Iran: Query response on thesituation and treatment of the
LGBTQI+ community
January 2024
(Country of Origin Information [COI] between 1st January 2020 and 16th December 2023)

Commissioned by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Division of International
Protection. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely
those of the authors.

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2

Contents
Contents........................................................................................................................................................ 3
A. Explanatory Note ................................................................................................................................. 5
B. List of Sources....................................................................................................................................... 6
I.

Background and Introduction .................................................................................................8II.

Legal Framework ...................................................................................................................9a.

Legislation ........................................................................................................................................ 9i.

Constitution ..................................................................................................................................... 9ii.

Criminal code ................................................................................................................................. 10iii.

Other relevant legislation affecting LGBTQI+ persons................................................................... 18b.

Implementation ............................................................................................................................. 32i.

Arrests ............................................................................................................................................ 32

1.

Entrapment .................................................................................................................................... 39

2.

Mistreatment in investigations ...................................................................................................... 40ii.

Treatment in detention facilities ................................................................................................... 47

iii. Prosecutions and convictions under laws that are deployed against the LGBTQI+ community (orthose perceived as supporting the LGBTQI community) ........................................................................ 54
III.

Treatment by State Actors.................................................................................................... 64a.

Public statements by government officials.................................................................................... 64

b. Homophobia and transphobia in government institutions (incl. state-owned media, within thepolice, in the prison service, in the judiciary, in the public health service, in the military, in the
education system/schools) ..................................................................................................................... 70c.

Harassment and violence............................................................................................................... 94

d.

Discrimination .............................................................................................................................. 101

i.

Access to state-owned housing ................................................................................................... 101

ii.

Access to and treatment in public health services ...................................................................... 101

Gender affirming surgery, reparative/conversion therapy, and legal gender change ......................... 103
iii.

Access to state employment (e.g. civil service, the military)....................................................... 117

iv.

Access to and treatment in public education .............................................................................. 118

3

IV.

Societal Attitudes Towards LGBTQI+ Individuals ................................................................. 121a.

Transgender individuals ............................................................................................................... 127

b.

Representation in media.............................................................................................................. 133

c.

Representation by influential cultural and religious figures........................................................ 136

d.

Impact of societal norms on state attitudes and vice versa ........................................................ 140

V.

Treatment by Non-State Actors .......................................................................................... 142

a.

Harassment and violence............................................................................................................. 142b.

Discrimination .............................................................................................................................. 153

i.

Access to housing......................................................................................................................... 154

ii.

Access to and treatment in work ................................................................................................. 154

VI.

Treatment of LGBTQI+ Organizations and Human Rights Defenders .................................... 156

a.

Government recognition of LGBTQI+ NGOs ................................................................................ 156

b.

State treatment of LGBTQI+ activists or those supporting their case or those perceived as such
158

VII. Availability of State Protection ........................................................................................... 163a.

Investigation and prosecution of crimes against LGBTQI+ individuals ........................................ 163b.

Fear of reporting to authorities ................................................................................................... 168

4

A. Explanatory Note
Background
This report presents Country of Origin Information (COI) on Iran focusing on issues identified to be of
relevance in refugee status determination for Iranian nationals of the LGBTQI+ community.
The COI presented in this report is illustrative but not exhaustive of the information available in the
public domain, nor is it determinative of any individual human rights or asylum claim. All sources are
publicly available and a direct hyperlink has been provided.
A list of sources and databases consulted is also provided in this report, to enable users to conduct
further research and source assessments. Research concentrated on events that took place between 1st
January 2020 and 1st December 2023. All sources included in this report were accessed between 1st
November and 16th December 2023.
Note that on occasion reports published during the reporting period cite sources which pre-date the cutoff for research. These have been included where they address issues of relevance and the footnotes forthese sources have been cited within the document to clearly indicate their publication date.

Disclaimer
This document is intended to be used as a tool to help to identify relevant COI and the COI referred to inthis report can be considered by decision makers in assessing asylum applications and appeals. While westrive to be as comprehensive as possible, no amount of research can ever provide an exhaustive pictureof the situation. It is therefore important to note that the absence of information should not be taken as
evidence that an issue, incident or violation does not exist. This report is also not a substitute forindividualised case-specific research and therefore this document should not be submitted in isolation
as evidence to refugee decision-making authorities. Whilst every attempt has been made to ensure
accuracy, the authors accept no responsibility for any errors included in this report.

5B. List of Sources
Not all of the sources listed here have been consulted for each issue addressed in the report. Additionalsources to those individually listed were consulted via database searches. This non-exhaustive list isintended to assist in further case-specific research. To find out more about an organisation, view the‘About us’ tab of a source’s website.
Databases
Asylos’s Research Notes [subscription only]
EUAA COI Portal
European Country of Origin Information Network (ECOI)
Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada – Responses to Information Requests
Relief Web
UNHCR RefworldMedia
Al Jazeera
Edge Media Network
Equal Eyes
Global Gayz
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) in IranInter Press Service
IranWire
Pink News
Reuters
The Guardian
The New Humanitarian
Sources
6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network)
76 Crimes
Amnesty International (Iran)Article 19
Bertelsmann Stiftung – BTI Transformation Index
CIVICUS
Civil Rights Defenders
EASO’s List of sources in its report ‘Researching the situation of lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons (LGBT)in countries or origin’
Equal Rights Trust
EuroMed Rights
Freedom House (Iran)

6

Frontline Defenders
Global Action for Trans Equality (GATE)
Human Dignity Trust (Iran)
Human Rights Watch (Iran)International Bar Association
International Centre for Prison Studies
International Commission of Jurists
International Federation for Human Rights (Iran)International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA)International Railroad for Queer Refugees (IRQR)
ILGA Database
International Service for Human Rights
InterPride
Middle East Institute (MEI)
Organization for Refuge, Asylum & Migration (ORAM)
Out Right International
Sexual Rights Initiative
United Nations Committee Against Torture
United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
United Nations Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity
United Nations News Centre
United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) (Iran)
United Nations Secretary General reports
United Nations Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate
standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context
United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions
United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinionand expression
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to education
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran
United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment
United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
United Nations Women
United States Department of State (Annual human rights reports)

7

I.

