Iran's Cure For Homosexuality: Hangings

Ahmadinejad was rightfully ridiculed at Columbia University when he stated that there were no gays in Iran. Well, there's a good reason that no one is openly gay in Iran.

They are lynched. Or hanged by the government.

Or first convicted and sentenced to be hanged, and then the Chief Justice of the Iranian Courts reviewed the case and reduced the sentence only to have the original sentence carried out anyways by the lower courts.

That's the latest case.

Mr. Mouloodzadeh was a 21-year-old Iranian citizen who was accused of committing anal rape (ighab) with other young boys when he was 13 years old. However, at Mr. Mouloodzadeh's trial, all the witnesses retracted their pre-trial testimonies, claiming to have lied to the authorities under duress. Makvan also told the court that his confession was made under coercion and pleaded not guilty.

On June 7, 2007, the Seventh District Criminal Court of Kermanshah in Western Iran found him guilty and sentenced him to death. Despite his lawyer's appeal, the Supreme Court upheld his death sentence on August 1, 2007. The case caused an international uproar, and prompted a letter writing campaign by IGLHRC and similar actions by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Outrage! and Everyone Group.

In response to mounting public pressure, and following a detailed petition submitted to the Iranian Chief Justice by Mr. Mouloodzadeh's lawyer, the Iranian Chief Justice, Ayatollah Seyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi, nullified the impending death sentence of Mr. Mouloodzadeh. In his November 10, 2007 opinion (1/86/8607), the Iranian Chief Justice described the death sentence to be in violation of Islamic teachings, the religious decrees of high-ranking Shiite clerics, and the law of the land.

In accordance with Iranian legal procedure, Mr. Mouloodzadeh's case was sent to the Special Supervision Bureau of the Iranian Justice Department, a designated group of judges who are responsible for reviewing and ordering retrials of flawed cases flagged by the Iranian Chief Justice. However, in defiance of the Chief Justice, the judges decided to ratify the original court's ruling and ordered the local authorities to carry out the execution."

Allah wonders whether this is some kind of progress for Iran in that their Chief Justice took action to nullify the original death sentence, but the facts show that he was powerless to actually stop the sentencing.

Islamic law is quite strict on these matters, and as with the case of the Saudi rape victim who was sentenced to 200 lashes for being in public with a male companion who was not a relative and complaining about the severity of her sentence, the Iranian courts are intent upon adhering to a strict Islamic law, even if it means killing gays and subjugating women.

Also commenting: Gateway Pundit who notes that 4,000 gays have been executed in Iran, and Hot Air.