Iran teen faces death on sex charge

Photo / Herald on Sunday

An 18-year-old Iranian is facing imminent execution on charges of homosexuality, even though he has no legal representation.

Ebrahim Hamidi, who is not gay, was sentenced to death for lavat, or sodomy, on the basis of "judge's knowledge", a legal loophole that allows for subjective judicial rulings where there is no conclusive evidence.

Hamidi had been represented by human rights lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei, who has since been forced to flee Iran after bringing to international attention the case of another client, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a 43-year-old Iranian mother of two sentenced to death by stoning for adultery.

Mostafaei was due to arrive in Norway yesterday to begin a life in exile while continuing his campaigns on behalf of his clients, including Hamidi.

Peter Tatchell, a British human rights activist, has written to Britain's Foreign Secretary, William Hague, urging him to contact the chief justice of Iran in a bid to halt the execution.

"Ebrahim's case is evidence that innocent heterosexual people can be sentenced to death on false charges of homosexuality [in Iran]," said Tatchell, co-founder of the London-based gay rights group OutRage.

Hamidi was arrested two years ago in the suburbs of the western city of Tabriz in the East Azerbaijan province after a fight with members of another family. Three of his friends were also involved in the incident and were subsequently arrested. Later, the four were accused of homosexual assault on a man and of attempting to abuse him sexually.

A person convicted of homosexuality in Iran can be lashed, hanged or stoned to death. The law includes a variety of penalties for different acts: 99 lashes if two unrelated males sleep "unnecessarily" under the same blanket - even without any sexual contact. A boy raped by an adult man would be lashed 74 times according to the same law, if the court decided he had "enjoyed" the experience.

After three days in detention, Hamidi confessed to the crime, allegedly under torture. The other three were cleared of all charges when promised by officials that they would be freed if they testified against Hamidi.

Although Hamidi's victim admitted last month he had been under pressure from his parents to make false accusations against Hamidi, the local judiciary has insisted he should be executed.

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