Background and Introduction

By way of introduction, in August 2020, an article in the digital news outlet IranWire quoted a sexual
minority rights activist: ““Gay people in Iran are in a much worse and more horrific situation than otherpeople in the LGBTQ community," says Shaya Goldoust. "A gay man is not tolerated by either the family
or society. […]"”.1
IranWire reported again in October 2020, writing that, in Iran, “There are large groups of transgender,
gay, lesbian and queer people who live in the shadows, and always have, for a range of reasons: fear of
judgment, discrimination, violence, exclusion from family and community, and legal problems amongthem”.2
In February 2021, Mai Sato and Christopher Alexander published a report with Eleos Justice and theCapital Punishment Justice Project at Monash University on the state-sanctioned killing of sexual
minorities, with a case study on Iran. On Iran, it commented that: “Same-sex attraction […] ispathologised, and dealt with in the medical space”.3
In August 2021, the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI), OutRight Action International,
and the Citizen Lab released a research report on LGBTIQ website censorship in six countries. With
regards to Iran, it stated that: “The absence of education about gender and sexuality in Iran results in a
gap in people’s knowledge regarding sexual orientation, and gender identity and expression. According
to one interviewee, the lack of credible sources for researching LGBTIQ issues and the circulation of
misinformation have led some people to think that they are transgender when they are likely to begay.364”[…] 364 [Shadi] Amin [director of 6rang], interview.

4

6Rang (the Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network) noted in January 2022 that: “Even though Iranianlaw does not criminalise trans individuals, there is still social stigma against these individuals”.5
BBC News remarked in September 2022 that: “Over the past few years, a vibrant underground LGBT
movement has taken shape inside Iran, but this appears to have increased the authority's hostility”.6

1

IranWire, A Dark History: Honor Killings of Iran's LGBTQ Citizens, 2 August 2020
IranWire, Three Transgender Iranians Arrested Because of Instagram Posts, 20 October 2020
3
Mai Sato and Christopher Alexander, State-Sanctioned Killing of Sexual Minorities: Looking Beyond the Death
Penalty, February 2021, p. 39
4Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI), OutRight Action International, and The Citizen Lab, No
Access: LGBTIQ Website Censorship in Six Countries, 8 August 2021, p. 84
56Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Suicide and neglect: Trans prisoners treated worse than animals
in Iran’s most notorious prison, 10 January 2022
6
BBC News, 'I want to see the rainbow flag raised in Iran', 11 September 2022
2

8

In June 2023, the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) in Iran wrote that: “Recognition oftransgender identity in Iran is solely contingent upon undergoing state-supported sex reassignment
surgery”.7
6Rang reported in March 2023 on official hate speech used against LGBT people in Iran, quoting
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in December 2022 using the word “hamjensbazi”, a derogatory term forgay people/homosexuality/sex between a man and man or woman and woman.8 A January 2022
ReportOUT piece also commented on the term (“‫—)”ه مج ن س باز‬reportedly equivalent in offensivenessto “faggot”—being written on desecrated rainbow flags in Iran.9

II.

Legal Frameworka. Legislationi. Constitution

In December 2020, ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) World
produced a global legislation overview update on their report on state-sponsored homophobia in 2020.
On Iran, the report specified that there are no laws in Iran with regards to protection against
discrimination based on sexual orientation (constitutional protection, broad protection, employment,
hate crime, incitement, banning conversion therapy), and no legal recognition of same-sex marriages,
civil unions, joint adoption, or second parent adoption.10 On freedom of association, the report referredto the following two articles:
Article 26 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran (1979) provides for the right to freedom of
association provided that it does not violate “Islamic standards” and “the basis of the Islamic Republic”.
Article 8 of the Executive Regulations Concerning the Formation and Activities of Non-Governmental
Organizations (2005) provides that the organisation’s constitution and activities must not be in violation
11of the Constitution.

A February 2022 UK Parliament research briefing on LGBT+ rights and issues in the Middle East stated
that: “Iran is an authoritarian theocracy with a Shia Islamic political system. The constitution stipulates
Shia Islam to be the official religion and Shi’ite Islamic Sharia law is the basis of Iran’s legal system”.12

7

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Five Transgender Individuals Arrested and Coerced into
Confession, 26 June 2023
8
6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Silencing protests: Official hate speech against LGBT people as atool of suppression, March 2023, p. 99ReportOUT, A New Crackdown? What is Currently Happening in Iran to LGBTQ+ People?, 4 January 2022
10
ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) World, State-Sponsored Homophobia
2020: Global Legislation Overview Update, December 2020, p. 327
11
ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) World, State-Sponsored Homophobia
2020: Global Legislation Overview Update, December 2020, p. 177
12UK Parliament, Research Briefing: LGBT+ rights and issues in the Middle East, 9 February 2022, p. 8

9

In September 2023, 6Rang wrote on the legal and historical background of gender expression in Iran,summarising the following with regards to the Constitution of Iran:Article 4 of the constitution of the Islamic Republic set out Sharia as the primary source of laws andregulations. This is fundamental to the core of the regime and in any revisions made to theConstitution.41 The Guardian Council, composed of 12 members, comprising 6 clerics (faqih) and 6 legal
experts, with the clerics appointed by the Supreme Leader, holds the responsibility of ensuring
compliance with Sharia by making determinations on whether proposed legislations align with Islamic
law, thus determining their eligibility to become enacted laws.42 For over the past four decades, theGuardian Council has made these decisions based on the most conservative interpretation of Sharia thathas effectively founded systematic discrimination on the basis of gender and gender expression, this has
included torturing and killing those deemed outside the conformity of traditional gender roles.
Women and LGBTIQ+ persons are two groups whose fundamental human rights and existence areaffected by gender criteria imposed by the ideology, laws, and policies of the Islamic Republic. […]41 Article 4: "[Islamic Principle] All civil, penal financial, economic, administrative, cultural, military, political, andother laws and regulations must be based on Islamic criteria. This principle applies absolutely and generally to all
articles of the Constitution as well as to all other laws and regulations, and the wise persons of the Guardian Council
are judges in this matter.", available at: https://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/ir00000_.html.
42 https://irandataportal.syr.edu/the-guardian-council. 2 Shadi Sadr, Majmooyeh-I Qvanin-i va Mogharrarat-i
Poushesh dar Jomhouri-I Islami [The Collection of Dress Codes and Regulations in the Islamic Republic of Iran] (Nili
13
Book: Tehran, 2009), pp. 188-190. P58-9

