tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-164661242024-03-07T08:32:18.298+00:00IRAQI LGBTA Human Rights group supporting Iraqi lesbians, gay, bisexuals and transgender peopleUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16466124.post-76286426406601648202010-09-15T20:07:00.002+01:002016-06-26T11:15:24.506+01:00Welcome To Iraqi Lgbt<a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vmG0qaIw5P4/SibKNXiTDOI/AAAAAAAAAIU/1jdyMOsuhxI/s1600-h/LOGO%2520IRAQ%2520LGBT_1.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343180338926652642" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vmG0qaIw5P4/SibKNXiTDOI/AAAAAAAAAIU/1jdyMOsuhxI/s200/LOGO%2520IRAQ%2520LGBT_1.jpg" style="display: block; height: 122px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<div>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 180%;">مثليي العراق</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 180%;"></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">Donations only through <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.paypal.co.uk/">PayPal</a> our account: </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 130%;">iraqilgbt@yahoo.co.uk<br />
<br /><br />
<br />
<br />
Iraqi Lgbt<br /><br />
<br />
<br /><br />
<br />
<br />
iraqilgbt@yahoo.co.uk<br />
<br />
<br />
Friends can send Donations to IRAQI LGBT:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The immediate urgent priority is to Support and donate Money to LGBT activists in Iraq in order to assist their efforts to help other Lesbians, Gay, Bisexuals and Trans Iraqi's facing death, persecution and systematic Targeting by the Iraqi Police, Badr and Sadr Militia and to raise awareness about the wave of homophobic murders in Iraq to the outside world. Funds raised will also help provide LGBTs under threat of killing with refuge in the safer parts of Iraq (including safe houses, food, electricity, medical help) and assist efforts help them seek refuge in neighbouring countries.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 180%;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 180%;">****************************************************</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 180%;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 180%;">العراق – يجب وقف نزيف الدم العراقي فورا</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 180%;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">النظام العراقي الحاكم بدعم من قوى الاحتلال الامريكي والبريطاني هو المسؤول عن تفاقم وانتشار العنف الطائفي والمذهبي </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">غداة دخول قوات الاحتلال الى العراق انتشرت الفوضى والفساد وفقد اي احساس بالامن والامان لدى المواطن العراقي العادي.ومع ظهور الاحزاب الدينية المدعومة من قبل المرجعيات, وانتشار المليشيات وفرق الموت وتورط الاحزاب في قتل المواطنين وارتكاب الفظاعات من تطهير عرقي على الهوية والخلفية المذهبية .ولم تستثنى الاقليات الدينية والمذهبية واقليات اخرى مثل مثليي الجنس الذين تم قبولهم واثبتوا انسجامهم واندماجهم في المجتمع العراقي على مر الازمان وخصوصا في عهد النظام السابق.اما اليوم وبعد ظهور حكومات تستقي قراراتها من مرجعيات النجف, ولعل هيمنة رجال الدين في الحياة السياسية واليومية في الشارع والمشهد العراقي خير دليل على ما الى اليه العراق اليوم.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">تم تأسيس منظمة مثليي العراق في شهر سبتمبر ٢٠٠٥ لوجود الحاجة الملحة لدعم الأقليات المثلية في العراق بعد الغزو الامريكي في عام ٢٠٠٣ وفقدان الامن والسلطة واختلال التوازن الامني والسياسي وتغير السلطة في العراق وتحول الدولة في العراق الى سيطرة الاحزاب الدينية على مقاليد الحكم وتاثير ذلك على المجتمع العراقي بصورة شاملة حيث بدأت الميليشيات المدعومة من الاحزاب والتيارات الدينية بالظهور على الساحة العراقية وفرض هيمنتها وسيطرتها وبالتالي ساطتها على المجتمع العراقي بأسلوب القوة والعنف والترهيب والقتل والتهجير ومما زاد ذلك عدم تدخل القوات الامريكية والحكومة العراقية لوقف نزيف الدم لاكثر من ست سنوات مضت.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16466124.post-33930640089999177492010-06-10T21:04:00.002+01:002010-06-11T11:37:39.670+01:00Iraqi LGBT launch new website<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnkAvbufgyOtbnBibjCwMCC5jClFsS7RPCgQwZVpvQ9hYEZ2p7wNlNDWPozm1H9DycKT5VQ54FqWCHYF0EDA76PQ9pu6uM5vHPNdPFqh9z3Jz56UJheWHtDsLgThOcf_lO1QxfbQ/s1600/logo-branding.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnkAvbufgyOtbnBibjCwMCC5jClFsS7RPCgQwZVpvQ9hYEZ2p7wNlNDWPozm1H9DycKT5VQ54FqWCHYF0EDA76PQ9pu6uM5vHPNdPFqh9z3Jz56UJheWHtDsLgThOcf_lO1QxfbQ/s320/logo-branding.png" /></a></div><b>Press Statement</b><br />
For immediate use<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: medium;">Iraqi LGBT launch new website</span></b><br />
<br />
London, June 10 - The human rights group Iraqi LGBT is launching a new website iraqilgbt.org.uk this Saturday June 12 from 9pm at Habibi Club in London.<br />
<br />
Habibi Club is known as the 'best Middle Eastern LGBT club night' in London.<br />
<br />
There will be snacks and lots of freebies.<br />
<br />
The resident DJ Nikki Lucas will be playing the finest Rai’n’B, Arabic, Turkish, Greek, Urban Desi and Balkan flavas, with special guests Sheerien (Uber Lingua Austraila) & Georgia (Hade,Notes,Yalla, Wotever World)<br />
<br />
Snakeboy Sunny will be 'live and direct' on the dancefloor<br />
<br />
Admission is £4 before 10pm, £6 till midnight, £7 After and there is free entry to Drag Artists<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span> <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody>
<tr><td><span style="font-size: x-small;">Start Time:</span></td> <td><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Saturday, June 12, 2010 at 9:00pm</span></div></td></tr>
<tr><td><span style="font-size: x-small;">End Time:</span></td> <td><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Sunday, June 13, 2010 at 3:00am</span></div></td></tr>
<tr><td><span style="font-size: x-small;">Location:</span></td> <td><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"> The Oak Bar</span></div></td></tr>
<tr><td><span style="font-size: x-small;">Street:</span></td> <td><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"> 79 Green Lanes, Stoke Newington</span></div></td></tr>
<tr><td><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></td> <td><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=79+Green+Lanes%2C+Stoke+Newington%2C+London%2C+United+Kingdom">View Map</a></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The website has been developed Pro Bono by Second Variety, "a web company with a difference", with particular thanks to Jamie Archer and Erez Odier, as well as Paul Canning and Matthew Heckart who have helped develop the website.<br />
<br />
The website development has been made possible by funding received by the Netherlands-based group Hivos, the Humanist Institute for Development Cooperation. Their support for Iraqi LGBT is now in its second year.<br />
<br />
Hivos also help to support Iraqi LGBT's 'safe house' project, which shelters many lesbians, gay men and transgender people in Iraq from attack and potential murder.<br />
<br />
ENDS<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Information for editors</b><br />
<br />
<ol><div class="im">
<li>Iraqi LGBT is a human rights organisation with members inside Iraq and in exile. It provides safe houses for gays, lesbians and transgender people and has helped people escape into exile.</li>
</div>
<li>Iraqi LGBT has documented over 700 murders in Iraq.</li>
<div class="im">
<li>More on <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.habibiclublondon.com/" style="color: #08658f; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Habibi Club London</a></li>
<li>More on <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.secondvariety.org/" style="color: #08658f; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Second Variety</a></li>
</div>
<li>More on <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.hivos.nl/english">Hivos</a></li>
</ol>paulocanninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17499916652508144662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16466124.post-63519850658881124142010-06-04T17:49:00.000+01:002010-06-04T17:49:10.446+01:00Iraqi LGBT extremely concerned by new plans for UK removals of refugees to Iraq<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnn74DBQB7lX5GrfgBendOvvjyjVufEUDmAynTsyNyPVtGxQ3ELLmZAN2GnFq-IlJueRpmzcTcC6gvyTv4El6w2c95m-AWe_bcpay3LLTzJ0ki1SuEYG3Qm7yOmIvHjNS5h2NGkg/s1600/Iraq-asylum-seekers-006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnn74DBQB7lX5GrfgBendOvvjyjVufEUDmAynTsyNyPVtGxQ3ELLmZAN2GnFq-IlJueRpmzcTcC6gvyTv4El6w2c95m-AWe_bcpay3LLTzJ0ki1SuEYG3Qm7yOmIvHjNS5h2NGkg/s320/Iraq-asylum-seekers-006.jpg" /></a></div><div class="gmail_quote" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Asylum seekers from Iraq facing deportation from Britain. Left to right: Ali Namiq, Rahman Rasoul, anonymous refugee, Sirajadin Hosmadin Bahadin. Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian</span></b></div><div class="gmail_quote"></div><div class="gmail_quote"><br />
<a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://iraqilgbtuk.blogspot.com/"></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Press statement</b></span><br />
<br />
<a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://iraqilgbtuk.blogspot.com/"></a></div><div class="gmail_quote"></div><div class="gmail_quote">London, 4 June 2010 - The Iraqi LGBT group has today expressed its 'deep concern' about reports that the British Home Office is planning to return 100 Iraqi refugees to Baghdad Wednesday 9 June - despite a recent UK report saying this was not safe.<br />
<br />
"This group will certainly contain deeply closeted gay people and they will be at extreme risk of torture and murder in Baghdad," said Group leader Ali Hili.<br />
<br />
Iraqi LGBT say that the Iraqi government provide no security for gays - infact the opposite as its members have reported the involvement of both police and Interior Ministry forces in handing over gay people to militias with either their tortured bodies being subsequently discovered or them disappearing.<br />
<br />
The group has just released new testimony about Iraqi government complicity on YouTube, see <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ts3PedvPrs">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ts3PedvPrs</a><br />
<br />
Said Hili, "the Western media is not reporting the level of violence continuing in Baghdad. Bombings and assassinations continue to happen almost daily - this is why the United Nations said it is unsafe to remove refugees to that city. The lack of reporting means that the Home Office think they can get away with this inhuman action."<br />
<br />
Amnesty International said in April that there was evidence that members of the security forces and other authorities were encouraging the targeting of people suspected to be gay.<br />
<br />
The report added that killers of gay men could find protection under the law, as it offers lenient sentences for those committing crimes with an “honourable motive”.<br />
<br />
"We condemn the proposed removals by the British government and the Iraqi government's complicity. Many of these people are opponents of the regime and if returned will end up being killed."<br />
<br />
It has been reported by the International Federation of Iraqi Refugees (IFIR) that the 100 refugees have been screened by UK Border Agency 'ambassadors' pretending to be Iraqi embassy representatives at a detention centre. Refugees have reported being threatened by those 'interviewing' them.<br />
<br />
"We are very familiar with such threats," said Ali. "I and other members of our group in exile have faced this, as have our family members. Many of our members have been murdered in Iraq and we have had safe houses invaded and people massacred. If these people are removed many of them will also be murdered."<br />
<br />
Iraqi LGBT has cataloged 738 murders in the past five years.<br />
<br />
The group has backed the call by the IFIR for the British government to end what IFIR calls "this inhuman policy" of refugee removals to Iraq.<br />
<br />
<b>Notes for editors</b><br />
<br />
1. Iraqi LGBT is a human rights organisation with members inside Iraq and in exile. It provides safe houses for gays, lesbians and transgender people and has helped people escape into exile.<br />
<br />
2. The International Federation of Iraqi Refugees campaigns for the rights of Iraqi refugees and against forcible deportations and detention. The Coalition to Stop Deportations to Iraq campaigns against the forcible deportation and detention of Iraqi refugees.<br />
<br />
3. The flight will be the first to Iraq since the 14th October, when ten people were deported to Baghdad and the thirty-three others on the plane were sent back by the Iraqi authorities.<br />
See <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.csdiraq.com/">www.csdiraq.com</a> for more information<br />
<br />
4. At least four million Iraqis have been forced to flee either to another part of Iraq or abroad since the war began in 2003<br />
<br />
5. According to Home Office figures, 632 people were forcibly deported to the KRG region in the north between 2005 and 2008. The International Federation of Iraqi Refugees estimates that the figure, with the monthly charter flights deporting 50 people at a time since the beginning of 2009, currently stands at approximately 900.<br />
<br />
6. Iraqi LGBT has worked with and supported the work of IFIR for several years.<br />
<br />
<ul><li>International Federation of Iraqi Refugees <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.federationifir.com/english/En.file/PRESS%20RELEASE2june2010.html" style="color: #08658f; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Iraqi refugees given tickets for deportation flight to Baghdad for Wednesday 9th June</a></li>
<li>pinknews.co.uk: <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2010/04/27/uk-breaching-un-rules-on-returning-gay-asylum-seekers/" style="color: #08658f; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">UK 'breaching UN rules' on returning gay asylum seekers</a></li>
<li>Guardian: <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jun/03/iraq-asylum-seekers-forced-deportation" style="color: #08658f; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Failed Iraq asylum seekers screened for forced deportation</a></li>
</ul></div>paulocanninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17499916652508144662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16466124.post-37328066251685921502010-05-28T09:47:00.001+01:002010-05-28T09:47:00.411+01:00Video: Iraqi government complicity in anti-gay pogromIraqi LGBT presents evidence of government forces actions against gays and transgender people in Iraq.<br />
<br />
Testimony smuggled out of Iraq shows how police and Interior Ministry forces are terrorising LGBT people.<br />
<br />
<object width="425" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6Ts3PedvPrs&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6Ts3PedvPrs&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="385"></embed></object>paulocanninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17499916652508144662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16466124.post-46043082205620949072010-05-27T17:53:00.000+01:002010-05-27T17:53:24.708+01:00Event: Celebrate launch of new Iraqi LGBT website<div class="zemanta-img" style="display: block; float: right; margin: 1em; width: 310px;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ABC_Disco_Ball_1.jpg" rel="nofollow"><img alt="A picture I took of the disco ball in the main..." height="225" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/ABC_Disco_Ball_1.jpg/300px-ABC_Disco_Ball_1.jpg" style="border: medium none; display: block;" width="300" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution">Image via <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ABC_Disco_Ball_1.jpg">Wikipedia</a></span></div><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.habibiclublondon.com/">HABIBI CLUB LONDON</a><br />
<br />
BEST MIDDLE EASTERN LGBT CLUB NIGHT IN LONDON<br />
<br />
COME and CELEBRATE the Launch of LGBT IRAQI SOLIDARITY GROUP web site<br />
10% of door takings going to the LGBT Iraqi Solidarity Group.<br />
There will be snacks and lots of freebies.<br />
<br />
RESIDENT DJ NIKKI LUCAS will be playing the finest Rai’n’B, Arabic, Turkish, Greek, Urban Desi and Balkan flavas, with special guests SHEERIEN (Uber Lingua Austraila) & GEORGIA (Hade,Notes,Yalla, Wotever World)<br />
<br />
SNAKEBOY SUNNY will be live and direct on the dancefloor<br />
<br />
SPREAD THE WORD AND SEE YOU THERE!!!<br />
<br />
ADMISSION<br />
£4 before 10pm, £6 till midnight, £7 After<br />
Free entry to Drag Artists<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="profileTable info_table" id="Time and Place"><tbody>
<tr><td class="label">Start Time:</td> <td class="data"><div class="datawrap"> Saturday, June 12, 2010 at 9:00pm</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="label">End Time:</td> <td class="data"><div class="datawrap"> Sunday, June 13, 2010 at 3:00am</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="label">Location:</td> <td class="data"><div class="datawrap"> The Oak Bar</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="label">Street:</td> <td class="data"><div class="datawrap"> 79 Green Lanes, Stoke Newington</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="label">City/Town:</td> <td class="data"><div class="datawrap"> London, United Kingdom</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="label"><br />
</td> <td class="data"><div class="datawrap"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=79+Green+Lanes%2C+Stoke+Newington%2C+London%2C+United+Kingdom"> View Map</a></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/71057f1c-4381-43a9-93cf-fcb246575adb/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=71057f1c-4381-43a9-93cf-fcb246575adb" style="border: medium none; float: right;" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script defer="defer" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" type="text/javascript">
