Severe Anti-Gay Atrocities Occurring in Iraq

Yes, the image above is shocking. But we need to see the fruits of the USA's handy work in Iraq. After spending billions of dollars and squandering thousands of American military service members' lives during Chimperator Bush's fool's errand in Iraq, human rights atrocities continue to occur in Iraq and - as always seems to be the case - LGBT individuals seem to be suffering more acutely than many other citizens. In the latest information released by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission ("IGLHRC"), LGBT individuals are being targeted and murdered. Not surprisingly, little seems to be being done to stop the atrocities. Only a typical American Christianist or Middle Eastern Islamic extremist would revel in the brutal and ghastly murders of LGBT people. Here are highlights from a statement released by the IGLHRC:

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission has today received reports from Iraq of a wave of targeted killings of individuals who are perceived to be gay or lesbian. According to Iraqi human rights activists, in early February 2012, an unidentified group posted death threats against "the adulterous individuals" in the pre-dominantly Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad and Basra. The threats gave the individuals, whose names and ages were listed, four days to stop their behavior or else face the wrath of God, and were to be carried out by the Mujahedin. According to sources inside Iraq, as the result of this new surge of anti-gay violence close to 40 people have been kidnapped, brutally tortured and murdered.

The Iraqi authorities have neither responded to this targeted violence nor have they publically denounced it. It is widely believed that these atrocities are being committed by a group of the Shiite militia.

In 2009 vigilantes murdered hundreds of Iraqi individuals for their perceived sexual orientation. There are no excuses for such heinous human rights violations. We demand that the Iraqi Government put a stop to the wanton persecution and killing of gay people, and that the perpetrators punished.

We call on the Iraqi authorities to immediately intervene to protect the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and to bring to justice those who are responsible for these atrocities. We particularly demand the Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights denounce the anti-gay violence in Iraq and launch an official investigation into these heinous crimes.