In November 2023, the UN Human Rights Committee issued its concluding observations following thereview of the country’s fourth periodic report under the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR), within which it stated the following:
While in its Constitution the State party proclaims the enjoyment of equal rights and equal protection
before the law, the Committee is concerned that the legal framework does not afford comprehensive andeffective protection against discrimination on all the grounds covered by the Covenant, including gender,
religion, political or other opinion, sexual orientation and gender identity. The Committee notes that theCharter of Citizenship Rights prohibits the spread of hatred; however, it is concerned by reports of a highprevalence of hate crimes and allegations that hate crimes are not investigated and perpetrators go
14
unpunished.

ii. Criminal code
Note: a full English translation of Books One and Two of the 2013 Islamic Penal Code (IPC) can be found
here, produced by the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC).15
13

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), War on Bodies and Minds: Gender Persecution of LGBTIQ+
Protestors in the Context of the 2022-23 Iran Uprising, September 2023, p. 15
14
UN International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, Human Rights Committee, Concluding observations on
the fourth periodic report of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 23 November 2023, p. 3
15
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC), English Translation of Books I & II of the New Islamic Penal
Code, 4 April 2014, pp. 10-11

10Published in January 2020, the UN report on the situation of human rights in Iran observed that: “Thedeath penalty continues to be applied in cases of adultery and consensual same-sex intercourse and foroffences that are vague in scope, such as efsad-e fel-arz (spreading corruption on Earth), thereby
granting judges wide-ranging interpretative powers”.16
In February 2020, the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC) released a report on access tojustice for victims of sexual violence in Iran, giving the following legal background on same-sex rape andsexual assault:[…] rape is a crime exclusive to male perpetrators. Therefore, a woman cannot commit rape against a man
or a woman under Iranian law. But being charged with same-sex rape is possible for men. Again, rape is
not a separate crime. Rather, it is a subcategory of the crime of sodomy (livat). Article 233 of the IPC[Islamic Penal Code] defines sodomy (livat):
Article 233– Livat is defined as penetration of a man’s sex organ (penis), up to the point ofcircumcision, into another male person’s anus.23
Article 234 of the IPC declares that forcible sodomy is punishable by death.24 Iranian law provides foranother same-sex crime as well. This crime, called tafkhiz is defined in Article 235:
Article 235– Tafkhiz is defined as putting a man’s sex organ (penis) between the thighs or
buttocks of another male person.
Note- A penetration [of a penis into another male person’s anus] that does not reach the point ofcircumcision shall be regarded as tafkhiz.25
Article 236 of the IPC states that the punishment for tafkhiz is 100 lashes whether it is consensual or
coercive.26 In a case of coercive tafkhiz the victim would not be punished, but the perpetrator would
receive the same 100 lashes as if it were a consensual act.
Consent of the victim does not make a difference in cases of female on female rape or sexual assault
either. For the crime of mosaheqeh, which is defined as where a female person puts her sex organ on thesex organ of another person of the same sex27, the punishment is 100 lashes whether or not coercion
was involved.28 For same-sex relations between males excluding sodomy (livat) and tafkhiz, thepunishment is 31 to 74 lashes. Again, the consent of the victim does not make a difference in theperpetrator’s punishment.29 […]23 QANUNI MUJAZATI ISLAMI [Islamic Penal Code] Tehran 1392 [2013], art. 233, available athttps://iranhrdc.org/english-translation-of-books-i-ii-of-the-new-islamic-penal-code/#45.
24 QANUNI MUJAZATI ISLAMI [Islamic Penal Code] Tehran 1392 [2013], art. 234, available athttps://iranhrdc.org/english-translation-of-books-i-ii-of-the-new-islamic-penal-code/#45.
25 QANUNI MUJAZATI ISLAMI [Islamic Penal Code] Tehran 1392 [2013], art. 235, available athttps://iranhrdc.org/english-translation-of-books-i-ii-of-the-new-islamic-penal-code/#45
26 QANUNI MUJAZATI ISLAMI [Islamic Penal Code] Tehran 1392 [2013], art. 236, https://iranhrdc.org/englishtranslation-of-books-i-ii-of-the-new-islamic-penal-code/#45
27 QANUNI MUJAZATI ISLAMI [Islamic Penal Code] Tehran 1392 [2013], art. 238, https://iranhrdc.org/englishtranslation-of-books-i-ii-of-the-new-islamic-penal-code/#45

16

UN General Assembly, Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran: Report of the Secretary-General,
17 January 2020, p. 2

11

28QANUNI MUJAZATI ISLAMI [Islamic Penal Code] Tehran 1392 [2013], art. 239, https://iranhrdc.org/englishtranslation-of-books-i-ii-of-the-new-islamic-penal-code/#45
29 QANUNI MUJAZATI ISLAMI [Islamic Penal Code] Tehran 1392 [2013], art. 237, https://iranhrdc.org/english17translation-of-books-i-ii-of-the-new-islamic-penal-code/#45

