World urged to act on “barbaric” Isis gay murders

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) is urging the UN to take a stand against the ongoing cold-blooded murder of gay people by Isis.

The organisation has drafted a letter to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the governments of Canada, France, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United States calling on them to urgently “protect persecuted groups fleeing Islamic State violence.”

Since June 2014, Isis has released harrowing images of the murder of at least five men for allegedly having gay sex.

These public executions have involved throwing the hapless victims off the top of buildings. Those who survive the fall are usually stoned, beaten or shot to death by a mob.

IGLHRC noted that similar executions of four men allegedly accused of sodomy were also documented by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

In the most recent incident, a bound blindfolded man, believed to be between 25 and 30 years of age, was last week thrown from a tower in the Syrian city of al-Tabaqa, as a large crowd watched. Still alive after hitting the ground, he was stoned to death.

The commission said that Isis’ intention is “to spread terror among an already persecuted population in the region and to warn against any kind of ‘moral’ transgression”, targeting “anyone in Iraq or Syria who does not conform to traditional norms about how men and women should look, act, or talk.”

“These atrocities only serve to heighten the alarm and psychological suffering among a population that has long endured discrimination and violence. Priority must be given to protecting these and other marginalised and persecuted minorities,” added IGLHRC.

It urged the UN and governments “to step up efforts to help protect these vulnerable groups, through resettlement programs and by expediting refugee applications for those fleeing the violence.”

Isis is a proponent of a radical interpretation of Sharia religious law which allows for the execution of people for “morality” crimes, including adultery and homosexuality.

You can add your signature to the IGLHRC letter here.