</script></span></div>paulocanninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17499916652508144662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16466124.post-23678420809308652622010-05-22T15:50:00.001+01:002010-05-22T16:09:05.587+01:00From Baghdad to Blantyre: Gays in Iraq express solidarity with gays in Malawi<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCt7ZjBK1k4VH0lFSm64zvHfWGkeBC379adG663yEDZwdKdD3owJGe7ZibYBj1_ZctHtGlnQUCfePGMS6x4uMSKwM2lf6214cty7PpXeZ5BxB48qXTuZkLpLlcg8je3o7no4YnjA/s1600/malawiGayCouple.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCt7ZjBK1k4VH0lFSm64zvHfWGkeBC379adG663yEDZwdKdD3owJGe7ZibYBj1_ZctHtGlnQUCfePGMS6x4uMSKwM2lf6214cty7PpXeZ5BxB48qXTuZkLpLlcg8je3o7no4YnjA/s320/malawiGayCouple.jpeg" /></a></div><b>Press statement</b><br />
<br />
In a message from Baghdad, lesbians and gays living in hiding from death squads in that city have expressed their solidarity with the Malawian gay couple Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza sentenced to 14 years imprisonment in Blantyre this week.<br />
<div class="gmail_quote"><br />
Their message reads:<br />
<div class="im"><br />
"The Lgbt community inside Iraq would like to shows its solidarity and support for Tiwonge and Steven in Malawi."</div><div class="im" style="text-align: right;"><br />
بغداد ٢٠-٥-٢٠١٠<br />
<br />
تستنكر منظمة مثيليي العراق بكافة اعضايها داخل وخارج العراق قرار الحبس الجائر بخصوص</div><div class="im" style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">"As the Lgbt community inside Iraq is suffering the most in the modern history of Iraq, we feel that our pain is similar, our enemy is one."</div><br />
"Homophobia is the enemy all the Lgbt are facing. We call for action and solidarity and we call upon the Malawi government to immediately release the couple and issue an apology to the Lgbt community in Malawai."<br />
<br />
Lesbians and gays in Iraq are supported by two safe houses run by Iraqi LGBT, a human rights organisation based in London.<br />
<br />
The five year old organisation has previously run more safe houses but is unable to offer more support through safe houses or in most parts of the country due to lack of funding. Nevertheless, Iraqi LGBT has members throughout Iraq who try to support each other.<br />
<br />
Iraqi LGBT also supports some refugees who it has helped flee to escape direct threats on their life. Threats have followed some of them outside Iraq. Leader Ali Hili moved house in London due to them and continues to receive regular threats.<br />
<br />
The group has documented the violent deaths of over 700 lesbians, gays and transgender people in Iraq at the hands of militias and some government forces over the past five years.<br />
<br />
No one has been prosecuted for these crimes and no action has been taken by the Iraqi government to offer any sort of protection for lesbians, gays and transgender people.<br />
<br />
Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga were handed a 14 year jail sentence for homosexuality on Thursday in Blantyre, Malawi.<br />
<br />
The sentence has been condemned by many governments. Human rights activist Peter Tatchell said: “Fourteen years with hard labour could kill Steven and Tiwonge. Malawi's prison conditions are appallingly unhealthy.”<br />
<br />
“Detainees die in custody. Infectious diseases like TB are rife. Medical treatment is sub-standard. Food rations are very poor nutritional value; mostly maize porridge, beans and water, causing malnutrition. After only five months behind bars, Steven has been seriously ill and has not received proper medical treatment.”</div>paulocanninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17499916652508144662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16466124.post-68292516213400234112010-05-10T21:08:00.000+01:002010-05-10T21:08:25.049+01:00Iraqi LGBT takes part in International Day against Homophobia<b><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://lgbt.icethorn.co.uk/">Camden LGBT Forum</a> </b><br />
Saturday 15 May, 2.30PM<br />
The 52 Club, Gower Street<br />
<br />
Talks by Ali Hili, Reverend Roland Jide Macaulay, Exhibition of Paul Harfleet's amazing Pansy Project, Songs by Pilar Awa, Exclusive Video Footage of Iraq<br />
Free Refreshments-no need to book-just turn up.<br />
<br />
<b>Just Friends</b><br />
IDAHO special: gays in Iraq<br />
Wednesday 19 May, 7:00PM.<br />
<br />
This event is open to members of “Just Friends” only, but if you are interested in attending, please email deco24@tiscali.co.ukpaulocanninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17499916652508144662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16466124.post-35261450602523736742010-05-07T21:14:00.001+01:002010-05-07T21:20:53.470+01:00Iraqi LGBT receives Monette-Horwitz award<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl8u4xTVhS1iI2WFzvKL8BQow3V0Q31cG-f3OQX4zrClL3HGzID1xj9XtItCoVbdSxMh-Wj16UwvQOE_YJUTnqs8AQB3X8lpW-Ygv2Pbd9Hq4HY5JMMkDRZLXOVZA2ktsZV1Ij0w/s1600/monette-horowitz-award.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl8u4xTVhS1iI2WFzvKL8BQow3V0Q31cG-f3OQX4zrClL3HGzID1xj9XtItCoVbdSxMh-Wj16UwvQOE_YJUTnqs8AQB3X8lpW-Ygv2Pbd9Hq4HY5JMMkDRZLXOVZA2ktsZV1Ij0w/s320/monette-horowitz-award.jpg" /></a></div>Iraqi LGBT is honoured to have received a 2010 <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Monette" rel="wikipedia nofollow" title="Paul Monette">Monette-Horwitz Trust</a> Award.<br />
<br />
The awards were established in the will of the late novelist Paul Monette to recognize his relationship with the late Roger Horwitz and to honor individuals and organizations for their significant contributions toward eradicating homophobia. They come with a $2500 cheque.<br />
<br />
They are awarded to individuals of diverse cultural backgrounds, genders, and sexual orientations. The Trust acknowledges the accomplishments of organizations and persons working in arenas ranging from academic research and creative expression to activism and community organizing.<br />
<br />
The Trust told Iraqi LGBT "what you are doing to monitor abuse of LGBT in Iraq is very important, and we want to support and encourage your continuing work."<br />
<br />
"We greatly admire what you are doing and we hope the encouragement offered by the award will help you continue your work and activism. We appreciate what you are doing for the global community."<br />
<br />
"You are in distinguished company."<br />
<br />
Iraqi LGBT spokesperson Ali Hili said: "This has come as a complete surprise and we are very honoured, particularly to be amongst such esteemed other awardees both this year and previously."<br />
<br />
"Unfortunately we are unable to travel to accept the award in person [at the 2010 Lambda Literary Awards Ceremony in New York] as my travel is restricted by the British government, so the Trust has posted it to us."<br />
<br />
Following Monette's instructions, there are no applications for the awards. Recommendations are given by an Advisory Committee to Monette's appointed Trustee, his brother Robert L. Monette.<br />
<br />
Paul Monette and Roger Horwitz were committed to bringing about an end to homophobia both through their individual activities and through their union.<br />
<br />
Roger Horwitz wrote poetry in his student years and received his undergraduate degree from <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=42.365664,-71.259742&spn=0.01,0.01&q=42.365664,-71.259742%20%28Brandeis%20University%29&t=h" rel="geolocation nofollow" title="Brandeis University">Brandeis University</a>, where he was a member of <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" class="zem_slink" href="http://www.pbk.org/" rel="homepage nofollow" title="Phi Beta Kappa Society">Phi Beta Kappa</a>. His first jobs were in France teaching English and then working for the publishers Larousse and Gallimard. He received his Ph.D in comparative literature from Harvard University in 1972, writing his dissertation on French novelist Henri Thomas as he also began <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" class="zem_slink" href="http://www.law.harvard.edu/" rel="homepage nofollow" title="Harvard Law School">Harvard Law School</a>. He received his law degree in 1973.<br />
<br />
Paul Monette was an honors student at <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=42.64734,-71.13156&spn=1.0,1.0&q=42.64734,-71.13156%20%28Phillips%20Academy%29&t=h" rel="geolocation nofollow" title="Phillips Academy">Phillips Academy</a> in Andover, MA and received his undergraduate degree in English from Yale in 1967, where he was Class Poet. Monette and Horwitz met September 4, 1974 in Boston, during the middle years of gay liberation. As he described their introduction in <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" class="zem_slink" href="http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Man-Half-Life-Story/dp/0062507249%3FSubscriptionId%3D0G81C5DAZ03ZR9WH9X82%26tag%3Dzemanta-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D0062507249" rel="amazon nofollow" title="Becoming a Man: Half a Life Story">Becoming a Man: Half a Life Story</a> (1992), Paul Monette said to Roger Horwitz, "Say hello to the rest of your life."<br />
<br />
Paul and Roger moved to Los Angeles in November 1977, and both men were associated strongly with the LGBT activities of that city until their deaths. Horwitz worked as a corporate attorney, then founded his own practice with clients such as the Downtown Women's Center. He succumbed to AIDS in 1986. After Roger's death, Monette did the writing and activism for which he will remain known, capturing in his verse, fiction, non-fiction, fable, and public speaking appearances, the hopes, dreams, and rage of an entire generation.<br />
<br />
Before his own death from AIDS in 1995, Monette established the Monette-Horwitz Trust to ensure the continued fruits of their activism as well as the memory of their loving partnership.<br />
<br />
The other awardees are: the transsexual 'warrior' Leslie Feinberg; Impact Stories, which is a Californian oral history project; the Rev. Eric P. Lee, president of the Los Angeles chapter of Southern Christian Leadership Conference; Naz Foundation, the largest AIDS healthcare NGO in India, and; RFD and White Crane Journal, America's two oldest reader-written-and-produced quarterlies celebrating queer diversity.<br />
<div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/506d8091-01ff-4269-b4c4-fa817b6ba66f/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=506d8091-01ff-4269-b4c4-fa817b6ba66f" style="border: medium none; float: right;" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script defer="defer" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" type="text/javascript">
</script></span></div>paulocanninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17499916652508144662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16466124.post-82953774835249320302010-04-27T11:19:00.001+01:002010-04-27T13:27:41.979+01:00Amnesty International: Iraq must protect civilians at risk of deadly violence<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRrqhHlvUQKmWiU_h1q6f1KhG-ZPIWaLrsJeOvAHBsw_9cpnZa_LWGq0H8PAewUfSBybQI-rlk3ukqdBzUW4oBsx7NRSUfFeqRTQs98gCC_SWLmoJ5IoXsZLKFhWv8IPlxSdjBaw/s1600/iraq-graffiti.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRrqhHlvUQKmWiU_h1q6f1KhG-ZPIWaLrsJeOvAHBsw_9cpnZa_LWGq0H8PAewUfSBybQI-rlk3ukqdBzUW4oBsx7NRSUfFeqRTQs98gCC_SWLmoJ5IoXsZLKFhWv8IPlxSdjBaw/s320/iraq-graffiti.png" /></a></div><br />
27 April 2010<br />
<br />
Amnesty International <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/iraq-must-protect-civilians-risk-deadly-violence-2010-04-27">on Tuesday</a> called on the Iraqi authorities to urgently step up the protection of civilians amid the recent surge of deadly violence in the country.<br />
<br />
A new Amnesty International report, Iraq: Civilians Under Fire, documents how hundreds of civilians are being killed or injured each month.<br />
<br />
Many are specifically targeted by armed groups because of their religious, ethnic or sexual identity or because they speak out against human rights abuses.<br />
<br />
Ongoing uncertainty over when a new Iraqi government will be formed has led to a recent spike in attacks, with more than 100 civilian deaths in the first week of April alone.<br />
<br />
"Iraqis are still living in a climate of fear, seven years after the US-led invasion. The Iraqi authorities could do much more to keep them safe, but over and over they are failing to help the most vulnerable in society," said Malcolm Smart, director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa programme.<br />
<br />
Amnesty International urged the authorities to do more to protect those who are particularly at risk and bring those responsible for violent crimes to justice, without recourse to the death penalty.<br />
<br />
While Iraqi security forces, foreign troops or family members are responsible for some human rights abuses, most killings of civilians are carried out by armed groups, including al-Qa'ida in Iraq. The organization remains a significant presence in the country despite the recent reported deaths of three senior leaders.<br />
<br />
Human rights defenders, journalists and political activists are among those who have been killed or maimed in Iraq because of their work.<br />
<br />
Omar Ibrahim Al-Jabouri, the head of public relations at Rasheed TV station, only just escaped with his life in an attack on 13 April 2010. He lost his legs after being caught in an explosion of a bomb attached to his vehicle as he was driving to his office in Baghdad.<br />
<br />
Religious and ethnic minorities also continue to be targeted for attack, with at least eight Christians killed in Mosul in February 2010 in apparent sectarian attacks.<br />
<br />
Christian students Zia Toma, 22, and Ramsin Shmael, 21, were stopped by unidentified gunmen on 17 February 2010 at a bus stop in Mosul who demanded to see their identity cards. When the gunmen opened fire, Toma was killed and Shmael was injured but survived.<br />
<br />
Women and girls are particularly at risk of violence from both armed groups and their relatives. Few men are known to have been convicted of rape in Iraq. Women frequently suffer at the hands of relatives, in so-called honour crimes, if their behaviour is seen to go against traditional moral codes, for instance by refusing to marry men who have been selected for them. Activists have also been targeted for speaking out in favour of women's rights.<br />
<br />
Members of the gay community in Iraq, where homosexuality is not tolerated, live under constant threat of violence, with some Muslim clerics urging their followers to attack suspected homosexuals.<br />
<br />
Authorities frequently fail to carry out thorough and impartial investigations into attacks on civilians, arrest suspects or bring perpetrators to justice. In some cases, they are even accused of being implicated in violent attacks.<br />
<br />
As a result of the ongoing insecurity, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, including a disproportionately high number of minority communities, have been forced to flee their homes. Internally displaced people and refugees are even more vulnerable to violence, as well as economic hardship.<br />
<br />
Amnesty International called on the Iraqi authorities to immediately introduce measures to improve the safety of civilians. They should consult with members of at-risk groups to see how best they can protect them.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, the organization said the authorities must begin properly investigating attacks on civilians and to hold perpetrators, whoever they are, responsible for their crimes in accordance with international law. They should immediately disarm all militias and end the identification of religious affiliation on identity cards.<br />
<br />
All armed groups in Iraq should immediately end human rights abuses, including attacks against civilians, abductions and torture.<br />
<br />
Amnesty International also called for an end to all forcible returns of refugees to Iraq as long as the country remains unstable. Several European governments are forcibly returning people to Iraq – including to the most dangerous parts of the country – in direct violation of guidelines set out by UNHCR, the UN refugee agency.<br />
<br />
Amnesty International has spoken to several Iraqis who were forcibly returned by the Netherlands government on 30 March 2010. Among the 35 refugees was a 22-year-old Shi'a Turkoman man from Tal Afar, a city north of Mosul, where hundreds of civilians have been killed in sectarian or other politically motivated violence in recent years, and where the violence continues unabated. As of mid-April, he remained stranded in Baghdad.<br />
<br />
"The continuing uncertainty as to when a new government will be formed following last month's election could well contribute to a further increase of violent incidents of which civilians are the main victims. The uncertainty is threatening to make a bad situation even worse. Both the Iraqi authorities and the international community must act now to prevent more unnecessary deaths," said Malcolm Smart.<br />
<br />
<b>Iraq: Civilians under fire</b><br />
<ul><li><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE14/002/2010/en/c9dc5d8d-95fa-46e4-8671-cd9b99d0378c/mde140022010en.pdf">Download PDF</a></li>
<li><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE14/002/2010/en/ce5122ac-a692-49d7-8ca7-5987c92df669/mde140022010ara.pdf">Arabic PDF</a></li>
</ul><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Read the report's section 'attacks on gay men'</span><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Members of the gay community in Iraq live under constant threat. They are confronted by widespread intolerance towards their sexual identity and scores of men who were, or were perceived to be, gay have been killed in recent years, some after torture. Violent acts against gay men have occurred against a background of frequent public statements by some Muslim clerics and others condemning homosexuality.<br />