In February 2020, 6Rang noted in a response to a 2019 official report by the Dutch government on thesituation of Iranian LGBT persons that: “Just like lesbian, gay and bisexual people, the situation for transpeople in IRI [Islamic Republic of Iran] is dangerous and they are being systematically persecuted. […] To
begin looking at some of the ways in which trans people are treated, transgender expressions, including
cross-dressing, attract a punishment of flogging (74 lashes) under the broad and vaguely worded article
638 of the IPC [Islamic Penal Code]”.18
In an October 2020 report on the death penalty in Iran, the International Federation for Human Rights(FIDH) and the League for the Defense of Human Rights in Iran (LDDHI) wrote on LGBT persons facing
capital punishment over sex-related offences, summarising the following in relation to the Islamic Penal
Code (IPC):
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals are directly impacted by the criminalization ofcertain same-sex conduct, which is punishable by death in Iran.
Lesbianism (mosaheqeh) (Article 239 of the IPC [Islamic Penal Code]) occurs when “a female person places
her reproductive organ on the reproductive organ of the same sex” (Article 238). This is a crime that is
punished by 100 lashes for the first three convictions and by death on the fourth conviction.
Consensual homosexual conduct involving the act of penetration is referred to as “sodomy” (lavat)(Article 233). In this case, the death penalty is imposed on the “active party,” only if he is married or thesexual act is not consensual (“forced sodomy” or lavat-e be-onf).95 The “passive party” in consensual sex
receives a death sentence whether he is married or not. If the sexual act is not consensual, the “passive
party” is not subject to capital punishment. The death penalty is also imposed on a non-Muslim “active
party” who engages in either consensual or non-consensual sexual acts with a Muslim party (Article 234 of
the IPC). […]Article 236 of the IPC punishes intercrural sex (tafkhiz),101 i.e. sexual conduct between two men without
penetration, with 100 lashes. The penalty is death for the fourth conviction, provided that the defendants
have been previously convicted three times and received their lashing sentence in these instances (Article
136). […]
95. The law does not mention the word equivalent for rape. […]101. Article 235 of the 2013 IPC defines tafkhiz as “placing the reproductive organ of a man between the legs or
19
buttocks of a male person and that includes penetration prior to the tip of the glans.”

17

Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC), Access to Justice for Victims of Sexual Violence in Iran,
February 2020
18
6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), 6Rang letter to Dutch government regarding its asylum policy
for Iranian LGBTQI, 11 February 2020
19
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and League for the Defense of Human Rights in Iran (LDDHI),
No one is spared: The widespread use of the death penalty in Iran, October 2020, p. 27

12

The December 2020 ILGA World report on state-sponsored homophobia in 2020 gave the following
legislative overview of Iran’s penal code:
Under the Iran Islamic Penal Code 2013,13 the death penalty can be imposed in Iran for at least three
specific crimes involving consensual same-sex sexual acts, namely for acts of livat (sodomy); for tafkhiz(rubbing penis between thighs or buttocks); and musaheqeh (lesbian sex) if in the latter two cases theconvicted individual has already been punished three times for the same act […].
Livat (male anal penetration)
Article 233 defines livat (sodomy) as the penetration of a man’s sex organ, up to the point of circumcision,
into another male person’s anus.14 Article 234 establishes the penalties for such acts depending on thecircumstances under which those acts were committed. Two of these are relevant to consensual same-sex
sexual acts while one refers to anal rape. Notably, for livat, the law provides for a more stringent regimeof punishment to the receptive party.
For consensual same-sex sexual acts, the insertive party is punished with the death penalty only under
three specific circumstances (if he does not fall under any of these circumstances, the insertive party shallinstead be sentenced to one hundred lashes):
1. if he meets the conditions for ihsan, a status defined in the IIPC [Iran Islamic Penal Code] as: “a statusthat a man is married to a permanent and pubescent wife and whilst he has been sane and pubescent has
had a vaginal intercourse with the same wife while she was pubescent, and he can have an intercoursewith her in the same way [vaginal] whenever he so wishes.”15
2. if he is a non-Muslim and has penetrated a Muslim.16
3. if he is convicted for the fourth time.17 In contrast, for the receptive/passive party, the death penalty is
imposed regardless of the above circumstances.18
These conditions limit the circumstances in which the death penalty can be imposed in contrast to the1991 Islamic Penal Code, which applied to both the insertive and receptive party so long as they weremature, of sound mind, and had free will.19 However, the new provisions treat the receptive/passive
party more harshly compared to the insertive/active party. The receptive/passive party faces a mandatory
death penalty unless he proves lack of the conditions of maturity, sound mind, and free will (on otherwords, if he can prove that he was forced to participate in same sex intercourse).
With regard to these provisions, the Iranian Lesbian and Transgender Network (6Rang) has explained the
Iranian authorities usually label incidents of livat as non-consensual by “offering a less severe sentence forone of the parties in exchange for the confession that he was forced into same-sex intercourse by theother party”.20 […] 6Rang has further noted that this lack of due process is exacerbated by the fact thatthe right to due process and legal representation for those charged with livat. is in many cases violated by
the judicial authorities.22
Tafkhiz (putting penis between male thighs or buttocks)
Article 235 defines tafkhiz as the putting of a man’s sex organ (penis) between the thighs or buttocks ofanother male person.23 Moreover, a penetration of a penis into another male person’s anus that does
not reach the point of circumcision is regarded as tafkhiz.24
There are two circumstances under which men can be sentenced to death for acts of tafkhiz:
1. when the active party is a non-Muslim, and the receptive party is a Muslim.25
2. upon conviction for the fourth time.26
Otherwise, the punishment for the insertive and receptive party is one hundred lashes.27
Musaheqeh (touching between female sex organs)13Musaheqeh, which is sometimes translated as “lesbianism”, is defined under the IIPC 2013 as a situation
where a “female person puts her sex organ on the sex organ of another person of the same sex”.28 A
woman convicted for the fourth time may be sentenced to the death penalty.29 For the first threeoffenses, the hadd punishment is one hundred lashes in all circumstances.30 […]14 Iran Islamic Penal Code, Art. 233.
15 Id., Art. 234, note 2.
16 Id., Art. 234, note 1.
17 Art. 136 of the Iran Islamic Penal Code notes that “[w]here anyone commits the same offense punishable by hadd
three times, and each time the hadd punishment is executed upon him/her, the hadd punishment on the fourth
occasion shall be the death penalty.”
18 Iran Islamic Penal Code, Art. 234.
19 ILGA World, State-sponsored Homophobia, May 2012, 43.
20 “6Rang letter to Dutch government regarding its asylum policy for Iranian LGBTQI”, 6Rang, 11 February 2020. Seealso, 6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), “‘It's a great honor to violate homosexuals’ rights’: Official hatespeech against LGBT people in Iran” (2017), 12. […]22 “6Rang letter to Dutch government regarding its asylum policy for Iranian LGBTQI”, 6Rang, 11 February 2020.
23 Iran Islamic Penal Code, Art. 235.
24 Id., Art. 235, Note.
25 Id., Art. 236.
26 Id., Art. 136 notes that “[w]here anyone commits the same offense punishable by hadd three times, and each time
the hadd punishment is executed upon him/her, the hadd punishment on the fourth occasion shall be the death
penalty.”
27 Id., Art. 236
28 Id., Art. 238.
29 Id., Art. 136 notes that “[w]here anyone commits the same offense punishable by hadd three times, and each time
the hadd punishment is executed upon him/her, the hadd punishment on the fourth occasion shall be the death
penalty.”
20
30 Iran Islamic Penal Code, Art. 239.

The January 2021 report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran explained
that: “The death penalty can be imposed for consensual sexual activity between members of the samesex in the Islamic Republic of Iran, with its applicability dependent on the religion and marital status of
the persons involved and the nature of the acts (passive or active) while “kissing and touching out oflust” between persons of the same sex is punishable by flogging.81”.
[…] 81 Islamic Penal Code, arts. 233–240.

21

In their report on the state-sanctioned killing of sexual minorities in February 2021, Mai Sato andChristopher Alexander produced the following table on relevant provisions in the Iranian Penal Code of
2013:22
20

ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) World, State-Sponsored Homophobia
2020: Global Legislation Overview Update, December 2020, pp. 46-48
21
UN General Assembly, Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran: Report of the Special Rapporteuron the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Javaid Rehman, 11 January 2021, p. 10
22
Mai Sato and Christopher Alexander, State-Sanctioned Killing of Sexual Minorities: Looking Beyond the Death
Penalty, February 2021, p. 27

14

In the same report, it was noted that:
One of the interviewees noted that, in Iran, the 2013 Penal Code criminalises same-sex sexual acts, rather
than same-sex love or relationships […]. Same-sex attraction, on the other hand, is pathologised, and dealt
with in the medical space:
The situation for lesbian, gay, and bisexual people in Iran is characterized by a fundamental
dichotomy between concepts of perversion and deviation (enheraf) on the one hand andpathology and disorder (ekhtelal) on the other. This dichotomy is instituted by a legal frameworkin which homosexual acts are treated as crimes, whereas homosexual desires are taken as
23
symptoms of a gender identity disorder in need of cure. (Bahreini and Nayyeri, 2021)

The report also explained that:
By imposing the death penalty only on the passive/receptive sexual partner in consensual same-sex
intercourse, the 2013 Penal Code creates a legal imbalance between sexual partners.40 Once arrested,
the Penal Code has a perverse effect of encouraging false accusations of rape: it incentivises persons
alleged to have engaged in consensual acts to ‘accuse their partner of rape to save their [own] lives’ […].
23

Mai Sato and Christopher Alexander, State-Sanctioned Killing of Sexual Minorities: Looking Beyond the Death
Penalty, February 2021, p. 39

15

In addition to avoiding the death penalty, a false rape accusation may also be motivated by a desire to
avoid the stigma associated with being gay […]. The Penal Code could also discourage genuine accusationsof rape: victims face the risk of being disbelieved about the coercive nature of the sexual act, which could
result in an execution. This is because the disclosure of same-sex sexual interactions to the authorities—
even where such acts were non-consensual—constitutes a ‘confession’ of having engaged in such acts,
and could be used as evidence to prosecute the victim.). […]40 The 1991 Penal Code, on the other hand, did not discriminate on the basis of sexual position, and imposed the24
death penalty on both parties.

FIDH remarked in a statement in September 2022 that: “Homosexuality is still illegal under domestic law
in Iran. The Islamic Penal Code explicitly criminalises same-sex relationships for both men and women,
which leads to the persecution of members of the LGBTQI+ community and those defending theirrights”.25
Freedom House wrote in their annual Freedom in the World report for Iran, published in March 2023
and focusing on events in 2022, that: “The penal code criminalizes all sexual relations outside of
traditional marriage, and Iran is among the few countries where individuals can be put to death forconsensual same-sex conduct”.26 The same statement was written in Freedom House’s 2022 report,27
covering events in 2021, as well the 2021 report covering events in 2020.28
The US Department of State (USDOS) 2022 report on human rights practices in Iran, published in March
2023, stated that: “The law criminalizes consensual same-sex sexual activity, which is punishable bydeath, flogging, or a lesser punishment. The law does not distinguish between consensual andnonconsensual same-sex intercourse, and NGOs reported this lack of clarity led to both the survivor andthe perpetrator being held criminally liable under the law in cases of assault”.29
Amnesty International confirmed in their annual report on events in 2022, published in March 2023,
that: “Consensual same-sex sexual relations remained criminalized with punishments ranging fromflogging to the death penalty”.30
The fifteenth annual report on the death penalty in Iran by Iran Human Rights (IHR) and Together
Against the Death Penalty (ECPM), released in April 2023 and covering 2022, summarises the legislation
related to same-sex relations as such:
24

Mai Sato and Christopher Alexander, State-Sanctioned Killing of Sexual Minorities: Looking Beyond the Death
Penalty, February 2021, p. 42
25International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and League for the Defense of Human Rights in Iran (LDDHI),
Iran: Death sentence against two women for speaking out in support of LGBTQI+ rights, 22 September 2022
26
Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2023: Iran Country Report, March 2023
27
Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2022: Iran Country Report, February 2022
28
Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2021: Iran Country Report, March 2021
29
US Department of State (USDOS), 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 20 March 2023
30
Amnesty International, Amnesty International Report 2022/23: The state of the world’s human rights, 27 March
2023, p. 199

16

SAME-SEX RELATIONSLAVATArticle 233 of the IPC [Islamic Penal Code] defines lavat (sodomy) and Article 234 sets out its
punishments. In male homosexual relations, the law distinguishes between what it describes as the“active party” and “passive party.” The death penalty is imposed on the “active party” if he is married orcommits rape, but the “passive party” receives the death penalty regardless of their marital status.
According to Note 1 of Article 234, a non-Muslim “active party” in a sexual act with a Muslim party shallalso receive the death penalty.
TAFKHIZ
Tafkhiz (intercrural/thigh sex) is defined in Article 235 and according to Article 236, the punishment for
both parties is 100 lashes. However, the Note to the Article stipulates that the “active party” shall receive
the death penalty if he is non-Muslim and the “passive party” is Muslim.
MOSAHEGHEH
Defined in Article 238, in cases of mosahegheh (lesbian sex), no distinction is made in punishments set for
the “active” or “passive” parties, their religion, marital status or consent (Article 240). Article 239 sets out
the punishment for mosahegheh as 100 lashes. However, as it is a hadd crime, it is punishable by death on
the fourth occasion if “offenders” are sentenced and receive the lashing punishments on the first threeoccasions. This has not been specifically stated in law, but can be inferred from the provisions of Article
31
136 of the IPC on “Repeat Offences” […].

In an April 2023 article by BBC News on the LGBTQ role in Iran protests, it was written that:Afsaneh Rigot, a researcher in technology, law and human rights at Harvard University, says: "Seenglobally, queer people in Iran face some of the harshest penalties for their existence.""They are also criminalised in multiple ways, not only under oppressive laws generally criminalising
freedom of expression on and offline, but also laws directly criminalising their identities," she adds.
These include wearing clothes considered female if a person is recorded as male at birth.
Other same-sex acts that are criminalised include same-sex "kissing or touching as a result of lust" and are
32
punishable by flogging. These penalties also apply to children under the age of 18.

In May 2023, 6Rang noted that: “The legal and political system of the Islamic Republic of Iran does notrecognize any gender identity other than cisgender male or female. Any intimate relationship between
two members of the same sex is criminalised”.33
6Rang wrote again in September 2023 that: “This legal framework risks creating a situation wherewilling “recipients” of anal intercourse may feel compelled, when targeted by the authorities, tocharacterize their consensual sexual activity as rape in order to avoid the death penalty.53”.
[…] 53 https://uprdoc.ohchr.org/uprweb/downloadfile.aspx?filename=6762&file=EnglishTranslation.

34

31

Iran Human Rights (IHR) and Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM), Annual Report on the Death Penalty in
Iran 2022, 13 April 2023, p. 30
32
BBC News, Iran protests: LGBTQ community rises up, 19 April 2023
33
6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Straitjacketed Identities: Reparative Therapy in Systematic
Medical Abuse of Iran’s LGBTI+ People, May 2023, p. 917

In September 2023, FIDH and LDDHI remarked in their joint submission to the UN Human Rights
Committee’s for its review of Iran’s fourth periodic report that: “There are no plans to decriminalize
same-sex sexual relations, as the punishments stipulated by the Islamic Penal Code and their ongoing
imposition show”.35
The UN Human Rights Committee’s November 2023 concluding observations on the fourth periodic
report of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its implementation of the ICCPR stated that: “The Committee
remains concerned that consensual same-sex relations between adults are criminalized by the Islamic
Penal Code, and that persons who are convicted in such cases are punished with severe criminal
penalties, ranging from public lashing and flogging to death sentences, which are actively enforced by
the State”.36
ILGA World, in their updated November 2023 report on the enforcement of laws criminalisingconsensual same-sex acts and diverse gender expressions, remarked that: “Iran’s Penal Code does notrecognise rape as a separate crime from consensual same-sex activity. Instead, the acts of heterosexualand homosexual rape are discussed as forms of adultery and sodomy respectively”.37

iii. Other relevant legislation affecting LGBTQI+ persons
The January 2020 report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran stated
that: “The death penalty may be applied for example in some cases of adultery, for certain cases ofconsensual same-sex intercourse between men or for offences that are not well-defined, such as efsad-e
fel-arz (“spreading corruption on earth”)”.38
A January 2020 article in the Development journal on transgender identities in Pakistan, India, and Iranwrote that:[…] in a country like Iran where the entire legislation is based on the idea that only two genders exists, this‘filtering’ process does not allow for a trans person that occupies an ‘in-between’ space. One’s sex
determines family law, the course they take at university and even where they can sit on the bus, makes
this very difficult for those who are transvestite for example […]34

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), War on Bodies and Minds: Gender Persecution of LGBTIQ+
Protestors in the Context of the 2022-23 Iran Uprising, September 2023, p. 17
35International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and League for the Defense of Human Rights in Iran (LDDHI),
Joint submission: IRAN - UN Human Rights Committee 139th Session (9 October - 3 November 2023), 12
September 2023, p. 2
36
UN International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, Human Rights Committee, Concluding observations on
the fourth periodic report of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 23 November 2023, p. 3
37
ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) World, Our Identities Under Arrest: A
global review on the enforcement of laws criminalising consensual same-sex acts and diverse gender expressions,
30 November 2023, p. 170
38
UN General Assembly, Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran: Report of the Special Rapporteuron the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, 28 January 2020, p. 6

18

While recognition and encouragement of sex change has made space for transgenders in Iran it has
39
adversely affected those that do not define themselves in strict divides: hetero/homo, male/female.

In February 2020, 6Rang noted in their response to a 2019 official report by the Dutch government on
the situation of Iranian LGBT persons that:
The persecution is not exclusive to activists or limited to conduct involving physical contact. In addition to
imposing corporal punishments and, indeed, the death penalty for consensual same-sex conduct thatinvolves physical contact (articles 234, 236-7, and 239), the Islamic Penal Code (adopted in 2013) also
imposes sever [sic] corporal punishments for homosexual expressions either in the society or via social
media platforms under its general provisions about immorality and indecency according to articles 639
and 640 IPC [Islamic Penal Code]. In certain cases, these expressions are punished according to article 286
IPC under a more serious charge of efsad-e-fel-arz (corruption on earth) punishable by the death40
penalty.

The response further wrote on legislation relevant to transgender people in Iran:[…] 6Rang’s research shows that the criminalisation of LGB and transgender persons on the basis of sexual
orientation and gender identity is increasingly accompanied by a range of legal and medical practices
intended to coerce LGB and transgender people into reparative or conversion therapies, hormone
treatments and sex reassignment and sterilisation surgeries.
In these cases, a free and informed consent of the individual is missing. The Iranian legal framework does
not make being a trans person a crime. However, being transsexual is recognised as a medical condition
known as Gender Identity Disorder (GID) that is curable through sex reassignment surgeries (SRS). As aresult, LGBT individuals have two choices: first, to risk criminal prosecution, (state) harassment, andarbitrary arrest and detention; or second, to seek a diagnosis of GID with a view to undergo sex
reassignment surgeries, sterilisation and hormone therapies. This means that LGB people cannot choose
to be as they are and can only go through sex change in order express their identity and choose partnersof the same sex. For trans persons this means that they cannot choose whether or not to undergo medical
procedures. Additionally, medical professionals give the diagnosis of GID to LGBT individuals merely on
the account of their same-sex desires and gender non-conformity and to individuals who do not conformto culturally approved models of femininity and masculinity. Thus, LGBT individuals are coerced to either
receive reparative therapies aimed at “curing” them of homosexuality or undergo sterilisation and SRS
41
aimed at turning them into “normally gendered” men or women.

At the beginning of December 2020, Human Rights Watch reported on a draft law on violence against
women, stating that: “Some of the crimes it sets out violate the right to privacy and other protected
freedoms, such as proposing an “illicit relationship” and encouraging or persuading a woman to commit
acts contrary to “chastity.” While under Iranian law, there is no clear legal definition of what constitutes
39

Mahso Gichki, “Deconstructing Transgender Identities in Pakistan, India, and Iran in Colonial and Post-colonial
Context”, Development, Volume 63, 2020, p. 33
40
6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), 6Rang letter to Dutch government regarding its asylum policy
for Iranian LGBTQI, 11 February 2020
41
6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), 6Rang letter to Dutch government regarding its asylum policy
for Iranian LGBTQI, 11 February 202019

acts against chastity, judges have interpreted it to include, and thus criminalize, consensual sexual
relationships short of sexual intercourse, and homosexual relationships”.42
The December 2020 ILGA World global legislation overview update for their state-sponsoredhomophobia report wrote the following on Iran:
Efsad-e-fel-arz (spreading “corruption on Earth”)
Some commentators have suggested that the vague provision of efsad-e-fel-arz (corruption on Earth) can
also be used against non-heterosexal [sic] individuals. […]Although the provision does not contain any explicit SOGIESC [sexual orientation, gender identity, gender
expression and sex characteristics] reference,33 there have been reported instances of this provision
being used against LGBTQ+ individuals. […][…] courts may use other charges such as efsad-e-fel-arz (corruption on Earth) which disguises the factthat the death penalty may have been imposed for consensual same sex sexual relations. […]33 Art. 286 of the Iran Islamic Penal Code states: “Any person, who extensively commits felony against the bodily
entity of people, offenses against internal or international security of the state, spreading lies, disruption of theeconomic system of the state, arson and destruction of properties, distribution of poisonous and bacterial anddangerous materials, and establishment of, or aiding and abetting in, places of corruption and prostitution, [on ascale] that causes severe disruption in the public order of the state and insecurity, or causes harsh damage to thebodily entity of people or public or private properties, or causes distribution of corruption and prostitution on a large
43
scale, shall be considered as mofsed-e-fel-arz [corrupt on Earth] and shall be sentenced to death.”

The report also gave the following summary on non-explicit legal barriers for LGBTQ+ individuals in Iran:Article 6 of the Press Law (1986) claims that “the Press is free, except for items which undermine Islam’sbases and commandments, and public and private rights, including the spread of “fornication andforbidden practices” and “publishing photographs, pictures, and material which violate public chastity”. A
violation of this provision is subject to punishments as determined in Article 698 of the Islamic Penal Code(imprisonment of between two months to two years and flogging of up to 74 lashes) and in the event of
persistence, to an intensification of the punishments and the forfeiture of license.
Article 14 of Law on Computer Crimes (Law No. 71063) (2009) punishes with imprisonment and fines “theuse of computer systems, telecommunications systems or data carriers to publish or distribute immoral
content, or their storage with the intention of corrupting society”. Article 15 explicitly includes acts of“sexual perversion”.
Article 640 of the Islamic Penal Code (2013) prohibits “displays and shows to the public, or produces orkeeps any writing or design, gravure, painting, picture, newspapers, advertisements, signs, film, cinema
44
movie, or basically anything, that violates public prudency and morality”.

42

Human Rights Watch, Iran: Adopt Draft Law to Protect Women, 4 December 2020
ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) World, State-Sponsored Homophobia
2020: Global Legislation Overview Update, December 2020, pp. 48 and 50
44
ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) World, State-Sponsored Homophobia
2020: Global Legislation Overview Update, December 2020, p. 154
43

20

The same report also specified that there are no laws in Iran with regards to protection of LGBTQ+
persons (constitutional protection, broad protection, employment, hate crime, incitement, banning
conversion therapy), and no legal recognition of same-sex marriages, civil unions, joint adoption, or
second parent adoption.45
On freedom of association, the report referred to the following two articles:
Article 26 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran (1979) provides for the right to freedom of
association provided that it does not violate “Islamic standards” and “the basis of the Islamic Republic”.
Article 8 of the Executive Regulations Concerning the Formation and Activities of Non-Governmental
Organizations (2005) provides that the organisation’s constitution and activities must not be in violation46of the Constitution.

