RFSL demands the Swedish goverment, also by virtue of the presidency of the EU, to act vigorously against the ongoing persecution of LGBT people in Iraq.
The human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) presented on Monday a report in which it clearly appears that militia groups are guilty of systematic murder, where it is primarily men who are not heterosexual or are not perceived to be heterosexual or male enough, who are the victims. Amnesty International has previously reported the same thing.
- It is not enough to condemn the ongoing cleansing. We call on Sweden to explore the possibility of evacuating homosexuals, bisexuals and transgender people who are at risk of "sexual cleansing" says Soren Juvas, president of RFSL.
HRW's report called "They Want Us Exterminated - Murder, Torture, Sexual Orientation and Gender in Iraq" can be downloaded at www.hrw.org. According to the report, based on studies carried out on site in April this year by HRW, hundreds of LGBT people have been killed in Iraq over the past five years, not infrequently in a bestial way. Murders are carried out by various Islamist militias while the police and the judiciary in Iraq choose to ignore.
- We also demand the Swedish government to stop all deportations to Iraq of people who have sought asylum based on sexual orientation and genderidentity, or at risk of this campaign of murder Soren Juvas continues.
In the report HRW recommends that countries outside Iraq and its proximity, as Iraqi LGBT people are fleeing, to recognize that these people are in legal danger and give them the right to stay and also to the outside world in various ways to strongly support efforts for improvement of human rights in Iraq.
For additional information, contact: Soren Juvas +46 709 52 51 32
If you want to practically help send some $$$ the way of ‘Iraqi LGBT’ http://iraqilgbtuk.blogspot.com
SvaraRaderaThey run safe houses inside Iraq as well as supporting refugees in the rest of the middle east.
Whilst the HRW report is good news for raising the profile of the pogrom, only Iraqi LGBT is actually supporting people (saving them from murder) inside the country. But funds are scarce and they consequently have to turn people away.
To find out more, read their annual report which is published on their website.