<br />
Attacks against gay men, including killings, have frequently been reported since the 2003 invasion.<br />
<br />
Qassim, a 40-year-old hairdresser from Baghdad and refugee in Jordan, told Amnesty International in June 2006 about several incidents targeting gay men that occurred in August and September 2004 in Baghdad:<br />
<br />
“I was at a gym with my boyfriend. When he returned to my car to get me a bottle of water he was shot dead outside the gym. I was terrified and went into hiding.”<br />
<br />
About two weeks later two of his friends were killed in Baghdad. A few days later an explosive device was thrown at his car and he decided to leave Iraq.<br />
<br />
The UN reported that at least 12 people were killed because of their sexual orientation between October 2005 and May 2006, during which a fatwa appeared on the website of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani calling for the killing of homosexuals “in the most severe way”.<br />
<br />
During the first few months of 2009 at least 25 men and boys were killed in Baghdad because of their sexual orientation or gender expression. This was most common in the predominantly Shi’a district of al-Sadr City. According to reports, the perpetrators were their relatives and members of the Mahdi Army, followers of Moqtada al-Sadr, a Shi'a cleric and political leader.<br />
<br />
Many of the victims were tortured and their bodies mutilated and dumped in the streets. Many other men and boys fled Iraq after receiving death threats.<br />
<br />
In April 2009 Amnesty International interviewed several Iraqis who had recently fled due to the violence they were facing because they were gay men. Hakim, a 34-year-old man from Najaf, reported that his partner had been kidnapped and abused by members of the Mahdi Army in October 2008, apparently after they found out about their secret relationship. Following his release, both men received death threats from the Mahdi Army, including on one occasion a note that was delivered with three bullets.<br />
<br />
A 41-year-old gay man from the Hayy Ur district of Baghdad told Human Rights Watch that a friend of his, a gay man, was attacked and killed in February 2009 by members of the Mahdi Army while he was walking in the neighbourhood with friends. The man himself later survived an abduction by members of the Mahdi Army, who forced him at gunpoint out of his store on 6 March 2009. During his abduction, the militia abused him, including by beating him unconscious and raping him with a broomstick. He was released after his family paid a ransom, but the abductors threatened to kill him if he left the house after his return. For one month he did not leave the house until he fled Baghdad.<br />
<br />
The wave of attacks on gay men in early 2009 coincided with statements by Muslim clerics, particularly in al-Sadr City, urging their followers to take action to eradicate homosexuality from Iraqi society. They used language that effectively constituted incitement to violence against men known or alleged to be gay.<br />
<br />
<b>Licensed to kill gay men</b><br />
<br />
Gay men face similar discrimination as women under the legislation that provides for lenient sentences for those committing crimes with an “honourable motive”. Iraqi courts continue to interpret provisions of Article 128 of the Penal Code as justification for giving drastically reduced sentences to defendants who have attacked or even killed gay men they are related to if they say that they acted to “wash off the shame”. In its rulings, the Iraqi Court of Cassation has confirmed that the killing of a male relative who is suspected of same-sex sexual conduct is considered a crime with an “honourable motive", thus qualifying for a reduced sentence under Article 128.16<br />
<br />
Although provisions under Articles 128 have been amended in the Kurdistan Region by Law 14 of 2002 and, therefore, may no longer be applied in connection with crimes committed against women there, they continue to be applicable throughout the whole of Iraq in connection with crimes against gay men.<br />
<br />
For example, on 24 October 2005 the Court of Cassation of the Kurdistan Region confirmed the conviction for murder and one-year prison sentence imposed on a man from Koysinjak who had confessed to killing his gay brother earlier in 2005. The court found that he had killed his brother with "honourable motives" because he "wanted to end the shame which the victim [of the crime] had brought over his family by practicing depravity and by being engaged in homosexuality and prostitution.” The court also accepted that a one-year prison sentence was in this case appropriate for premeditated murder, a crime which carries the death penalty.<br />
<br />
Impunity or, at most, a disproportionately lenient prison sentence for the murder of gay men by their relatives, appears to be the rule rather than the exception in Iraq. <br />
<br />
<b>No Protection</b><br />
<br />
A group of gay men reportedly provide emergency shelter at secret locations in Baghdad for individuals who are at risk. However, members of the gay community under threat of attack or murder cannot expect any assistance from the authorities, even when urgent protection is needed.<br />
<br />
On the contrary, members of the security forces and possibly other authorities appear in some cases to have encouraged the targeting of people suspected of same-sex relationships, in blatant violation of the law and international human rights standards. For example, a senior police officer in the Karada district of Baghdad was reported to have told the media that “homosexuality is against the law" and that the police were involved in a "campaign to clean up the streets and get the beggars and homosexuals off them."paulocanninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17499916652508144662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16466124.post-73204833991915553302010-04-26T16:21:00.000+01:002010-04-27T11:20:27.923+01:00Ali Hili campaign update<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=28575"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ5t6NAW6tJ4-1l6Mrey0Nv6mAqJ4yPgC2H3FjOXQyqz61LbGd1QODtw2EugtZv0v3znskQtrlhtIomQJWlyFWAfeshZIcBSU7T97Finv9QMgUCd3zE32apNWA_ZiZmj26ChNmbw/s320/medialine.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<b>First campaign coverage in Middle East, first direct comment by government on case<br />
</b><br />
<b>Labour's election web campaign supremo asks Johnson to act</b><br />
<b>1000 sign petition in fortnight, hundreds of letters to Johnson</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<b> </b><br />
A major middle east news source <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=28575">has written about the campaign for Ali Hili and Iraqi LGBT</a>, the first major news outlet for the region to cover the campaign.<br />
<br />
The Media Line also secured the first direct comment on Hili's case from the UK government. They said that it is being dealt with by UK Border Agency (UKBA) Case Resolution Directorate and “the reason it hasn’t been prioritised is because it doesn’t fall into one of the priority categories listed on our website.”<br />
<br />
When applying for his case to be prioritised, Hili's solicitor Barry O'Leary explained that he needed to travel to fulfill speaking engagements which would directly aid lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender people (LGBT) suffering terror in Iraq through publicising their cause.<br />
<br />
Six months later, and interpreting those "priority categories", the UKBA told O'Leary that:<br />
<ul><li>the assistance which Hili has given to the Foreign Office (and mentioned in their 2009 Human Rights Report) "does not count"</li>
<li>the fatwa (death threat against him) does not mean that Hilli "falls within the classification of clear and immediate vulnerability"</li>
<li>that the delay in deciding Hilli's asylum case (since July 2007) "is not in itself an exceptional circumstance"</li>
<li>his case is not "compelling"</li>
</ul>The UKBA explanation is in contradiction to the response given to MP Clare Short, prompted to write by a constituent. She was told by Gail Adams, West Midlands Regional Director of the UKBA that "information contained in applications to the UKBA is treated as being strictly confidential and is not normally disclosed to third parties."<br />
<br />
Campaigners are determined to get the British Home Secretary, Alan Johnson, to intervene and order Hili's case prioritised - as he is able to do. <br />
<ul><li>They would like it to become an issue in the UK election. </li>
<li>They say that the lack of resolution and consequent inability to travel and meet politicians and journalists in places such as Washington DC, Brussels and Madrid directly affects LGBT who are suffering a pogrom which continues in the country.</li>
</ul><ul><li>Iraqi LGBT say they will be releasing a video next month which addresses the ongoing campaign against LGBT, particularly in Iraq's south, a region formally under the control of the British. They say that in recent weeks there have been a number of murders of young gays.<br />
</li>
</ul>Within a fortnight of the launch of the campaign, <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.gopetition.com/online/35025/signatures.html">over 1000 people have signed an international petition</a>. Over 250 mainly Americans have <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.change.org/petitions/view/urge_the_uk_government_to_help_iraqi_lgbt_save_lives">used change.org to send a message</a> demanding intervention from the UK Home Secretary. Campaigners say they are aware of over 100 other letters going to both Alan Johnson and Gordon Brown.<br />
<br />
<br />
And Iraqi LGBT have been informed that a number of MPs have asked Johnson to act, <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://twitiq.com/_/t/11360373570">including </a>the head of Labour's web campaign for the general election Kerry McCarthy, Labour MP for Bristol East.<br />
The author Stella Duffy posted a link to the campaign on her Facebook page.<br />
<br />
Besides The Media Line, a number of other blogs and websites covering Iraq have featured the case and <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://iraqilgbtuk.blogspot.com/2010/04/ali-must-travel-support-from-lgbt.html">support has come from many Iraqis</a>.<br />
<br />
Further coverage of Hili's case and the plight of LGBT in Iraq has come from a wide variety of media around the world.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://gay.americablog.com/2010/04/iraq-is-most-dangerous-place-on-earth.html"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2e7EAf3VmAX0vaP2CjAGtGyQeTauolRPSG_mbtbhte82Ap-rV3Y8v4xGA3MNmnIxwfTST5rzkDuIDT8VIJ5lgXHtonsidwDSR8cWCfyEwyeXtn1onu9RbvIvy5DUa3zMKCKGgwA/s320/americabloggay.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.nowpublic.com/world/iraqi-asylum-seeker-ali-hili-claims-delay-killing-gay-iraqis"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhShLQZkeAnu_EgL7BNiIAfY-xQQENE5PAyH5CTRGHZsWwHJN-FpUTHni9uQc-qpNXYmABk5VZ_CySZy_TUbhpCdNk_mJ9oaZD1aNmgxUgel_-c4jOb-rypSJiYqD9L4cHrwacA7w/s320/nowpublic.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/04/10/united-kingdom-iraqi-lgbt-group-leader-ali-hili-refused-priority-for-ayslum-application/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi468DznLiieDxx0aTbVvrHKFFj9k1YlxRcyYTo36qIG5MP1Wh3f49bPjFYZrPbyQhMUro-c-lKYgPB5y-tUuQGRRtsa4y5TTP83FUTHjZ269_60aRksLIhew_IPJ6D5dqHIRznmQ/s320/global-voices.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.starobserver.com.au/news/2010/04/04/iraqi-lgbt-leader%E2%80%99s-asylum-fight-continues/23513"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWyrSlWJ9BjcwVJBdJckh9aGZa3tnxJtQtwd5QQQq8G38HG5qARsPwWaYOqGAtpXcMF9J5KeF4EyfUDApNdpDoUVKl3S7duq7pjffN3yRQ2jRNEQlplRBwN436MXny471_i47Eow/s320/sso2.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.demotix.com/news/284863/iraqs-lgbt-leader-asylum-application"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSfIMTOPIBtnZ6ZmgdV6T_Q8aeZLnLUE42f1-67AW5T1NuWLtdM5g098i57KADBsNFBF6oiTEudDQNlp3CIDy3ndWMuoowRP_i1XcJLAab_SM5BN-6Wy_tPwQ2BtEZWN3tkTol5Q/s320/demotix.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://gays.com/blog/general/1335/interview-ali-hili-founder-of-iraqi-lgbt/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsKmf-SaQDHjTc8wD0y5vAaCNfiybWVG1pzLSGeV2n4FD-xy8Xk9ikfZF0EqLKoUYZKYNNyHgR8LrBNSNxjvbgjdyKrNiyxd4d7J5fQdrbR6WFN_I5wB_ZGtUIPtQBsCneU4FXSw/s320/gays.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2010/03/23/exclusive-campaigner-says-delay-in-asylum-claims-killing-gay-iraqis/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuoWLh1Q2CbrtZhjQUDdfx8NYsUpS6QsjMC1CI_kyi2DBWcnoV7c6EORVwEA6eNx26LbciMJBbHOsfnm9uMNS-Xipc1LSANg9gw3mdfQJzqLqKbmXxOjFROSebMKUWO0QyzhEKCA/s320/pinknews.jpg" /></a></div><br />
For further information please email <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="mailto:paul@iraqilgbt.org.uk">paul@iraqilgbt.org.uk</a><br />
<br />
~~~~~~<br />
<br />
The Media Line: Published Wednesday, April 14, 2010<br />
<br />
<a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=28575"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Iraqi Gay Pleads to UK: Give Me Asylum</span></b></a><br />
<br />
Written by Rachelle Kliger<br />
<br />
Supporters of an Iraqi gay activist are pressing the UK government to grant him asylum papers so he can continue to promote rights of the Iraqi LGBT community.<br />
<br />
Gay rights supporters have launched a campaign pressuring the UK government to grant asylum to a prominent Iraqi gay rights activist who has fled to Britain. <br />
<br />
Ali Hili, director of Iraqi LGBT, an organization that promotes the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population in Iraq, fled Iraq to Europe in 2000 for personal reasons. He has been in the UK since 2002.<br />
<br />
Although Hili, 37, applied for asylum status three years ago, his request is still pending. As a consequence, Hili, who is considered one of the few brave visible leaders of the Iraqi gay community, cannot leave the UK. He said this hampers his efforts to convey to the world the plight of gays in Iraq.<br />
<br />
“There’s a general atmosphere of hostility and ignorance by the UK immigration authority,” Hili told The Media Line from his current residence in England. “I urgently need to travel and publicly speak, present our work, campaign and raise funds. We’re the first LGBT group in the Middle East so we should get support from Western governments and not be treated like this. It’s a human rights issue and not just a gay rights issue.”<br />
<br />
Iraqi LGBT was set up five years ago to help organize escape routes and safe houses for Iraqi gays in danger and help members of Iraq’s LGBT community who are facing death and persecution by the Iraqi police and militias. It also aims to raise awareness about the wave of homophobic murders in Iraq to the outside world.<br />
<br />
Iraqi LGBT estimates that over 700 lesbians, gays bisexuals and transgenders have been assassinated in Iraq in recent years.<br />
<br />
Campaigners say that the decision to not prioritize his application not only impacts on Hili but also on persecuted Iraqi lesbians and gays, “through the reduced ability of their sole visible leader to raise their profile internationally.”<br />
<br />
Hili argues that he is in a minority group at risk and he needs his asylum application to be approved so that he can travel and promote the objectives of his organization.<br />
<br />
“My work with Iraqi LGBT has been delayed and everything is on hold. We’re unable to move, speak or to present our group to the world. We’re stuck here, while we get invitations from Europe, the U.S. and other countries who want to know more about the LGBT community in Iraq so it’s disrupting everything for us and throwing the group’s work down the drain,” he said.<br />
<br />
The UK Border Agency told The Media Line that the case is being dealt with by Case Resolution Directorate.<br />
<br />
“The reason it hasn’t been prioritised is because it doesn’t fall into one of the priority categories listed on our website,” a representative of the organization said.<br />
<br />
Campaigners are gathering signatures for a petition at this link: <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/iraqi-lgbt-need-your-help/sign.html">http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/iraqi-lgbt-need-your-help/sign.html</a><br />
<br />
Michael Luongo, a freelance journalist and editor of Gay Travels in the Muslim World, said he believes Hili is right to ask for preferential treatment in his asylum application.<br />
<br />
“Not only is he a gay Iraqi, he is one heading an organization, so the fact that he has not received asylum yet is baffling,” he told The Media Line. “What is the British government thinking?”<br />
<br />
In addition, Luongo pointed out that the results of the recent parliamentary elections in Iraq indicate that hard-line political forces - who may well have been behind the murders of gays in Iraq - are now gaining political strength. This poses an increased threat to the gay community in Iraq.<br />
<br />
Hili, who will not reveal his real name for reasons of personal safety, said that life for gays has actually better under Saddam Hussein and has severely deteriorated since 2003.<br />
<br />
“[Under Saddam] I never suffered from the law on account of my sexual inclinations. I enjoyed tolerance and even respect by the people, society, friends, relatives and work colleagues,” Hili said.<br />
<br />
Under Saddam, he added, the law imposed between six months and three years in jail for homosexual acts but these punishments were rarely enforced. <br />
<br />
“We never experienced any killings or executions by the authorities,” he said.<br />
<br />
Now, witnesses have testified of extreme violence in Iraq against sexual minorities. Officials have denied this, but Hili said they have proof it is occurring.<br />
<br />
“We have clear evidence that the Iraqi police are participating in killings, and we can prove this with videos and documents,” he said. “We’ve also heard of lots of religious fundamental leaders urging their followers to track down homosexuals and beat and kill them. It’s far worse than we ever experienced in the past.”<br />
<br />
As to the legislative situation today, Hili said the current Iraqi constitution made no reference to the gay community whatsoever.<br />
<br />
“The new constitution doesn’t have criminal courts or regulations. We don’t even exist in the constitution. We believe that by not mentioning anything, this is evidence that we do not exist in the eye of the Iraqi constitution or the Iraqi state. We need to set that right.”<br />
<br />
Interestingly, Luongo said that even though gays were better off under Saddam’s regime, the 2003 invasion also brought about changes that opened up the Iraqi gay community to the world.<br />
<br />
“The invasion allowed for increased interaction between the Western gay world and the gay world of Iraq,” he explained, “either through employees at NGO's, gay soldiers, and other gay Westerners who came to work in occupied Iraq.”<br />
<br />
Luongo, who has traveled to Iraq twice since 2003 and is familiar with the issue, said the “scene” in Iraq was nothing like a scene in the Western sense.<br />
<br />
“I visited a cafe in Western Baghdad that had maybe 100 men in it, a cafe that has a gay reputation. There are a few such places in the city. However, the places like this which existed in Sadr City, a very conservative religious area, were firebombed and men who went were hunted down. To give some indication of the size of the gay community in exile, when I visited Damascus in Syria and interviewed gay men there, they told me that there were 9,000 gay Iraqi men in the city - half of whom came to flee the anti-gay violence of Baghdad on their own, and half of whom came along with their families, fleeing the general violence.”<br />
<br />
Mirroring Hili’s comments Luongo said gays in Iraq are not at all tolerated in the current climate.<br />
<br />
“I interviewed a woman from the government who was very liberal, and her view was that gays had to be more discreet in order to save themselves,” he said.<br />
<br />
“What I found within Iraqi society is everything from deep hatred of gays to mild amusement to people who had friends they figured were gay but just never talked about it. You might think of it like the USA or the UK in the 1960's but with an exceedingly more violent tendency towards gays.”<br />
<br />
Ironically, Luongo said the Arabic version of his book, which discusses gays in the Muslim world, was available for sale in a bookseller’s bazaar in Baghdad, reflecting the contrasting tendencies in the city.paulocanninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17499916652508144662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16466124.post-27430112914888330062010-04-04T10:06:00.001+01:002010-04-23T11:10:35.487+01:00Iraq 7 Years Later: A Journey of ReturnSeven years after the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq, <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.newint.org/">New Internationalist</a> co-editor Hadani Ditmars returned to a land she last visited in October 2003 to research her book Dancing in the No Fly Zone.<br />
<br />
With more than a million people dead in the wake of post-invasion violence, infrastructure in ruins despite $53 billion dollars in ‘aid’, rampant corruption and continuing human rights abuses, the promise of democracy remains a hollow one.<br />
<br />
But there are signs of life amidst the devastation. The national theatre has re-opened, women continue to defy oppressive fundamentalism, and young people dream of a better future, where a renewed sense of national identity trumps sectarian divisions.<br />
<br />
Join Hadani for the launch of the May issue on Iraq, as well as a lively discussion on the country’s future with special guests Hassan Abdulrazzak, who wrote the play <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baghdad_Wedding" rel="wikipedia nofollow" title="Baghdad Wedding">Baghdad Wedding</a>, gay rights activist Ali Hili, and writer <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haifa_Zangana" rel="wikipedia nofollow" title="Haifa Zangana">Haifa Zangana</a>.<br />
<br />
Date: April 29, 2010 7:00 PM<br />
<strike>Frontline Club<br />
13 Norfolk Place,<br />
London W2 1QJ<br />
Tel: +44 (0)20 7479 8950 </strike><br />
Moved to <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.helleniccentre.org/">Hellenic Centre</a><br />
16-18 Paddington St, Marylebone, W1U 5AS <br />
Closest Tube Station: Paddington<br />
<div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/d2718788-0e15-491b-b0f2-d04d20e9abab/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=d2718788-0e15-491b-b0f2-d04d20e9abab" style="border: medium none; float: right;" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script defer="defer" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" type="text/javascript">
</script></span></div>paulocanninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17499916652508144662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16466124.post-2567180766311081712010-03-31T09:32:00.002+01:002010-03-31T09:32:39.177+01:00Change.org launch petition for Iraqi LGBT<span style="font-size: medium;">Iraqi LGBT</span><br />
<br />
Press statement<br />
For immediate use<br />
31 March<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: medium;">Change.org launch petition for Iraqi LGBT</span></b><br />
<b><br />
Green leader writes to Johnson</b><br />
<br />
<b>Gay Iraqis praise 'our hero'</b><br />
<br />
<br />
The major American progressive organisation Change.org has <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://gayrights.change.org/petitions/view/urge_the_uk_government_to_help_iraqi_lgbt_save_lives" target="_blank">launched a petition to British Home Secretary Alan Johnson</a> to grant asylum to Iraqi LGBT leader Ali Hili.<br />
<br />
The petition allows supporter to send a personalised message to Johnson, whose decision is effecting the work of the group in drawing attention to atrocities against gays in Iraq. It was created by the website's leading gay author Michael Jones.<br />
<br />
A petition started by Iraqi LGBT has already drawn near 700 signatures in a few days, including <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://iraqilgbtuk.blogspot.com/2010/03/ali-must-travel-what-people-are-saying.html" target="_blank">many with moving comments</a> from Iraqis who have been helped by Hili. <br />
<br />
One was from Khaldoon Abdulrazaq who wrote:<br />
<br />
"A message of support from inside iraq, ali you are our hero, our hope and the future you have in your vision for a better iraq will come one day, believe me. Please keep the faith, your fight is our fight, we all dream of a better world, a world with all people respect and love each other..."<br />
<br />
Campaign organisers say that 60 letters have already been sent to Gordon Brown demanding he intervene.<br />
<br />
On Monday the leader of the UK Green Party Caroline Lucas announced that <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://iraqilgbtuk.blogspot.com/2010/03/caroline-lucas-mep-says-ali-must-travel.html" target="_blank">she had written to Johnson</a>.<br />
<br />
Lucas wrote:<br />
<br />
"I am writing with reference to the asylum application of Iraqi LGBT leader Ali Hili, currently living in exile in London. This application has been outstanding for nearly three years and while it is outstanding, Ali cannot travel. This impacts not only on Ali himself but also limits his ability to raise the profile of how LGBT rights are oppressed on a daily basis in Iraq."<br />
<br />
"As I am sure you are aware, the group Iraqi LGBT estimates that over 700 LGBT people have been assassinated over the past few years. Human Rights Watch, working with the BBC for a report aired last year, confirmed that torture and persecution of the LGBT community is widespread and that many LGBT people claim life was safer during Saddam Hussein's regime. US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin spoke last month of their concerns for LGBT both in Iraq and as refugees, in a letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton co-signed by 64 other Congress people."<br />
<br />
"Ali Hili, as a prominent campaigner for LGBT equality, will not be safe if he is returned to Iraq. He has received a fatwa from inside Iraq, as well as numerous threats in London which have forced him to move. He is under the protection of the Metropolitan Police. Moreover, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has advised 'favourable consideration' for asylum claims because of the situation in Iraq. I would, therefore, urge you to ensure that Ali Hili's asylum claim is granted as a matter of urgency and his right to travel guaranteed."<br />
<br />
Documentary film maker David Grey of Village Films has released an appeal for Ali and Iraqi LGBT on YouTube. The video is titled '<a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG5WpBS8m9Y" target="_blank">Please help save gay lives in Iraq</a>'.<br />
<br />
Campaigners for Hili said that they were awaiting confirmation of further invitations to travel - Hili was asked to do a speaking tour of the United States last year but had to decline.<br />
<br />
Hili's solicitor, Barry O'Leary, wrote to the UK Border Agency (UKBA) in August 2009 that: "he desperately wishes to do this [travel] in order to further the aims of his organisation, that is, supporting lesbians and gay men in Iraq and bringing the world's attention to their plight."<br />
<br />
Six months after his review application, the UKBA told O'Leary that:<br />
<br />
* the assistance which Hili has given to the Foreign Office "does not count"<br />
* the fatwa against him does not mean that Hili "falls within the classification of clear and immediate vulnerability"<br />
* that the delay in deciding Hili's asylum case (since July 2007) "is not in itself an exceptional circumstance"<br />
* his case is not "compelling"<br />
<br />
O'Leary said: "I have made UKBA aware of the detriment the nearly three year delay is having on the work of Iraqi LGBT. I have also stressed that this will be a straightforward matter given Mr Hili’s very high profile and the documented risks to his life. Nevertheless they decided to leave him in the queue for a decision. This can only harm LGBT individuals in Iraq."<br />
<br />
ENDS<br />
<br />
<br />
For further information and requests for interviews and photographs contact:<br />
<a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="mailto:gayasylumuk@gmail.com" target="_blank">gayasylumuk@gmail.com</a> or call (UK) 07986 008420<br />
<br />
For comment on the legal issues contact:<br />
<br />
Barry O'Leary<br />
<a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.gryklaw.com/" target="_blank" title="Wesley Gryk Solicitors">Wesley Gryk Solicitors</a><br />
<br />
<a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://iraqilgbtuk.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"> Iraqi LGBT website</a>paulocanninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17499916652508144662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16466124.post-29756007038707097692010-03-30T09:40:00.001+01:002010-03-30T09:40:52.381+01:00Video: Please help save lives in Iraq<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qG5WpBS8m9Y&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qG5WpBS8m9Y&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />
<br />
Many thanks to David Grey.paulocanninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17499916652508144662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16466124.post-67502257703140531832010-03-24T02:25:00.000+00:002010-03-24T02:25:47.787+00:00Outrage as UK government refuses to take action on asylum application by Iraqi gay leader<div> Press statement<br />
24 March 2010 </div><div> </div><div> For immediate use<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: medium;">Outrage as UK government refuses to take action on asylum application by Iraqi gay leader<br />
</span><br />
Action demanded of Gordon Brown and Alan Johnson</b><br />
<b><br />
Foreign Office opposition to persecution undermined by Home Office actions<br />
</b> </div><div> <br />
The UK government through its Border Agency has refused to give priority to an application for asylum by the leader of Iraqi LGBT, Ali Hili, in exile in London. The application has been outstanding for nearly three years and while it is outstanding, he cannot travel.<br />
<br />
This decision directly impacts on harshly persecuted Iraqi lesbians and gays through the reduced ability of their sole visible leader to raise their profile internationally.<br />
<br />
US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin spoke last month of their concerns for LGBT both in Iraq and as refugees, in a letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton co-signed by 64 other Congresspeople.<br />
<br />
Numerous human rights organisations and journalists have documented the pogrom against lesbians and gays in Iraq. Human Rights Watch has described a "campaign of torture and murder". Iraqi LGBT estimates that over 700 LGBT have been assassinated over the past few years. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has advised 'favourable consideration' for asylum claims because of the situation.<br />
<br />
Hili has received many requests to speak about the situation in Iraq internationally, including from US-based groups such as the Gay Liberation Network and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Campaign, which he has been unable to pursue. </div><div> </div><div> His solicitor, Barry O'Leary, wrote to the UK Border Agency (UKBA) in August 2009 that: "he desperately wishes to do this [travel] in order to further the aims of his organisation, that is, supporting lesbians and gay men in Iraq and bringing the world's attention to their plight."<br />
<br />
Six months after his review application, the UKBA told O'Leary that:<br />
</div><ul><li> the assistance which Hili has given to the Foreign Office "does not count" </li>
<li> the fatwa against him does not mean that Hili "falls within the classification of clear and immediate vulnerability" </li>
<li> that the delay in deciding Hili's asylum case (since July 2007) "is not in itself an exceptional circumstance" </li>
<li> his case is not "compelling" </li>
</ul><div> <span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">O'Leary said: "I have made UKBA aware of the detriment the nearly three year delay is having on the work of Iraqi LGBT. I have also stressed that this will be a straightforward matter given Mr Hili’s very high profile and the documented risks to his life. Nevertheless they decided to leave him in the queue for a decision. This can only harm LGBT individuals in Iraq."</span></span><br />
<br />
As the public leader of the only group representing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people both in Iraq as well as the diaspora, Hili has received a fatwa from inside Iraq as well as numerous threats in London which have forced him to move. He is under the protection of the Metropolitan Police.<br />
<br />
Hili said: "It is extremely distressing that the British government is refusing to allow me to take up the many offers to speak on behalf of the lesbians and gays in our organisation. I have been the only person who has willingly identified themselves as a gay Iraqi and this has made me a target. But the British government doesn't take this seriously."<br />
<br />
"Why are they undermining the work of our group? Why does the Foreign Office say it supports lesbians and gays around the world yet the Home Office does this to me,” he asks?<br />
<br />
Foreign Office Minister Chris Bryant wrote in his blog on Feb. 24: "I know some people dismiss LGBT rights as something of a sideshow in international relations, but I am proud to say that the FCO has argued for a decade that human rights are a seamless garment."<br />
<br />
The Foreign Office Human Rights Report for 2009 specifically names Iraqi LGBT over other NGOs as a key source of information. Hili has met with them numerous times. The report quotes Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell condemming persecution of LGBT in Iraq.<br />
<br />
Yet the same government through the Home Office effectively aids that persecution through the failure of recognition to Iraqi LGBT's leader.<br />
<br />
Hili's supporters said that they would be taking the campaign to get <span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">his case decided</span></span> - so Iraqi lesbians and gays can have a voice in the world - to the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary Alan Johnson.<br />
<br />
The internationally renowned human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has said of Hili:<br />
<br />
"It was Ali Hili of Iraqi LGBT who first alerted the world to the organised killing of LGBT people in Iraq - way back in 2005. For a long time, he was a lone voice."<br />
<br />
"Soon afterwards, he exposed the death fatwa against LGBT people issued by Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.<br />
<br />
"Mr Hili was also the person who set up the 'underground railroad' and safe houses inside Iraq, to give refuge to LGBT people on the run from Islamist death squads and to provide escape routes to neighbouring countries - which saved the lives of many Iraqi LGBTs. </div><div> <br />
"While I would not wish to detract one iota from the contributions of others, it is important to show due generosity and humility by acknowledging that it was Ali Hili and Iraqi LGBT who first bought this issue to public consciousness. They deserve our gratitude."<br />
<br />
Paul Canning, Editor of LGBT Asylum News and a Hili supporter, said: "If Ali is not deserving of expediency in decision making I don't know who is."<br />
<br />
"The government should be 100% behind the work of Iraqi LGBT, indeed they are quite willing to accept their help and advice at the Foreign Office. But they treat Ali and, through him Iraqi lesbians and gays, like dirt who don't deserve our protection and support. It is completely outrageous." </div><div> </div><div> Iraqi LGBT have set up a campaign web page on their website, see <a href="http://bit.ly/alihili" rel="http://bit.ly/plugins/iframe?hashUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2Falihili" target="_blank" title="http://bit.ly/alihili">http://bit.ly/alihili</a><br />
</div><div> <br />
ENDS </div><div> <br />
<br />
For further information and requests for interviews and photographs contact:<br />
<a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="mailto:gayasylumuk@gmail.com" target="_blank">gayasylumuk@gmail.com</a><br />
<br />
For comment on the legal issues contact:<br />
<br />
Barry O'Leary<br />
<a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.gryklaw.com/" target="_blank" title="Wesley Gryk Solicitors">Wesley Gryk Solicitors</a></div><h3> Notes: </h3>Iraqi LGBT is a representative organisation for over 100 people both inside Iraq and in the diaspora. It runs safe houses in Iraq and assists people to flee as well as supporting them in neighboring countries. <br />
<ul><li> Queerty: <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.queerty.com/head-of-iraqi-group-says-us-has-moral-responsibility-to-help-iraqi-gays-lesbians-20090421/" target="_blank" title="Interview with Ali Hili">Interview with Ali Hili</a> </li>
<li> <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://iraqilgbtuk.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" title="Iraqi LGBT
website">Iraqi LGBT website</a><br />
</li>
</ul><ul><li> Foreign Office: <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/global-issues/human-rights/programmes-projects/annual-report/" target="_blank">Annual Report on Human Rights</a> </li>
<li> Human Rights Watch: <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/08/17/iraq-stop-killings-homosexual-conduct" target="_blank" title="Iraq: Stop Killings for Homosexual Conduct">Iraq: Stop Killings for Homosexual Conduct</a> </li>
<li> Peter Tatchell: Iraq - <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.petertatchell.net/international/sistani.htm" target="_blank" title="Ayatolla Sistani says death to
gays">Ayatolla Sistani says death to gays</a> </li>
<li> LGBT Asylum News: <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2009/08/mp-intervenes-to-stop-deportation-from.html" target="_blank">Ministers Must Halt Deportation Of Gay Iraqi</a> </li>
<li> BBC: <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8133639.stm" target="_blank">Saddam's rule 'better' for gay Iraqis</a> </li>
<li> LGBT Asylum News:<a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2010/02/save-lgbt-refugees-44-us-congresspeople.html" target="_blank"> Save LGBT refugees, 44 US congresspeople urge Hillary Clinton</a> </li>
<li> LGBT Asylum News: <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2009/04/im-gay-and-iraqi-please-help-me.html" target="_blank">I'm Gay and Iraqi: Please Help Me!</a> </li>
</ul><ul><li> <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://iraqilgbtuk.blogspot.com/2008/09/iraqi-lgbt-annual-report-and-accounts.html" target="_blank" title="Iraqi LGBT annual report">Iraqi LGBT annual report</a> </li>
</ul><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/7071a187-b787-4fb8-8549-00d01387e992/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=7071a187-b787-4fb8-8549-00d01387e992" style="border: medium none; float: right;" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script defer="defer" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" type="text/javascript">
</script></span></div>paulocanninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17499916652508144662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16466124.post-47219643598779533662010-02-05T08:19:00.000+00:002010-03-20T08:20:24.612+00:00Support for LGBT Iraqi Refugees<div><div style="float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhldX4tsHWxSawP-m_0hzEyM7LweBOGp-VjKTBzzIDcNG9wUI8NGuRoeCrmQO9iAE5Gub_M-aBpbUbcb6-d2YTMCNhVZIojgW24byJx-pL1PVPUBCGtm8PWb1TCZ0nXsqlpLkIMGg/s1600-h/tammybaldwin.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhldX4tsHWxSawP-m_0hzEyM7LweBOGp-VjKTBzzIDcNG9wUI8NGuRoeCrmQO9iAE5Gub_M-aBpbUbcb6-d2YTMCNhVZIojgW24byJx-pL1PVPUBCGtm8PWb1TCZ0nXsqlpLkIMGg/s320/tammybaldwin.jpg" style="width: 200px;" /></a><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small; padding: 3px;">Rep. Tammy Baldwin</span></b></div></div><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoI5vOPe3NWwHrgVjUwtLoJoZCxK3qH1d578lYDnEEtWAAJxiSxy9_4mcr0OrthxG1UUl5XMko8vwqk0XMoRbCpA5xsdZFbKjpE8ZvOviej55_TJzBbXwnDuA_QssG99SFuK0fng/s1600-h/kirsten_gillibrand.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoI5vOPe3NWwHrgVjUwtLoJoZCxK3qH1d578lYDnEEtWAAJxiSxy9_4mcr0OrthxG1UUl5XMko8vwqk0XMoRbCpA5xsdZFbKjpE8ZvOviej55_TJzBbXwnDuA_QssG99SFuK0fng/s320/kirsten_gillibrand.jpg" style="width: 200px;" /></a><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small; padding: 3px;">Senator Kirsten Gillibrand</span></b></div></div></div><br />
<br />
Source: <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.tammybaldwin.house.gov/">Office of Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin</a> - February 4<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">GILLIBRAND, BALDWIN TO SEC. CLINTON: SAVE LGBT REFUGEES</span><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>LGBT Individuals Tortured and Killed in Iraq in 2009</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>No Proper Investigations, No Arrests for Crimes Against LGBT Individuals in Iraq</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>Take Action to Enforce Human Rights Laws to Protect Members of the LGBT Community in Countries Where Their Rights Are Abused.</b><br />
<br />
Washington, D.C. – With hundreds of LGBT individuals being beaten, persecuted and even killed in Iraq, Iran and other countries, U.S. Senator <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirsten_Gillibrand" rel="wikipedia" title="Kirsten Gillibrand">Kirsten Gillibrand</a> (D-NY), member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), joined by 11 of their Senate colleagues and 31 of their House colleagues, today wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urging her to work with U.S. Ambassadors, the United Nations and NGOs across the globe to enforce human rights laws that protect LGBT individuals in the countries where they are under threat. Where safe conditions are not possible, the U.S. and the UN must work with refugee and human rights groups to expedite refugees’ flight to safety.<br />
<br />
According to Human Rights Watch, there is no official number of deaths since the killing of LGBT individuals began in Iraq, but the U.N. has provided rough estimates range in the hundreds in 2009 alone. Not one murder of an LGBT individual in Iraq has led to an arrest, according to Human Rights Watch.<br />
<br />
“It is time for us in Congress to take a strong stand against all hate crimes and persecution – wherever they occur,” Senator Gillibrand said. “People in this world should not have to suffer or fear for their lives because of who they are or what they believe in. It is wrong and it must end. If Iraq, Iran and other countries are not providing the legal protections that members of their LGBT communities are entitled to, it is our duty to join with our partners in the international community, enforce the human rights laws that protect us all, and free LGBT individuals from persecution. While the ultimate goal is safe conditions in these countries, until that happens, the U.S., UN and the international community must ensure that LGBT refugees can reach safety in countries where they won’t face persecution”<br />
<br />
“The lives of LGBT individuals in Iran and Iraq, as well as those LGBT refugees who have fled persecution, are in grave danger,” said Congresswoman Baldwin, Co-Chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus. “I know Secretary of State Clinton shares our concerns for human rights and I hope she will use the full force of her office to respond to the plight of Iraqi and Iranian LGBT refugees and urge the UNHRC to do the same,” Congresswoman Baldwin said.<br />
<br />
“Senator Gillibrand’s letter highlights the difficulty that foreign lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) refugees face when their home countries, and their countries of first asylum, permit or condone discrimination and brutal attacks based on sexual orientation or gender identity,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “Secretary Clinton has said that LGBT rights are human rights and we agree. We look forward to working with the State Department and Senator Gillibrand to ensure that U.S. foreign policy strongly supports protecting the human rights of LGBT individuals abroad.”<br />
<br />
“Today, these Members of Congress have presented a comprehensive set of recommendations that will help ensure the protection of individuals who flee persecution based on their sexual orientation or gender identity only to face further persecution and violence in the countries they have fled to in search of safe refuge,” said Human Rights First’s Eleanor Acer. “We praise their leadership on this issue, and urge the administration to implement these measures including a fast-track resettlement process for individuals facing serious protection risks.” <br />
<br />
Gideon Aronoff, President & CEO of HIAS said, ““Refugees who have fled persecution on the basis of their sexuality are among the most vulnerable in the world, as persecution often follows them across borders from one country to the next. Additionally, in some parts of the world the LGBT population is at special risk because of strong cultural mores that reject and demonize all but traditional male/female relationships. For some, resettlement to the U. S. or another free country is the only life-saving solution, but neither the U.S. Refugee Program nor the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is adequately prepared to give LGBT refugees the access to safety which they so desperately need. The Congressional letter organized by Sen. Gillibrand to Secretary Clinton suggests sensible and concrete steps to save the lives of LGBT refugees, and we urge the Department of State to give these suggestions expeditious consideration.”<br />
<br />
The letter is signed by:<br />
<ol><li>Kirsten E. Gillibran, United States Senator</li>
<li>Patrick J. Leahy, United States Senator</li>
<li>Daniel K. Akaka, United States Senator </li>
<li>Jeff Bingaman, United States Senator</li>
<li>Sherrod Brown, United States Senator </li>
<li>Robert P. Casey Jr., United States Senator</li>
<li>Russell D. Feingold, United States Senator</li>
<li>Frank R. Lautenberg, United States Senator</li>
<li>Joseph L. Lieberma, United States Senator</li>
<li>Jeff Merkley, United States Senator</li>
<li>Charles E. Schumer, United States Senator</li>
<li>Ron Wyden, United States Senator</li>
<li>Tammy Baldwin, United States Representative</li>
<li>Jared Polis, United States Representative</li>
<li>Barney Frank, United States Representative</li>
<li>Jan Schakowsky, United States Representative</li>
<li>Jerrold Nadler, United States Representative</li>
<li>Michael M. Honda, United States Representative</li>
<li>Lois Capps, United States Representative</li>
<li>James P. Moran, United States Representative</li>
<li>Zoe Lofgren, United States Representative</li>
<li>David Wu, United States Representative</li>
<li>Edolphus Towns, United States Representative</li>
<li>Carolyn Maloney, United States Representative</li>
<li>Alcee Hastings, United States Representative</li>
<li>John Conyers, United States Representative</li>
<li>Luis Gutierrez, United States Representative</li>
<li>Bill Delahunt, United States Representative</li>
<li>Eliot Engel, United States Representative</li>
<li>Raúl M. Grijalva, United States Representative</li>
<li>Chellie Pingree, United States Representative</li>
<li>Joseph Crowley, United States Representative</li>
<li>Gary Ackerman, United States Representative</li>
<li>Anthony Weiner, United States Representative</li>
<li>Maurice Hinchey, United States Representative</li>
<li>Steven Rothman, United States Representative</li>
<li>James P. McGovern, United States Representative</li>
<li>Lynn Woolsey, United States Representative</li>
<li>Paul Tonko, United States Representative</li>
<li>Mike Quigley, United States Representative</li>
<li>Steve Israel, United States Representative</li>
<li>Howard Berman, United States Representative</li>
<li>Henry Waxman, United States Representative</li>
<li>Brad Sherman, United States Representative</li>
</ol><br />
Senator Gillibrand and Congresswoman Baldwin’s letter to Secretary Clinton is below:<br />
<br />
<a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/26393227/LGBT-Refugees-Letter-to-Clinton-2-4-10" style="display: block; font: 14px Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; margin: 12px auto 6px; text-decoration: underline;" title="View LGBT Refugees Letter to Clinton 2-4-10 on Scribd">LGBT Refugees Letter to Clinton 2-4-10</a> <object data="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf" height="600" id="doc_55584" name="doc_55584" style="outline: medium none;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="450"> <param name="movie" value="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf"><param name="wmode" value="opaque"><param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="FlashVars" value="document_id=26393227&access_key=key-1klcom86c7mhcwd1auss&page=1&viewMode=list"></object><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/47a5f08e-441c-46ca-849a-e59f6419885b/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=47a5f08e-441c-46ca-849a-e59f6419885b" style="border: medium none; float: right;" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script defer="defer" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" type="text/javascript">
</script></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16466124.post-22686634497010361332009-11-16T23:28:00.002+00:002009-11-16T23:32:06.055+00:00720 brutally murdered as 'gay cleansing' continues unchecked in Iraq<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vmG0qaIw5P4/SwHg1LsZZaI/AAAAAAAAAI8/Iy3F5C8BX_g/s1600/resized_death_penalty_aPS6z_16419.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 153px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404848232097998242" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vmG0qaIw5P4/SwHg1LsZZaI/AAAAAAAAAI8/Iy3F5C8BX_g/s200/resized_death_penalty_aPS6z_16419.jpg" /></a><br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="http://www.examiner.com/x-4107-International-LGBT-Issues-Examiner~y2009m11d16-720-brutally-murdered-as-gay-cleansing-continues-unchecked-in-Iraq"></a> </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>An organization dedicated to securing asylum for LGBT refugees from Iraq estimates that over 720 LGBT men and women have been murdered by extremist militias in the last six years.<br />London-based <a href="http://iraqilgbtuk.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2009-01-01T00%3A00%3A00Z&updated-max=2010-01-01T00%3A00%3A00Z&max-results=17" target="_blank">Iraqi LGBT</a> reports the Iraqi government has largely been absent in pursuing the roaming "death squads" in Iraq who seek out LGBT victims, likely due to the influence of extremist Shia religious parties that are calling for a moral cleansing of Iraq.</div><br /><div><br />The organization says the rise of fundamentalist groups in Iraq since the 2003 U.S. invasion has proven deadly to LGBT Iraqis, who are now being forced to either hide or face the consequences. On its website, Iraqi LGBT says, "there is little hope for Iraqis suffering under the new socio-political climate. Once the most liberal and secular of the Arab nations, nowadays religious extremism has taken hold of the country to the detriment of its people."</div><br /><div><br />The extremist groups and police were using the Internet to track down LGBT Iraqis this past summer, but at least two gay Iraqis were able to be saved by Iraqi LGBT. In August, police raided the houses of Asad Galib and Faeq Ismail, both 24 years old, and took them into custody. They were held and questioned for about four hours and accused of viewing gay websites in an internet café. Both men denied the accusations and explained that the websites had already been open when they began using the computers. They were later released and put in a safe house sponsored by Iraqi LGBT.</div><br /><div><br />But the big question continues to be, why hasn't the U.S. government done anything to help? It is hearbreaking that Iraqi LGBT has to beg for donations on its website, instead of getting any form of help whatsoever from us to help stop the gay genocide in Iraq. </div><br /><div><br />President Obama has remained completely silent on the issue, even after receiving a letter from Rep. Jared Polis urging his administration to take action, and a 67-page report by <a href="http://http//www.hrw.org/en/reports/2009/08/17/they-want-us-exterminated-0" target="_blank">Human Rights Watch</a> in August outlining in explicit detail the torture and murder of LGBT Iraqis, which was featured prominently in nearly every U.S. media outlet, including the New York Times and CNN. Since the HRW report was released, there hasn't been a single change in military strategy to protect LGBT Iraqis from the roaming death squads or the Iraqi police.</div><br /><div><br />Better question - why haven't American LGBT people and their supporters expressed more outrage about the horrendous situation facing LGBT Iraqis? Are we so caught up in our own myopic obsession with equal rights here that we forget about the plight of our brothers and sisters in the (still) U.S.