Four men from the town of Choram, in the Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province have been sentenced by a court to hang for sodomy, Pink News reports:
Four men named ‘Saadat Arefi', ‘Vahid Akbari', ‘Javid Akbari' and ‘Houshmand Akbari' are due to be executed shortly after their verdict was approved recently by high court judges, according to a report from the Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) in Iran.
The four men are said to be from the town of Choram, in the Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province of Iran.
According to HRANA and JOOPEA, these four men will be hanged for sodomy according Shari'a law.
A gay activist based in Iran said: ‘Although being gay is not a crime based on Iranian criminal law but this is the most clear statement against same sex-acts in past months.'
The paper adds:
London based Iranian Human Rights Lawyer, Mehri Jafari said: ‘I am horrified and saddened to have heard the news about these four men. Not only with regards to the execution which is about to take place, but the fact that is beyond our control.
‘There are two important issues in this case; the location of the alleged occurrence and the interpretation of the Sharia' law that a Hodud (strict Sharia punishment) is eminent. Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad is one of the most undeveloped provinces in Iran and it is obvious that a lack of access to lawyers and fair trial can be considered a serious issue in this case. After this announcement it is very likely that the execution will be carried out soon, and the remote location makes it difficult to exert any influence on the process.'
