerns than gay bashing
  2. Ryan James Greendeer
    ryanj81 (Wisconsin) Gays in Iraq face killings, cop crackdowns. Is it safe to be gay and live anywhere?? http://viigo.im/gpu
  3. joearf
    joearf ( Old Greenwich, CT )How effectively can you be an advocate for gay rights in Iraq if you're afraid to be killed?


Many Twitterers noted that the news of gay bashing in Iraq coincided with news of LGBT progress in the United States. Per Reuters, Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage.

  1. William Penn House
    WPennHouse (Washington D.C.) Celebrating the incredible progress on gay rights (Vermont, DC, Iowa), but praying for those in Iraq who are being persecuted.
  2. gerock
    gerock NYTimes front page 2 stories one Gay marriage in Vt the other Gays hunted and killed in Iraq


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