Gay urmia, iran

Two LGBT activists have been sentenced to death in Iran, rights groups say. A court in Urmia found Zahra Seddiqi Hamedani, 31, and Elham Choubdar, 24, guilty of "corruption on Earth". The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights reported that they were accused of promoting homosexuality, promoting Christianity and communicating with media opposed to the Islamic Republic. Iran's judiciary later confirmed the sentences, but said they were connected to human trafficking and not activism.

Iran said this week that a court had sentenced to death two female gay rights activists for "spreading corruption on earth" — a charge frequently imposed on people deemed to have broken the country's Shariah laws. The country's official IRNA news agency reported that the two women, Zahra Sedighi Hamedani, 31, and Elham Chobdar, 24, "misused" women and girls in promising better training and job opportunities abroad — a reference to human trafficking. A revolutionary court in the country's northwestern city of Urmia, some kilometers miles northwest of the capital Tehran , handed down the death sentences. The women have the right to appeal.

After all, homosexuality is technically illegal here. Consensual sex between two adult males is punishable by death. Tafkhiz - defined as the rubbing together of thighs or buttocks - is punishable by lashes. Despite this draconian statutory prohibition, homosexuality is an open secret.

Get the latest news and updates from Dawn. PARIS: A court in Iran has sentenced to death two gay rights activists on charges of promoting homosexuality, campaigners said on Monday, urging pressure from the international community to stop the implementation of the verdicts. The two women, Zahra Sedighi Hamedani, 31, and Elham Chubdar, 24, were sentenced to death by the court in the northwestern town of Urmia, the Hengaw Kurdish rights organisation said. Subscribe to notifications Get the latest news and updates from Dawn.