10 Iranian Men Await Execution For Being Gay

It's not just African countries that abuse and imprison LGBT people. It comes as no surprise that Iran is holding 12 young men in prison for "sodomy". What's worse is they are awaiting execution!

Though Iran may look pretty civilized from pictures of it's street life, modern cars, neon signs and lots of internet cafes, its still in the Dark Ages as far as human rights. The dictatorship of the Supreme Leader teamed with President Ahmadinejad makes Iran a pretty bad spot for being gay.

According to an article in Gay City News:

The information about the ten youths currently under sentence of death for sodomy (lavaat in Persian) was released on November 25 in a joint appeal by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), the Iranian Queer Organization (IRQO), and COC of the Netherlands, the world’s oldest LGBT rights group, founded in 1946. The three organizations called on Western countries “with significant diplomatic and economic ties to Iran, including Germany, France, Canada, as well as the European Union, to pursue diplomatic efforts to cease these executions.”

The US already has problems with Iran and so diplomatic ties are sketchy at best. Seems like Uganda has plenty of company as far as "not ready for prime time" countries.