Now Reading
Judge to gay man: ‘You don’t deserve to live’

Judge to gay man: ‘You don’t deserve to live’

Iraqi refugee Ahmed (Photo courtesy of Iraq Refugee Assistance Project)
Iraqi refugee Ahmed (Photo courtesy of Iraq Refugee Assistance Project)

The agonizing tale of a young gay Iraqi man provides a glimpse into the homophobic culture in Iraq that has led to a wave of killings of youths who are gay or considered to be gay because they have adopted a goth-like “emo” appearance.

In a video newly released by the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project, or IRAP Ahmed tells about fleeing from home when he learned that his uncles planned to kill him because he was gay. The uncles were preparing him for an “honor killing” to restore the family’s good name from the shame of having a gay family member.

In the video, Ahmed also tells of being apprehended by religious police who brought him before a judge.  The judge told him, “You are accused of being a homosexual. I want to tell you something: ‘You don’t deserve to live.’ ”

Ahmed was then imprisoned and subjected to an attempted rape by a prison guard.

See Also
Map of the 67 countries where sexual relations between people of the same sex are illegal. YELLOW countries have sodomy laws that are currently being challenged before local courts. Sri Lanka, in PINK, currently has a bill before its parliament to repeal its sodomy law. Indonesia, in ORANGE, has laws that criminalize homosexuality only in some subnational jurisdictions. All states in RED have nationwide sodomy laws and no known efforts to remove them. 

Out.com reported, “Ahmed was able to buy himself out of jail while awaiting trial and, thanks to the help of IRAP, his case ended with him gaining safe passage to the United States as a refugee.”

View Comments (2)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

© 2022 ERASING 76CRIMES
Scroll To Top

Discover more from Erasing 76 Crimes

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading