Torture in the Middle East - Doesn't it get you angry?

This press release about arrests and torture -- state terrorism --  alerts us once again to the  terrible situation in the Middle East.  The article states:

 

....the 80 young men arrested are under severe torture and pressure by ... authorities but have not been officially charged yet.

Where is the committee against torture? How come they are not protesting? Where are the UN condemnations? This is an open and shut case. Eighty young heros of the resistance are being tortured by the colonialist forces of occupation and racist Zionism. Nonetheless,  the rights groups are silent. HRW says nothing. Amnesty says nothing. Hey folks, TORTURE - aren't you against TORTURE? Silence! They must've been bought out by the Zionists in the Bush adminstration.

 

Oh, wait a minute. This is not happening in Israel. It is happening in Iran! The people are not suspected "militants:"

 

Right now, they are held on the account of participation in a party where alcohol beverages were found, music was playing and young people were dancing. Further, they found 16 young men who were wearing customs[probably "costumes" -a.i.]

 

That explains it. It is OK to torture people if they are wearing costumes and dancing. And oh yes, the report is from the Iran Queer Organization. That really explains everything. Who cares about rights of homosexuals?  Certainly not apologists for the Iranian regime. Torture away, mullahs!

 

Ami Isseroff

---

Urgent Press Release about the arrest of 80 young men in Esfahan - Iran

 May 14, 2007

According to new information from Iran , the 80 young men arrested are under severe torture and pressure by Iranian authorities but have not been officially charged yet. Right now, they are held on the account of participation in a party where alcohol beverages were found, music was playing and young people were dancing. Further, they found 16 young men who were wearing customs . It is worth to note that in Iran it is very common for young people to participate in costume parties where individuals wear different outfits. 

Obviously this crackdown is yet another systematic violation of human rights, along with brutal suppression of women's and labor's movements in Iran and must be strongly protested by all human rights organizations as yet another violation of people's private rights and liberties. This means that for now, what is urgently needed is to strongly object to this gross violation of human rights and the invasion of young people's lives and dignity. 

Since these young men are still waiting to be officially charged, it is imperative that interested organizations, for now, avoid naming these arrests as gay crackdown until further notification. We strongly urge you to be vigilant and alert for the next few days and we are immensely grateful for your concerned follow up until the fate of these individuals is determined. In the next few days we will do everything in our power to relay information to all of you especially if and when these young men are officially charged and sentenced by Iran 's judicial authorities. 
Further information will be posted on the IRQO website.

IRanian Queer Organization – IRQO

Formerly Persian Gay & Lesbian Organization – PGLO

www.irqo.net

info@irqo.net