In a violation of international law, Iran has hanged a teenage boy, Hassan Afshar, for having sex with another male, according to Amnesty International.
The 19-year-old was executed last month, after a two-month trial in which he was afforded no legal representation. Amnesty said he then languished for seven months in a juvenile prison following his conviction. The agency says the execution went forward even though Afshar’s parents had been promised a full inquiry would be held next month to re-investigate the case.
The crime is called “lavat-be-onf,” which means forced male on male intercourse, or rape. That’s what the parents of the other boy claimed, but Afshar told authorities the sexual acts were consensual and the other teen had willingly engaged in same-sex sexual activities before.
More than 150 juveniles await a similar fate, said Magdalena Mughrabi, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Programme Director at Amnesty International.
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“Iran has proved that its sickening enthusiasm for putting juveniles to death, in contravention of international law, knows no bounds. Hassan Afshar was a 17-year-old high school student when he was arrested. He had no access to a lawyer and the judiciary rushed through the investigation and prosecution, convicting and sentencing him to death within two months of his arrest as though they could not execute him quickly enough.”
Although another juvenile was set to be executed Wednesday but was postponed following international outrage over the hanging of Afshar, Amnesty said in its statement online.
“Consensual homosexual conduct remains illegal under Iran’s Sharia law and is punished with public flogging or even execution,” said Stefan Schaden, an LGBTQ rights activist in an interview with The Jerusalem Post. “Consensual homosexual conduct remains illegal under Iran’s Sharia law and is punished with public flogging or even execution. While the Islamic State throws gays from rooftops, the Islamic Republic [of Iran] hangs them.”While the Islamic State throws gays from rooftops, the Islamic Republic [of Iran] hangs them.”