-occupied territory? Why aren't we doing more to try and help them? Why aren't we doing more to speak out on their behalf?</div><br /><div><br />Iraqi LGBT is doing all it can, but being the only organization dedicated to helping gay Iraqis, it's difficult for them to make much of an impact. So far, Iraqi LGBT says nearly 100 individuals in Iraq have directly benefited from their work, and they have been involved in securing asylum for Iraqi refugees who have been forced to flee the country.</div><br /><div><br />But so much more is needed. </div><div> </div><div> </div><div><a href="http://www.examiner.com/x-4107-International-LGBT-Issues-Examiner~y2009m11d16-720-brutally-murdered-as-gay-cleansing-continues-unchecked-in-Iraq">http://www.examiner.com/x-4107-International-LGBT-Issues-Examiner~y2009m11d16-720-brutally-murdered-as-gay-cleansing-continues-unchecked-in-Iraq</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16466124.post-20914739693455750982009-11-15T23:49:00.003+00:002009-11-15T23:54:00.384+00:00TERROR CAMPAIGN AGAINST LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER IRAQIS CONTINUES UNCHECKED BY IRAQI GOVERNMENT<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vmG0qaIw5P4/SwCUUSuG1SI/AAAAAAAAAI0/LNF6fs53tdI/s1600-h/badgayinsurgent.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 198px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404482629188113698" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vmG0qaIw5P4/SwCUUSuG1SI/AAAAAAAAAI0/LNF6fs53tdI/s200/badgayinsurgent.jpg" /></a><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>IRAQI LGBT – November 2009 – The rise of fundamentalist groups in Iraq since the 2003 U.S. led invasion has proven deadly to LGBT Iraqis, who are now being forced to either hide or face the consequences.<br /><br />Using the internet as a means to track down new victims, militia members are now employing computer analysts to monitor traffic on gay dating and networking websites in the region. They work with internet café owners to single out people who frequent these sites and set up fake profiles in the attempt to lure them out.<br /><br />On the 28th of August, police raided the houses of Asad Galib and Faeq Ismail, both 24 years old, and took them into custody. They were held and questioned for about four hours, accused of viewing gay websites in an internet café on the 21st of July. Both men denied the accusations and explained that the websites had already been open when they had begun using the computers. They were later released and are now in contact with Iraqi LGBT, a London based organization working to support and protect LGBT individuals in Iraq.<br /><br />Others who have been accused or are suspected of such activities have not been as lucky.<br /><br />On the 2nd of September, the body of 21-year-old student Mizher Hussien was discovered in Al Najaf, a city south of Baghdad. His head and genitals had been severed, and he had the word “pervert” written in black across his chest. The details of his murder are unknown, and Iraqi police have refused to launch an investigation into the cause or motivation of the crime.<br /><br />On the 18th of September in Al Shatra Amara, two bodies were found exhibiting signs of torture. They had both been decapitated and left with a paper stating, “This is the end of all pervert homosexuals”.<br /><br />Iraqi LGBT has been working since 2003 to raise awareness of the abuses being committed against LGBT people in Iraq, as well as provide protection to those who have been targeted. The organization currently funds a number of safe houses in the region, with nearly 100 individuals in Iraq directly benefitting from their work. In addition, Iraqi LGBT has been involved in securing asylum for Iraqi refugees who have been forced to flee the country.<br /><br />Unfortunately, Iraqi LGBT has not been able to help everyone. The organization estimates that over 720 LGBT men and women have been murdered by these extremist militias in the last six years. The Iraqi government has largely been absent in pursuing the roaming death squads who carry out these acts, likely due to the influence of extremist Shia religious parties that are calling for a moral cleansing of Iraq.<br /><br />With extremist militias threatening all those known to support LGBT rights, including the 2006 raid of an Iraqi LGBT planning meeting in which five activists were arrested, there is little hope for Iraqis suffering under the new socio-political climate. Once the most liberal and secular of the Arab nations, nowadays a religious extremism has taken hold of the country to the detriment of its people.<br />Iraqi LGBT calls for immediate international action to prevent the further torture and execution of LGBT people in Iraq. More information and details on making donations to the safe houses effort can be found at our Iraqi LGBT blog </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16466124.post-363048393708899902009-09-14T16:26:00.003+01:002009-09-14T16:32:39.365+01:00The Observer - How Islamist gangs use internet to track, torture and kill Iraqi gays<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vmG0qaIw5P4/Sq5iCjuo5-I/AAAAAAAAAIs/k0LoKzcsgVQ/s1600-h/mahdi.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 132px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381346400844441570" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vmG0qaIw5P4/Sq5iCjuo5-I/AAAAAAAAAIs/k0LoKzcsgVQ/s200/mahdi.jpg" /></a><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Iraqi militias infiltrate internet gay chatrooms to hunt their quarry – and hundreds are feared to be victims. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/13/iraq-gays-murdered-militias">http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/13/iraq-gays-murdered-militias</a><br /><br />Sitting on the floor, wearing traditional Islamic clothes and holding an old notebook, Abu Hamizi, 22, spends at least six hours a day searching internet chatrooms linked to gay websites. He is not looking for new friends, but for victims.<br /><br />"It is the easiest way to find those people who are destroying Islam and who want to dirty the reputation we took centuries to build up," he said. When he finds them, Hamizi arranges for them to be attacked and sometimes killed.<br /><br />Hamizi, a computer science graduate, is at the cutting edge of a new wave of violence against gay men in <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/iraq">Iraq</a>. Made up of hardline extremists, Hamizi's group and others like it are believed to be responsible for the deaths of more than 130 gay Iraqi men since the beginning of the year alone.<br />The deputy leader of the group, which is based in Baghdad, explained its campaign using a stream of homophobic invective. "Animals deserve more pity than the dirty people who practise such sexual depraved acts," he told the Observer. "We make sure they know why they are being held and give them the chance to ask God's forgiveness before they are killed."<br />The violence against Iraqi gays is a key test of the government's ability to protect vulnerable minority groups after the Americans have gone.<br /><br />Dr Toby Dodge, of London University's Queen Mary College, believes that the violence may be a consequence of the success of the government of Nouri al-Maliki. "Militia groups whose raison d'être was security in their communities are seeing that function now fulfilled by the police. So their focus has shifted to the moral and cultural sphere, reverting to classic Islamist tactics of policing moral boundaries," Dodge said.<br /><br />Homosexuality was not criminalised under Saddam Hussein – indeed Iraq in the 1960s and 1970s was known for its relatively liberated gay scene. Violence against gays started in the aftermath of the invasion in 2003. Since 2004, according to Ali Hali, chairman of the Iraqi LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) group, a London-based human-rights group, a total of 680 have died in Iraq, with at least 70 of those in the past five months. The group believes the figures may be higher, as most cases involving married men are not reported. Seven victims were women. According to Hali, Iraq has become "the worst place for homosexuals on Earth".<br />The killings are brutal, with victims ritually tortured. Azhar al-Saeed's son was one. "He didn't follow what Islamic doctrine tells but he was a good son," she said. "Three days after his kidnapping, I found a note on my door with blood spread over it and a message saying it was my son's purified blood and telling me where to find his body."<br /><br />She went with police to find her son's remains. "We found his body with signs of torture, his anus filled with glue and without his genitals," she said. "I will carry this image with me until my dying day."<br /><br />Police officers interviewed by the Observer said the killings were not aimed at gays but were isolated remnants of the sectarian violence that racked the country between 2005 and 2006. Hamizi's group, however, boasts that two people a day are chosen to be "investigated" in Baghdad. The group claims that local tribes are involved in homophobic attacks, choosing members to hunt down the victims. In some areas, a list of names is posted at restaurants and food shops.<br /><br />The roommate of Haydar, 26, was kidnapped and killed three months ago in Baghdad. After Haydar contacted the last person his friend had been chatting with on the net, he found a letter on his front door alerting him "about the dangers of behaving against Islamic rules". Haydar plans to flee to Amman, the Jordanian capital. "I have… to run away before I suffer the same fate," he said.<br /><br />According to <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/human-rights">Human Rights</a> Watch, the Shia militia known as the Mahdi army may be among the militants implicated in the violence, particularly in the northern part of Baghdad known as Sadr City. There are reports that Mahdi army militias are harassing young men simply for wearing "western fashions".<br /><br />A Ministry of Interior spokesperson, Abdul-Karim Khalaf, denied allegations of police collaboration. "The Iraqi police exists to protect all Iraqis, whatever their sexual persuasion," he said.<br /><br />Hashim, another victim of violence by extremists, was attacked on Abu Nawas Street. Famous for its restaurants and bars, the street has become a symbol of the relative progress made in Baghdad. But it was where Hashim was set on by four men, had a finger cut off and was badly beaten. His assailants left a note warning that he had one month to marry and have "a traditional life" or die.<br /><br />"Since that day I have not left my home. I'm too scared and don't have money to run away," Hashim said.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16466124.post-53448667167467687322009-08-18T13:53:00.001+01:002009-08-18T13:53:38.938+01:00Iraqi LGBT welcome Human Rights Watch report on pogrom, urges practical aid<span style="font-size:130%;">PRESS RELEASE</span><br /><div class="gmail_quote"><b><br />For immediate use<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Iraqi LGBT welcome Human Rights Watch report on pogrom, urges practical aid</span></b><br /><br />The Iraqi LGBT group today welcomed the release by Human Rights Watch of its report 'They want us exterminated' which documents the killing of LGBT people in Iraq, in particular the extensive media coverage it has generated. Much of the information in the report is sourced from Iraqi LGBT members.<br /> <br />"This report underlines what we have been saying since our group's formation in 2006," said Iraqi LGBT spokesperson, Ali Hili. "We have information on over 700 killings including honour killings."<br /> <br />However Hili says that the group, which has 100 members inside Iraq (as well as refugees in neighboring countries) and supports LGBT people through safe houses, offers practical support (food etc.), psychological and educational support, is chronically underfunded.<br /> <br />"We are the only people offering support to our fellow Iraqi LGBT inside Iraq but because we do not have the funds we have had to turn people away," he said.<br /><br />The group recently published its annual report, available on its website, which showed how the money it receives is spent.<br /> <br />The report explains how it has developed methods of operating clandestinely which are essential for such an operation in the Middle East. Hili is the only visible member of the group and as a result has attracted death threats in his exile in London. He is under police protection.<br /> <br />Recently it received a second substantial donation from a Dutch group. However due to low funding it has had to close safe houses and slow its development plans.<br /><br />At the same time it has seen very large amounts of money raised in the United States go to a Lebanese group which is supposed to be supporting Iraqi LGBT refugees. Ali says that the refugees, delivered to Lebanon by Human Rights Watch, have in fact been abandoned and some have returned to Iraq because they had no practical support.<br /> <br />"We have been trying to support one refugee who returned to Iraq from Lebanon because his medical needs were not being supported and who is now in danger. Through the United Nations, he has actually been accepted as a refugee by Sweden however it costs $2000 just for him to get back to Lebanon and then there are his travel costs to Sweden on top of that plus organising support in Sweden."<br /> <br />"This is an example of a case where we have great difficulty helping. It also shows something of the real costs involved in actually supporting people. Another example of that would be the bribes we have had to pay to save peoples lives."<br /> <br />"Our group represents Iraqi LGBT - they are our members - and, despite immense difficulties, our group has gained a lot of experience since we were established. Please support us if you want to help save LGBT people in Iraq."<br /> <br />Donations to Iraqi LGBT can be made to the PayPal Account <a href="mailto:iraqilgbt@yahoo.co.uk" target="_blank">iraqilgbt@yahoo.co.uk</a> .<br /><br />Or make cheques payable to (IRAQI LGBT) and send them to:<br /><br />Iraqi LGBT<br />22 Notting Hill Gate<br />Unit 111London,<br />W11 3JE<br />United Kingdom<br /><br />For further information please call ++44 (0) 79-819 59453 or email <a href="mailto:iraqilgbt@googlemail.com" target="_blank">iraqilgbt@googlemail.com</a> or see <a href="http://iraqilgbtuk.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://iraqilgbtuk.blogspot.<wbr>com</a><br /> <br />Ali said that the group also welcomed those who could donate their skills.<br /><br />ENDS<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><b>ATTACHMENT</b></span><br /><br /><b>The Safe Houses Project<br /><br />IRAQ: Emergency Shelter, Human Services and Protection for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People:</b><br /> <br />IRAQI LGBT started to establish a network of safe houses inside Iraq in March 2006.<br /><br />As of today, we have only two safe houses open and running funded by HIVOS a Dutch based human rights organization.<br /><br />The members of our group inside Iraq urgently need funds to open at least four safe houses. These funds will allow us to keep the four safe houses open and running, and provide safety, shelter, food and many other needs for our LGBT friends inside Iraq. Any funds we receive that go beyond what we need for these four safe houses could be used to open more safe houses in the near future. We desperately need to add more because we have so many urgent cases in other cities. We receive requests for shelter every day, but we are not able to help yet.<br /> <br />Every safe house has around 200 square meters of living space, but harbors 10 to 12 people, so is very overcrowded. The residents are struggling badly because of the shortages of almost all the basic necessities in Iraq.<br /> <br />Rent: We have paid three months rent in advance. The most recent payments were in August. The average rent per safe house per month is $ 600 US Dollar.<br /><br />Security: We paid the salaries of two guards per house, at $ 200 US Dollar per guard per month.<br /> <br />Other expenses of each house: We have paid $ 600 a month for each house approximately for natural gas and kerosene for cooking, and for food, fuel for generators which provide the electricity supply.<br /><br />Urgent priority needs: Our priorities at this stage are: natural gas or kerosene for cooking and heating; fuel for generating electricity; food; mobile phones and calling cards; money for transportation to allow residents some freedom of movement; beds, mattresses, blankets, sheets and pillows; cameras; printers; two computers; house supplies, such as cooking pans, dishes, and flatware; some furniture; clean water for drinking and bathing; soap for washing and bathing, tooth paste, razors and of course housing, guards etc.<br /> <br />Amount needed and how it would be spent (per month):<br /><ul><li> Natural gas or kerosene for cooking and heating - 50 GBP</li><li> Fuel for generating electricity – $ 300</li><li> Food - $ 600</li><li> Mobile phones, calling cards, and internet café charges - $ 450 etc.</li><li> Transportation – $ 250</li><li> Beds, mattresses, blankets, sheets and pillows – $ 1,300 – onetime payment</li><li> Cameras – $ 100 – onetime payment</li><li> Printers – $ 100 - onetime payment</li><li> Two computers – $ 1,200 - onetime payment</li><li> Kitchen supplies, such as cooking pans, dishes, and flatware – $ 400 – onetime payment</li><li> Some furniture – $ 500– onetime payment</li><li> Clean water for drinking and bathing; $ 250</li><li> Toiletries (soap for washing and bathing, tooth paste, razors etc.) – $ 150</li></ul> We also need to pay for medicines for the members of our group, doctors will come and have a home visit monthly for all members their cost is $ 400 US Dollar each month.