Gay Iranian teens

It was exactly a year ago that two gay teens (Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni) were hung publicly in Iran because they were…gay.

A number of events all over the world are being held to commemorate the deaths of these teens. The Iranian government had initially tried to blacken their names by saying they were rapists of children, but Outrage! uncovered the truth that they were in fact lovers.

There will be a commemoration ceremony at the Homo-monument in Amsterdam tonight, at 22.00

Pictures of the hanging can be seen here.

And our minister for Immigration actually thought that being gay was not a good reason for seeking asylum...

UPDATE 21 July 2006

The hanged teens may have been minors! More background news on the hangings the debate surrounding it:

At the London event, OutRage founder and worldwide protest organizer Tatchell claimed that a year-long investigation into this case has revealed that the Iranian governments allegations against the two hanged teens were riddled with contradictions, lies."

"At first it was claimed by Iranian officials that they were aged 18 and 19, then that they were 19 and 21, then aged 18 and 20, and finally they made the claim that they were both above 18 at the time of their alleged crimes," Tatchell said. "However, the best evidence is that both youths were aged 17 when they were executed and therefore minors, aged 15 or 16, at the time of their alleged crimes. And by instituting charges of kidnap and rape, the Iranian authorities apparently hope to discredit the victims, discourage public protests and deflect international condemnation."