Transcript
16.30 GMT-12:30 PM/EST
After years of being in a committed relationship, Iranian-born Malihe Kigasar and Elizabeth Kristen have just gotten married at the San Francisco City Hall June 17… the first day same-sex marriage became legal in California. They followed this ceremony with a Persian wedding, where friends and family ground sugar cones over their heads, sharing sweet wishes.
27-year-old Arsham Parsi is proud to see this happy transition in their relationship. From his exile in Toronto, Canada, he works tirelessly on volunteer basis through his Iranian Queer Organization, to help other gays and lesbians at home.
Arsham Parsi, Executive Director, Iranian Queer Organization: “In 2007, we helped about 80 gays and lesbians and all of them got asylum certificates by UNHCR coming to North America, and about 40 are coming to Canada and Australia in few months.”
In February this year, Human Rights Watch reported that police raided a private party in Esfahan, arresting more than 30 men. They underwent forensic tests to find “evidence” to implicate them in homosexual act.
Exactly how many homosexuals have been executed in Iran is hard to track. But Iranian Penal Code imposes punishments ranging from 60 lashes to execution for homosexual acts.
(GFX: Article 110: “The punishment for sodomy where penetration has occurred is death, and the method of execution is at the discretion of the Sharia judge.”)
Zahir Janmohamed, Advocacy Director, Amnesty International USA: “There has been an increase in gay men being rounded up in Iran… They report being sexually abused in prison… When you have a gay man who says he was raped in prison, there is a culture within the criminal justice system in Iran that allows a prison guard to engage in that behavior and not get punished for it.”
The Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Group disclosed to British MPs in a private meeting last November, quote: “If homosexual activity is in private there is no problem, but those in overt activity should be executed.”
Arsham defended homosexuals within that culture in Iran. His vocal activism, though, was close to putting him in jail.
Arsham: “I remember it was December 5, 2001 at 12:45 PM when I passed the Iranian border. I made a promise to my God that I left Iran for supporting and continuing this movement and helping other people who are victims everyday.”
He left his parents and three younger sisters behind.
Arsham: “Sometimes I think my home is in Iran. Sometimes, in Toronto or wherever I am happy. But I am in exile and someday I will be back (he cries). I usually get emotional when I talk about home.”
© IranVNC 2008. All rights reserved.
