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Level -> On being gay in Iran (10/5/2007 2:30:03 AM)
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Sept. 28, 2007 - To be gay in Iran means a life of fear. Shortly before Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won his country’s presidential election in 2005, Iranian authorities hanged two teenagers officially charged with raping a 13-year-old boy—but whom gay activists say were executed for their sexual orientation. Life for Iranian gays has not improved since then. Even though Iran’s senior religious figures have made statements calling for the whipping or killing of homosexuals, the country’s authorities continue to deny that they prosecute gays. Against this backdrop it’s hardly surprising that the community is outraged over Ahmadinejad’s glib comment to his Columbia audience this week that “in Iran we don’t have homosexuals like in your country.”
Indeed, so great is the insecurity of Iranian gays that even the few who have found a safe haven in the United States are still afraid of speaking out about their old lives. NEWSWEEK’s Patrick Falby spoke with Reza, a gay Iranian man who would identify himself only by his nickname. Reza, who received asylum four years ago, talked about his life in his home country in the pre-Ahmadinejad era—and what it’s like for those still living there. Excerpts:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21033858/site/newsweek
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