<br /><br /><ul><li><h3> <span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://iraqilgbtuk.blogspot.com/2009/08/iraqi-lgbt-annual-report-and-financial.html" target="_blank">Iraqi LGBT Annual Report and Financial Statements For the period ending 31 May 2009</a></span></h3> </li><li><h3> <span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2009/08/gay-men-targeted-in-iraq-human-rights.html" target="_blank">Human Rights Watch Report Says</a></span></h3></li><li><h3><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2009/05/report-iraqi-anti-lgbt-pogrom.html" target="_blank">Report: The Iraqi anti-LGBT pogrom</a></span></h3> </li></ul><br /><span style="color:#888888;"><br /><br />Ali Hili - Iraqi Lgbt - Chair<br /> 22 Notting Hill Gate<br />Unit # 111<br />London , W11 3JE<br />United Kingdom<br />Mob: ++44 798 1959 453<br />Website : <a href="http://iraqilgbtuk.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://iraqilgbtuk.blogspot.<wbr>com/</a></span></div>paulocanninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17499916652508144662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16466124.post-24959810511294069502009-08-18T12:13:00.000+01:002009-09-01T12:18:41.255+01:00Iraqi LGBT Annual Report and Accounts<a title="View Iraqi LGBT Annual Accounts on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/19299453/Iraqi-LGBT-Annual-Accounts" style="margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block; text-decoration: underline;">Iraqi LGBT Annual Accounts</a> <object codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" id="doc_131719971807798" name="doc_131719971807798" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" align="middle" height="500" width="450" > <param name="movie" value="http://d.scribd.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=19299453&access_key=key-2lnu8si1q8yes3krveys&page=1&version=1&viewMode=list"> <param name="quality" value="high"> <param name="play" value="true"> <param name="loop" value="true"> <param name="scale" value="showall"> <param name="wmode" value="opaque"> <param name="devicefont" value="false"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="menu" value="true"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="salign" value=""> <param name="mode" value="list"> <embed src="http://d.scribd.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=19299453&access_key=key-2lnu8si1q8yes3krveys&page=1&version=1&viewMode=list" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" play="true" loop="true" scale="showall" wmode="opaque" devicefont="false" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="doc_131719971807798_object" menu="true" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" salign="" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" align="middle" mode="list" height="500" width="450"></embed> </object><br /><br /><a title="View Iraqi LGBT Annual Report on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/19299597/Iraqi-LGBT-Annual-Report" style="margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block; text-decoration: underline;">Iraqi LGBT Annual Report</a> <object codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" id="doc_771087923600894" name="doc_771087923600894" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" align="middle" height="500" width="100%" > <param name="movie" value="http://d.scribd.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=19299597&access_key=key-2i2ohgrw7e9b7f03mh4a&page=1&version=1&viewMode="> <param name="quality" value="high"> <param name="play" value="true"> <param name="loop" value="true"> <param name="scale" value="showall"> <param name="wmode" value="opaque"> <param name="devicefont" value="false"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="menu" value="true"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="salign" value=""> <embed src="http://d.scribd.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=19299597&access_key=key-2i2ohgrw7e9b7f03mh4a&page=1&version=1&viewMode=" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" play="true" loop="true" scale="showall" wmode="opaque" devicefont="false" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="doc_771087923600894_object" menu="true" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" salign="" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" align="middle" height="500" width="100%"></embed> </object>paulocanninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17499916652508144662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16466124.post-2147571326043923162009-08-18T01:43:00.008+01:002009-08-20T10:57:36.400+01:00Coverage of HRW report<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWtxGoQi_WfqFZCPkSqbMCCvUjzp1TqBi6VaXic12769PGnv9GyYcB5DCgPYSCQ0kRJJSw2sGveT5ShDjyisEm-ZvuYV8JawpiI-P5amSj0DQTIZFoZEejxtomqEf0j-f3UhwsfQ/s1600-h/iraq0809.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 158px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWtxGoQi_WfqFZCPkSqbMCCvUjzp1TqBi6VaXic12769PGnv9GyYcB5DCgPYSCQ0kRJJSw2sGveT5ShDjyisEm-ZvuYV8JawpiI-P5amSj0DQTIZFoZEejxtomqEf0j-f3UhwsfQ/s200/iraq0809.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370850346683379442" border="0" /></a><ul><li><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/p003xnh7">BBC World Service 'Newshour'</a> (audio). Includes interview with Iraqi LGBT's Ali Hili</li><li>BBC Radio Four 'Today' (audio): <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8204000/8204825.stm">Gay killings 'normal' in Iraq</a></li><li>CBC (Canada) <a href="http://www.instantpride.com/iraqi-gays-tortured-murdered-says-rights-group/2009/08/17/">interviews Tom Porteous, London director of Human Rights Watch</a>: <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/clips/mov/porteous-iraq-gay090817.mov">QuickTime</a> <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/clips/rm-hi/porteous-iraq-gay090817.rm">Real Media</a><br /></li></ul><ul><li>Huffington Post: <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/17/iraqi-gays-targeted-bruta_n_261155.html">Iraqi Gays Targeted, Brutally Killed: Human Rights Watch</a></li><li>New York Times: <a href="http://www.nytimes.%20com/aponline/%202009/08/17/%20world/AP-%20ML-Iraq-Gay-%20Killings.%20html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=gay+iraq&st=nyt">Human Rights Watch: Iraqi Gays Tortured and Killed</a></li><li>CNN: <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/08/17/iraq.homosexual.killings/">Gay Men Atacked, Executed in Iraq, Rights Group Says</a></li><li>As-Safir <a href="http://www.assafir.com/Article.aspx?ArticleId=1829&EditionId=1315&ChannelId=30395"><span style="" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span id="lblSubTitle" class="Paragraph">The death of hundreds in the context of the campaign« Alnaamin »and narrow Alkinsat</span></span></a><span style="" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span id="lblSubTitle" class="Paragraph"> (<a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.assafir.com%2FArticle.aspx%3FArticleId%3D1829%26EditionId%3D1315%26ChannelId%3D30395&sl=ar&tl=en&history_state0=">Google translation</a>)<br /></span></span></li></ul><br /><br />CNN<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cxU99-vPjrE&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cxU99-vPjrE&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Democracy Now!<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/S-ed-xXx258&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/S-ed-xXx258&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />BBC<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OT7TYNujEx4&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OT7TYNujEx4&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><a title="View Unsafe Haven Final on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/18680961/Unsafe-Haven-Final" style="margin: 12px auto 6px; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; display: block; text-decoration: underline;">Unsafe Haven Final</a> <object codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" id="doc_111518667824996" name="doc_111518667824996" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" align="middle" height="500" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="http://d.scribd.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=18680961&access_key=key-1n2rj7blj692nnn0l2we&page=1&version=1&viewMode="> <param name="quality" value="high"> <param name="play" value="true"> <param name="loop" value="true"> <param name="scale" value="showall"> <param name="wmode" value="opaque"> <param name="devicefont" value="false"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="menu" value="true"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="salign" value=""> <embed src="http://d.scribd.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=18680961&access_key=key-1n2rj7blj692nnn0l2we&page=1&version=1&viewMode=" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" play="true" loop="true" scale="showall" wmode="opaque" devicefont="false" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="doc_111518667824996_object" menu="true" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" salign="" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" align="middle" height="500" width="100%"></embed> </object>paulocanninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17499916652508144662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16466124.post-52399326517192815802009-08-16T19:02:00.003+01:002009-08-28T00:00:54.719+01:00London Group Spent £60,000 Last Year to Aid Gay and Transgender Iraqis£24,000 donated by public, Iraqi LGBT accounts to 31 May shows<br /><br />Iraqi LGBT, the London-based group that support gay, lesbian and transgender Iraqis, received just over £60,000 in donations in the year to May 2009, the accounts published this morning show.<br /><br />And in the same period, all but £15 was sent to the Middle East to provide ‘safe houses’ in Iraq and Syria. Currently, the group runs two ‘safe houses’ in Syria and one in Iraq.<br /><br />Of the donations received, £35,550 came a grants from two organisations, the Heartland Alliance (HA) in Chicago (£11,236) and Hivos (£24,313), a human rights group in the Netherlands that is mainly financed by the Dutch government.<br /><br />The remaining £24,773 in donations came from individuals.<br /><br />The costs incurred in the UK of running group was 9 per cent of the total expenditure (almost £5,450, which included £1,340 for special accounting for Hivos).<br /><br />Largest expenditure was almost £1,400 which was spent on costs of the group’s weekly meetings during the financial year. In a bid to save cash, this has now been reduced to a meeting every two weeks, with a current proposal for the 19-strong group to meet monthly, the report says.<br /><br />The report highlights the considerable difficulties in transferring cash to Iraq and Syria from the Iraqi LGBT bank account in London.<br /><br />“We have realised that we sometimes need to trust our local people at face value and when we transfer funds to them, we have to believe that they will distribute these funds to the refugees who rely on this,” the report says.<br /><br />“We have subsequently found out through making certain checks that our local administrator in Syria has not always passed on the funds. This is the same person who has been deported back to Iraq and for whom we put in a significant effort to keep him out the hands of the Iraqi Interior Ministry. As a result of this episode we have decided to pay each refugee in Syria individually to circumvent this problem. We have had no other problems, neither in Iraq , nor Turkey nor Jordan .”<br /><br />While there was just £15 surplus at the end of the financial year, Iraqi LGBT is to get an increased contribution from Hivos – this year the Dutch organisation has allocated 50,000 Euros, the report says.<br /><br />During the last financial year, the group realised that in order for their activities to survive, the organisational part has to remain secretive.<br /><br />“Given the risks and dangers to which our local members are exposed, we must inform them on a need to know basis,” the report says . “We are aware that this has caused confusion but if these local activists know how our whole operation works then they could disclose this to the Iraqi authorities under interrogation.<br /><br />“We have learned that there is a lot more to just providing shelter for refugees. There is not just the physical but also the psychological aspects which impact the refugees. It has been just as much a learning curve for us as it is for them.”<br /><br /><br />Iraqi LGBT is currently in the process of registering as a charity. A previous attempt to get charitable status failed, the report reveals.“When we have previously applied, we were told that our current constitution does not allow us to be registered as a charity as it contained clauses which have a political motive,” the report says.<br /><br />The report also points out that they are working to register gay Iraqi refugees with The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16466124.post-82881762212759107712009-07-29T11:04:00.002+01:002009-07-29T11:12:07.870+01:00USA TODAY - Militias target some Iraqis for being gay<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vmG0qaIw5P4/SnAgSUJM1_I/AAAAAAAAAIk/TGwCRqezK5E/s1600-h/USATodayLogo.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 126px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363822655215294450" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vmG0qaIw5P4/SnAgSUJM1_I/AAAAAAAAAIk/TGwCRqezK5E/s200/USATodayLogo.jpg" /></a><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2009-07-28-gays-in-iraq_N.htm">http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2009-07-28-gays-in-iraq_N.htm</a><br /></div><br /><div>By Paul Wiseman and Nadeem Majeed, USA TODAY<br /></div><br /><div>BAGHDAD — The young man turns to the camera and pleads with his tormentors.<br />"I'm not a terrorist," he tells the Iraqi police who surround him. "I want you to know I am different. But I am not a terrorist."<br /></div><br /><div>To some fundamentalist Iraqi Muslims, Ahmed Sadoun Saleh was worse than a terrorist.<br />He was gay. He wore his hair long and took female hormones to grow breasts. Amused by his appearance, Iraqi police officers stopped him in December at a checkpoint in a southern Baghdad neighborhood dominated by radical Shiite militias. They groped Saleh and ridiculed him.<br /></div><br /><div>The assault was captured on video and circulated on cellphones throughout Baghdad, says Ali Hili, founder of London-based Iraqi LGBT, a group dedicated to protecting Iraq's gays and lesbians. Shortly after the video was made public, Hili says Saleh contacted him, fearing for his life, and asked for his help to flee Iraq.<br /><br />"Unfortunately, it was too late," Hili says. Saleh turned up dead two months later, he says.<br />At least 82 gay men have been killed in Iraq since December, according to Iraqi LGBT. The violence has raised questions about the Iraqi government's ability to protect a diverse range of vulnerable minority groups that also includes Christians and Kurds, especially following the </div><br /><div>withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraqi cities last month.<br /></div><br /><div>Mithal al-Alusi, a secular, liberal Sunni legislator, is among those who blame the killings on armed militant groups such as al-Qaeda and the Mahdi Army militia.<br /></div><br /><div>By targeting one of the most vulnerable groups in a conservative Muslim society — people whose sexual orientation is banned by Iraqi law — the militias essentially are serving notice that they remain powerful despite the U.S. and Iraqi militaries' efforts to curtail them, al-Alusi says.<br />The militants "want to educate the society to accept killers on the street," al-Alusi says in an interview. "Why did Hitler start with gays? They are weak. They have no political cover. They have no legal cover."</div><br /><div><br />The attacks have terrified a gay community that, for a brief time after the U.S. troop surge in 2007-08, tentatively enjoyed greater freedom and security.</div><br /><div><br />"I am worried about my life," says a middle-age gay man in Baghdad who asked to be identified by the pseudonym Hassan. He declined to be identified by his real name because the recent violence has made him fear for his life. "I don't know what to do," he says.</div><br /><div><br />Hili and other gay rights activists believe the killers operate with the complicity and sometimes the direct involvement of Iraqi security forces.</div><br /><div><br />As part of a drive to stop the sectarian violence that peaked in Iraq in 2006-07, those forces have taken into their ranks numerous former militia members from the Mahdi Army (loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr) and the pro-Iranian Badr Brigade.</div><br /><div><br />"The Ministry of Interior in Iraq is behind this campaign of terror," Hili says in an e-mail.He says witnesses have told him that police harass and beat suspected gays at checkpoints and sometimes turn them over to militias for execution.</div><br /><div><br />Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul Karim Khalaf disputes such allegations. He says the ministry has assigned a special bureau to investigate the killings of gays; he says he knows of six gays who had been executed as of May.</div><br /><div><br />Homosexuality, Khalaf says, is against the law and "is rejected by the customs of our society." He adds, however, that offenders should be handled by the courts, not dispatched by vigilante groups.</div><br /><div><br />The killers aren't just executing their gay victims. They are "mutilating their bodies and torturing them," says fundamentalist Sunni cleric Sheik Mohammed al-Ghreri, who has criticized the violence.</div><br /><div><br />Hili says the militias have come up with a particularly cruel way to inflict pain: sealing victims' anuses with glue, then force-feeding them laxatives. Hili says he has spoken to several victims who survived the ordeal.