A human rights
group is urging Iranian police to release more than 30 men
who were arrested at a house party for allegedly engaging in
gay sexual conduct, drinking alcohol, and other
activities that violate Iran's moral codes.
A human rights
group is urging Iranian police to release more than 30 men
who were arrested at a house party for allegedly engaging in
gay sexual conduct, drinking alcohol, and other
activities that violate Iran's moral codes. Iranian
police raided the house in February, Human Rights Watch
reported on Friday. The men have been in jail since their
arrest without access to attorneys and without charge.
"When police
routinely break down doors to enforce a brand of
morality, it means a line has been crossed to invade
people's privacy at any time," Joe Stork, Middle East
director at Human Rights Watch, said in a press
release. "Iran’s repressive system of controlling
people's dress, behavior, and personal lives violates
fundamental rights."
According to the
organization, Iranian authorities have been aggressively
cracking down by arresting violators of the nation's moral
codes in the past year.
In May 2007,
police raided a party to arrest 87 people in an attempt to
enforce dress codes and conduct. The arrestees included four
women and at least eight people whom they accused of
wearing clothing appropriate only for the
opposite sex. According to the report, police stripped many
of those arrested down to the waist in the street, and beat
them bloody on their backs and faces. Some reported
broken bones. Of those arrested, two dozen men were
put on trial, where they were found guilty of
“facilitating immorality and sexual
misconduct,” as well as possessing and drinking
alcohol. Many were sentenced to up to 80 lashes and to fines
ranging from $1,000 to 5,000. The verdicts are under
appeal and have not yet been enforced. (The
Advocate)
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