Gays in iran, EveryOne Group: “The United Nations and the Vatican must speak out and save Hamzeh and Loghman from the scaffold”
The leaders of the organization: “Now the 66 countries who spoke in favour of decriminalizing homosexuality must take to the field and offer a concrete contribution to the fight against homophobic hatred and violence. The Holy See must abandon its inquisitorial ideologies and ask Iran for clemency for the two young men”.
Almost a year ago, on January 23rd, 2008, Hamzeh Chavi and Loghman Hamzehpour, two homosexual young men of 18 and 19, were arrested by the police in Sardasht, in Iranian Azerbaijan. During questioning, the two admitted to their “crime” of loving each other and being in a relationship. Their confession was enough for the Islamic court to commit them to trial on two serious charges: mohareb, the crime of those who are "enemies of Allah" and lavat, sodomy. Iranian criminal law envisages the gallows for homosexuals and the two boys are in danger of being executed.
A few days after Hamzeh and Loghman’s arrest, EveryOne Group began an international campaign and a petition which is still open on www.petitiononline.com/irangay. “The petition”, say the leaders of the human rights organization Roberto Malini, Matteo Pegoraro and Dario Picciau “has collected a total of 20,000 signatures so far, and has been supported by important personalities from politics and associations, as well as hundreds of human rights organizations throughout the world. It has brought this subject to the attention of democratic governments. It is now time” explain the activists “for the United Nations and the 66 countries - including the European Union as a whole (this mean Italy too) - who signed the proposal for the universal decriminalization of homosexuality to take to the field and ask the Iranian authorities and President Ahmadinejad
for the immediate release of the two boys from prison and the annulment of the charges against them. It is essential that these countries now offer a concrete sign of their sincere intentions of fighting homophobia throughout the world”. As for the Vatican’s opposition to the proposal to decriminalize homosexuality, Malini, Pegoraro and Picciau consider the “Holy See’s homophobia an ancient and irrational attitude which denies the fundamental values of civilization and humanity itself. We are asking the Vatican to abandon its inquisitorial ideologies and embrace the principles of Christianity, which fosters love between individuals and strongly opposes the destruction of souls”. EveryOne is asking you all to send an e-mail to Pope Benedict XVI, at his e-mail address
benedictxvi@vatican.va
you can find all his addresses on
http://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=55958
At the same time send a copy to EveryOne at
asking the Vatican to take an immediate stance and appeal to the Iranian Government to spare the lives of Hamzeh and Loghman and give orders for their immediate release.
“It has become necessary” says the activists, “for civil and democratic society to distance itself from violent and repressive homophobia; and recognise homosexuals (already the victims of brutal persecution and harassment over several periods of history) as having the same rights granted to the heterosexual majority, starting with full legal recognition of unions between people who love each other and wish to spend their lives together, even when they are of the same sex.
With this in mind, EveryOne Group is working on the draft of a motion for a European directive on the equality of rights and duties between both homosexual and heterosexual couples. The motion will soon be put to the members of the European Parliament and the EU Council and Commission.
Gruppo EveryOne
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