Iran has handed down capital punishment to two female gay rights activists for “promoting homosexuality” on social media.
Zahra Sedighi Hamedani and Elham Chubdar were convicted of “spreading corruption on earth” – a charge the Hengaw Kurdish rights organisation said was often imposed on people deemed to have broken the country’s sharia laws.
In addition to their conviction for homosexuality, they were also found guilty of “promoting Christianity” and “communicating with the media opposing the Islamic Republic”.
Iran has banned homosexuality as its penal code criminalises same-sex sexual behaviour for both men and women.
Rights groups raised alarm over the verdicts, with Amnesty International expressing concern that their convictions by a court in the Iranian province of West Azerbaijan were discriminatory in nature.
The Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based organisation, called for an immediate intervention by the international community and civil society to save their lives.
Hamedani, also known as Sareh, was arrested by Iranian authorities in October last year when she was attempting to cross the border to Turkey, after returning to Iran from Iraqi Kurdistan where she had been based.
The arrest of the prominent LGBTQ activist came months after she appeared in a documentary for the BBC Persian service. She was allegedly subjected to various forms of torture including electrocution.
Before leaving Iraqi Kurdistan, Hamedani had sent videos to 6Rang, an Iranian lesbian network based in Germany, asking it to make them public if she was unsuccessful in her attempt to reach Turkey where she planned to seek asylum.
“We, the LGBTI community, are suffering,” she had said in one of the clips.
“Whether through death or freedom, we will remain true to ourselves,” Hamedani had said.
Activists said Hamedan and Choubdar heard the sentence last week and were denied access to lawyers.
A 6Rang activist said rights groups had no hope of saving the women without international support.