</div><br /><div><br />'You can just be crushed' </div><br /><div><br />Besides targeting gays, Sadr City militias also are harassing and sometimes killing straight young men who violate fundamentalist fashion and decorum by wearing low-riding pants and other Western-style clothing, slicking back their hair or making it spiky, hanging out in cafes or pool halls or flirting with girls, says human rights activist Mohammed Jasim, 28.</div><br /><div><br />"The campaign is against gays and anybody who looks gay" in the eyes of militiamen indoctrinated to believe immodest dress is an affront to God, Jasim says.</div><br /><div><br />"Young people felt their city had been liberated," says Jasim's friend Wisam Mizban, 32.<br />"They thought they could wear what they wanted. The militias felt threatened and started killing them. They are doing their crimes under the cover of the government. … Most young people want a civilized life. The militias and the government are putting pressure on them again."</div><br /><div><br />The campaign has had a chilling effect on Baghdad's nightlife.</div><br /><div><br />Entrepreneur Ali al-Ali opened the Shisha coffee shop in an upstairs storefront overlooking a bustling street in the upscale Karrada neighborhood. The place quickly became a hangout for young gay men, who'd sit and talk and drink lattes, and smoke flavored tobacco from the water pipes that gave the cafe its name.</div><br /><div><br />But as the militias started killing gay men, Ali discouraged gays from congregating at his cafe. "If (militias) see gays coming here, maybe they will target me outside Karrada," al-Ali says.<br />His sentiments were echoed by Hussam Abdullah, whose tea shop also used to be a hangout for gay men — until militias warned Abdullah there would be trouble if he didn't send them away. So he did.</div><br /><div><br />The militias usually send out warnings before they attack. Posters go up in Sadr City listing the offenders — gay and flashy straight men — by name and neighborhood. "If you don't give up what you are doing," said a recent one seen by a USA TODAY reporter, "death will be your fate. And this warning will come true, and the punishment will be worse and worse."</div><br /><div><br />The poster referred to the offenders as "puppies," the fundamentalist epithet for gays here. "In Arabic culture, if you want to insult someone you call them a dog," human rights activist Yanar Mohammed says. "If you're a small dog, you can just be crushed."</div><br /><div><br />Among those listed was a young man named Allawi Hawar, a local soccer star who incurred the wrath of the militias by wearing his hair long and partying with his friends in Sadr City cafes.<br />Hawar was playing pool one day last month when two masked men drove up on a motor scooter. One climbed off and made his way inside the cafe, clutching a pistol.</div><br /><div><br />"We have something to deal with," he announced to startled patrons, according to witness Emad Saad, 25. </div><br /><div><br />The gunman grabbed Hawar and dragged him outside. Then he shot the young athlete in the leg. After Hawar crumpled to the ground, bleeding, the gunman shot him again and killed him, Saad says.</div><br /><div><br />The militiamen pick their targets by entering cafes and looking for men who appear feminine or too showy, Saad says. Then they ask around to get the offenders' names, and later put them on the death lists distributed around town.</div><br /><div><br />Saad himself likes to wear Western jeans and slicked-back hair. He has taken to carrying a Glock pistol, awaiting his showdown with the militias.</div><br /><div><br />"Some people are afraid, but I am not," he says. "I have done nothing wrong."<br />The Sadr City warning posters do not appear to be the work of educated theologians. A recent one was filled with Arabic misspellings, including a faulty rendering of "compassionate" — part of one of the 99 names for God.</div><br /><div><br />But Ali Hili, the London activist, and others believe high-level clerics have ordered the killings. Iraq's Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani several years ago decreed that the punishment for homosexuality is death "if it is proven before the religious judge."</div><br /><div><br />An Iraqi TV channel, Alsumaria, reported that Sunni cleric al-Ghreri has called for the execution of gays. Al-Ghreri denies issuing such a statement, but concedes that some "stubborn" clerics might support the death penalty for gays. </div><br /><div><br />He says homosexuality is "abnormal" and that gays should know that "freedom has limits." First, he says, gays should be warned to change their offensive behavior.<br />If that fails, he says, they should be jailed. If detentions don't work, they should endure 100 lashes for engaging in gay sex. And if four separate lashings fail and if witnesses testify against the suspects, he says, then they should be executed.</div><br /><div><br />Exactly what unleashed the recent wave of violence is unclear.</div><br /><div><br />Some — including Hassan, the middle-age gay man — trace the terror to a birthday party around New Year's at a cafe on Palestine Street in eastern Baghdad.</div><br /><div><br />The party attracted about 20 gay men who cut loose on the dance floor, celebrating what they thought was their freedom in a more peaceful, stable Iraq. A video of the revelry was entitled Gay Scandal and distributed around the city.</div><br /><div><br />"This was the start of it," Hassan says. "It made the ministry people crazy."<br />In London, activist Hili calls the party "a foolish action from members of our community who let their guard down."</div><br /><div><br />However, he doesn't believe the party "was the spark that ignited all the flames."<br />Hili says the violence started earlier, with clerical fatwas against gays and police raids in December in Najaf, Karbala and Kut. </div><br /><div><br />The search for safety </div><br /><div><br />Unable to trust the authorities — and in some cases shunned by their own families — many Iraqi gays have gone into hiding. Hassan and some gay friends say they had found refuge in a house in Karrada. But as the threat against them increased, they became afraid the police would find them. So they scattered.</div><br /><div><br />Hassan says he sometimes stays at home with his brothers — their parents are dead — but he's afraid even of them, afraid they will kill him because he has brought shame to the family.<br />He says he wanted to move in with his sister, who lives in Abu Dhabi. She turned him away, saying she didn't want her children to know they have a gay uncle.<br />Unwilling to trust the police, Iraqi LGBT has set up its own safe houses for gays in Iraq. The group has struggled to raise money and had to close three safe houses in the past couple of months, leaving just one open.</div><br /><div><br />Hili says five safe houses are needed, each of them housing 10 to 12 gay refugees. Rent for a 2,150-square-foot safe house is usually $600 a month. Yet other expenses pile up: security guards, food, fuel, medical bills, pots and pans, bedding.</div><br /><div><br />"We desperately need to add more because we have so many urgent cases," Hili says. "We receive requests for shelter every day, but are not able to help."</div><br /><div><br />Things were better for gays, Hassan says, under the dictatorial rule of Saddam Hussein.<br />"In the Saddam era, it wasn't like this," he says. Saddam's security forces, offended by Hassan's openly gay lifestyle, once arrested him and hauled him to court. The judge let him go, ruling that he had done nothing wrong.</div><br /><div><br />"Now, you don't know who to be afraid of," he says. "Forget about freedom or democracy. We just want our safety."</div><br /><div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16466124.post-27151207096873649382009-07-13T19:42:00.003+01:002009-07-14T00:22:31.966+01:00Gay Life After Saddam<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2009/jul/13/gay-life-after-saddam">Guardian review</a><br /><br />What terrific reporting from Aasmah Mir in Gay Life After Saddam (BBC Radio 5 Live). It looked at the grim reality for gay, lesbian and transgender people living in Iraq, and the reasons for this savage new persecution. In a "liberated" country, this group finds itself yearning for the former regime. "We used to go every Thursday by the Tigris," said one man, his voice suffused with longing, "and we'd drink and swim. It was very relaxing."<br /> <br />Nobody in the programme sounded relaxed: Mir spoke to those in exile, in hiding, people who had been tortured or issued with death threats for helping others escape. Their stories ranged from sad to gruesome. We heard one Iraqi man tell how his boyfriend was abducted and murdered. "They had thrown his corpse in the garbage," he explained. "His genitals were cut off and a piece of his throat had been cut out." We heard, too, about the torture: rape, and also "glue in the anus and then force-feeding laxatives".<br /><br />Some of those fleeing Iraq seek asylum in Britain and there were tales of seemingly harsh treatment by the authorities. Mir couldn't explore these, as both David Miliband and Phil Woolas refused interviews for this programme. Shame on them, you were left thinking.<br /><br />Listen to the show (60')<br /><img style="visibility:hidden;width:0px;height:0px;" border=0 width=0 height=0 src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyNDc1MjcxNzU5MzcmcHQ9MTI*NzUyNzI3MzIzNCZwPTg*NjgxJmQ9Jmc9MSZvPTAxNWIwOThjYzlmYzRkZTc4MTBiY2FjZTNkMTAwN2U3Jm9mPTA=.gif" /><div style="font-size:15;font-weight:bold;font-family:arial; width:320px; border:2px outset #DCDCDC; padding: 5px"><br /> <div><br /> <div style="float:left"><a href="http://paulcanning.podOmatic.com/entry/2009-07-13T16_12_01-07_00" style="text-decoration:none" title="Gay Life After Saddam">Gay Life After Saddam</a></div><br /><br /> <div style="float:left"><a href="http://paulcanning.podOmatic.com" style="text-decoration:none; color:gray" title="paul canning's Podcast">paul canning's Podcast</a></div><br /> <br clear='all' /><br /> </div><br /> <div style="margin-bottom:-5px;"><br /> <embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.podomatic.com/swf/jwplayer44.swf" width="320" height="20" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="height=20&width=320&file=UDS9/-1/48/62/paulcanning/media/published/1995743_stnd.mp3&streamer=rtmp://streams.podomatic.com/vod" /></embed><br /></div><br /><div><a target="paulcanning" href="http://paulcanning.podOmatic.com/entry/2009-07-13T16_12_01-07_00"><img src="http://www.podomatic.com/images/share/player_logo.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><br /></div><br /><br><a border=0 href="http://www.gigyamailbutton.com/wildfire/gigyamailbutton.ashx?url=aHR*cDovL3dpbGRmaXJlLmdpZ3lhLmNvbS93aWxkZmlyZS93ZnBvcC5hc3B4P21vZHVsZT1lbWFpbCZ1cmw9aHR*cCUzYSUyZiUyZnd3dy5wb2RvbWF*aWMuY29tJTJmcG9kY2FzdCUyZmVtYmVkJTJmcGF1bGNhbm5pbmclMmY5ODEyMDc=" target="_blank"><img src="http://cdn.gigya.com/wildfire/i/includeShareButton.gif" border="0" width="60" height="20" /></a>paulocanninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17499916652508144662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16466124.post-59690633923436977052009-07-13T19:27:00.006+01:002009-07-13T19:37:44.484+01:00Iraqi LGBT to apply for charitable status, provides interim accounts<span style="font-weight: bold;">Media release</span><br /><br />For immediate use<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Iraqi LGBT to apply for charitable status, provides interim accounts</span><br /><br />10 July 2009<br /><br />The Iraqi LGBT organisation has today provided interim accounts for its Syria operations (see below) and announced that it will resubmit an application for charitable status.<br /><br />Based in the UK, the group works to aid lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender people within Iraq as well as many who have fled for exile in nearby countries. It runs a 'safe house' in Baghdad, Iraq, where 20 LGBT people are currently housed and where previously 70 people have stayed for various periods.<br /><br />The safe house will be featured in a documentary on BBC Radio this Sunday. It includes interviews with the person who runs it as well as some of those who live there.<br /><br />Since it was founded Iraqi LGBT has provided safety for over 100 people, including supporting 70 people financially. It has provided support for 23 people outside Iraq including shelter, medication and food.<br /><br />The reapplication for charitable status follows a change in the group's aims which removed working the requirement to work for change in Iraqi law, which resulted in a previous rejection by the UK's Charity Commission as this was regarded as 'political'. It also follows the work of the group's volunteer accountant on preparing accounts to meet charity commissioners’ standards. In addition the group has become a Company limited by guarantee (No. 06954355).<br /><br />Iraqi LGBT’s accountant Josh Botham ATT ACPA ACCA IIT[dip] explained that - like others such as Amnesty International - the group has had to use circuitous routes in order to get funds to exiles, as well as pay bribes in order to secure release of people under real threat of death.<br /><br />Botham said that as part of the application the group would publish full accounts on its website shortly.<br /><br />Funding for the group in the past has come from the group's own members and donations including one in 2008 from the US Representative Jared Polis. He donated $10,000 (£6,853) via the Heartland Alliance to aid the project in Syria.<br /><br />Polis' funding went to the Chicago based LGBT group Heartland Alliance to provide for five people to be moved from Iraq to Syria and to provide housing rent, food and other basic needs in Syria. This project ran between 1 June and 31 December 2008. Included in the cost was the living accommodation for the local administrator of the group.<br /><br />Botham said that: "Providing the financial support involved a difficult money transfer process in order to avoid coming to the attention of Syrian authorities. Such an operation also meant that in order to safeguard the lives of these refugees, people were only informed on a need to know basis."<br /><br />"Heartland Alliance [as grant provider] however insisted that our group should meet up with the Lebanese LGBT group, Helem, in November 2008, at that same time that some prominent members of Heartland Alliance visited Syria."<br /><br />"The result was disastrous for our group, Iraqi LGBT. Some of our members were arrested by Syrian police in Damascas in (which city). With the help of a local lawyer, Iraqi LGBT managed to get these people released. However one of them was later to be deported back to Iraq."<br /><br />Iraqi LGBT has experienced other difficulties in coordinating activities with Heartland Alliance. Another grant of $10,000 meant for Iraqi LGBT came to the group from the Elisabeth Morse Genius Charitable Trust, based in Chicago. Botham gave them a budget of how to allocate this money.<br /><br />However communications broke down with the Heartland Alliance's representative when it was claimed that the last transfer of $4,000 had never been received by our sources in Iraq. Says Botham: “This underlines the perils of where we are working and who we are working with."<br /><br />"Iraqi LGBT has supported another nine Iraqi refugees in Syria, as well as a safe house in Iraq and has had to spend money on freeing people from custody. Obviously in such situations one doesn't get a receipt."<br /><br />"Between 1 June 2008 to 31 May 2009, the Polis supported project represented one sixth of the group's expenditure. Just under a quarter of the group's funding actually came from the group's founder, Ali Hili, his family and his partner."<br /><br />Iraqi LGBT Chair Ali Hilli added: "We are confident that the charitable status will be accepted and will be a great help for the group. As we have been reporting for several years now, our people in Iraq are being killed and we desperately need more financial support to save them and where necessary move them out of Iraq."<br /><br />"This work is dangerous and threatening. Even in London I am under real threat and have been forced to move as a result."<br /><br />Donations for Iraqi LGBT can be made via PayPal. See the group's website at http://iraqilgbtuk.blogspot.com for details.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />ATTACHMENT</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Syria underground Railroad Project</span><br /><br />Covering the period from 1 June 2008 to 31 May 2009<br /><br />Figures in US dollars<br /><br />Total funding received from Heartland Alliance $15,520<br />Expenditure <br />Telephone cards and other means of communication $413<br />Basic food and supplies $486<br />Travel costs including passports and visa’s (for 5 people, from Bagdad to Damascus by road) $3,000<br />Legal fees (to prevent an individual from being imprisoned in Iraq) $4,000<br />Rent (Damascus) $7,000<br />Transportation costs (inside Syria to move nine Iraqi LGBT refugees when necessary<br />to another safe house) $413<br />Other costs $208<br />Total $15,218<br />Balance left $2<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Iraqi LGBT expenditure in Syria</span><br /><br />In addition to the funding received from Heartland Alliance, Iraqi LGBT from its own resources has supported another nine Iraqi LGBT refugees who had already made there own way to Syria.<br /><br />The Heartland Alliance would not allow us to include the cost of transferring the money as part of their donation. We paid for it ourselves and we have therefore listed this bank fee under our own expenditure<br /><br />Figures in pounds sterling<br /><br />Covering the period from 1 June 2008 – 31 May 2009<br /><br />Rent, food and other amenities like electricity (For two safe houses including any bribes paid.) £8,731<br />Communication (mobile phones, phone cards, internet etc) £95<br />Bank charges £415<br />Total £9,241<br /><br /><br />ENDSpaulocanninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17499916652508144662noreply@blogger.com