Two boys executed in Iran for sexual crimes

by Andy Harley

Two boys, one aged 18 and one underage minor, were lashed 228 times before being hung by Iranian authorities in the northeastern city of Mashad, PageOneQ has learned.

Within hours of the execution, Members of Iran’s parliament expressed outrage, not for the deaths of the two young men, identified only by the the initials A.M. and M.A., but at journalists who reported the ages of those who were put to death.

According to Iran Focus News, one member of parliament was dismayed that the focus was on the age of the boys "[I]Instead of paying tribute to the action of the judiciary, the media are mentioning the age of the hanged criminals and creating a commotion that harms the interests of the state."

According to the same report, Ali Asgari, an elected deputy, supported the hanging of the two, saying "Whatever sentence is decreed by an Islamic penal system must be approved, unless proven otherwise."

An Iranian blogger who goes by the name of Mr. Behi, weote extensively on his blog about the executions, describing that the two were convicted of homosexuality. An Iranian press report explained that the two had been execuited for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy.

According to the blogger, who included these Iranian Student News Service photos with his post:

Two young Iranian boys, one less than 18 years old were executed in front of the public in Mashad, east of Iran for the crime of homosexuality. I am here in this line, writing and I have deleted this ten times because it is so difficult to transform feelings to words and images I foreseen for my country.

It seems that Iranian judiciary is doing it's best to show the world that Iran is transforming into a Taliban like Islamic system. Our culture of joy and happiness, ceremonies and poems, celebration and dancing is blocked by those who think their destiny is to cry and beg for mercy from God and hate and punish others who do not want this way of ascending to the heavens.

These photos were provided by the ISNA (Iranian Student News Agency)

http://pageoneq.com/news/2005/Two_boys_executed_in_Iran_for_sexual_cri_0720.html