With regards to protection of LGBTQ+ persons and prosecution of perpetrators of violence against them,
IHR wrote in a May 2021 article that: “Article 302 of the new IPC [Islamic Penal Code] sets out a list of
those that are mahdoor-ol-dam, one whose blood may be shed with immunity or deserving of death.
Article 302(a) states that anyone charged with committing a crime against an individual who hascommitted a hadd crime punishable by death is considered mahdoor-ol-dam and the perpetrators of themurder against them will not be sentenced to qisas or have to pay diya (blood money)”.47
Regarding military exemption, the same article also wrote that:
A two-year military service is compulsory for all men in Iran unless they are exempted on one of the
sanctioned grounds. Gay men may be exempted after going through a long and arduous process.
According to the army’s 2020 Medical Exemption Regulations, “Article 33, Paragraph 8” will be written in
the exemption section of their military cards. Article 33 Psychological exemptions are covered by Article
33, and Paragraph 8 refers to “behavioural disorders (neural and mental imbalances) and deviancies
48
contrary to military etiquette, as well moral and sexual deviancies such as transsexualism.”

In May 2021, Deutsche Welle (DW) released a piece on transgender people in Iran, writing that:
Transgender individuals live and work with no legal barriers in the country. […]When it comes to other forms of non-heterosexual identity, the state is not so lenient: Under certain
circumstances, gay men and lesbians face the possibility of draconian penalties. The closest thing torecognition that gay men enjoy is an exemption from compulsory military service. In addition to gay sex
being punishable by death, the government classifies men who want to have sex with other men as

45

ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) World, State-Sponsored Homophobia
2020: Global Legislation Overview Update, December 2020, p. 327
46
ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) World, State-Sponsored Homophobia
2020: Global Legislation Overview Update, December 2020, p. 177
47
Iran Human Rights, Iran: The Islamic Penal Code Promotes Violence Against the LGBT Community, 15 May 2021
48
Iran Human Rights, Iran: The Islamic Penal Code Promotes Violence Against the LGBT Community, 15 May 2021

21

mentally ill and therefore incapable of serving in the military and ineligible for a wide range of public
49
service jobs.

In a May 2021 public statement, Amnesty International commented on further Iranian law relevant to
LGBTI individuals:
Iranian criminal law also penalizes individuals who do not conform to stereotypical norms of “femininity”
and “masculinity”, in violation of the rights to non-discrimination, privacy, freedom of belief and religion,
freedom of expression, and protection from arbitrary arrests and detention, torture and other illtreatment.
Article 638 of the 1996 Islamic Penal Code concerning ta’zir crimes9 subjects any conduct in publicdeemed “religiously forbidden” (haram) or otherwise “offensive to public decency” to imprisonment of
between 10 days to two months and/or flogging of up to 74 lashes. A note to Article 638 further imposes
compulsory veiling on women and girls over the age of nine, and makes women and girls who fail to cover
their head and comply with a strict Islamic dress code in public liable to imprisonment and/or fines. These
provisions put women who may wish to wear items of clothing and accessories stereotypically regarded
as “masculine” and men who wish to wear make-up and display expressions and behaviors stereotypicallyregarded as “feminine” at increased risk of discrimination, harassment, arbitrary arrest and detention,
torture and other ill-treatment.
Currently, if LGBTI individuals in Iran wish to adopt, without being criminalized, a gender presentation notmatching the stereotypical expectations associated with their biological sex, their only option is to apply
for a legal sex change. This would involve undergoing gender reassignment surgery, as well as
sterilization, and obtaining identity documents matching their preferred gender identity, which thenlegally changes their sex. Non-binary and other gender non-conforming individuals who cannot or do notwish to undergo gender reassignment surgery, change their legal sex or choose between the binary
gender categories of man and woman are at a constant risk of criminalization. They also experience
discrimination in access to education, employment, health care and public services because the Islamic
Republic system in Iran heavily enforces gender segregation across a wide range of institutions and public
spaces, and imposes strict dress codes for men and women.
The Iranian authorities continue to resort to the laws criminalizing same-sex sexual relations and gender
non-conformity to persecute individuals on account of their actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender
identity and gender expression, including by invading the private residences of individuals alleged to beengaging in homosexuality or “cross-dressing”.10 […]9 The Islamic Penal Code of Iran consists of five parts. The first four parts are contained in a piece of legislation that
was adopted in 2013 and concerns general principles, hadd crimes (crimes that have fixed definitions andpunishments under Shari’a law and crimes punishable by “retribution-in-kind” (qesas) and/or “blood money” (diyah).
The fifth part is retained in a piece of legislation from 1996, which is still in effect and concerns ta’zir crimes (crimes
that do not have a pre-determined definition and punishment under Shari’a law).
10 Justice for Iran, Diagnosing Identities, Wounding-Bodies, June 2014, https://justice4iran.org/9226/; Human Rights
Watch, “We Are a Buried Generation”: Discrimination and Violence against Sexual Minorities in Iran, December 2010;https://www.hrw.org/report/2010/12/15/we-are-buried-generation/discrimination-and-violence-against-sexualminorities; The Guardian, Iran arrests 'network of homosexuals and satanists' at birthday party, October 2013,https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/10/iran-arrests-network-homosexual-satanists; OutRight Action

49

Deutsche Welle (DW), How transgender people navigate Iran, 16 May 2021

22

International has a number of reports on these issues on the Iran page of its website:
50
https://outrightinternational.org/region/islamic-republic-iran

The same statement also commented on provisions in the Islamic Penal Code relevant to honour killings:
There are multiple provisions in Iran’s 2013 Islamic Penal Code which facilitate or contribute to thecommission of so-called “honour” killings in Iran, and, thereby, place girls and women and LGTBI persons
at increased risk of violations of the right to life.
Article 301 of the 2013 Islamic Penal Code exempts men who kill their children and grandchildren from“retribution-in-kind” (qesas), which is the punishment provided for murder under Iranian law. The 2013
Islamic Penal Code does not provide what alternative sentences the perpetrator shall receive in suchcircumstances, but it is possible for the prosecution authorities to rely on Article 612 of the 1996 Islamic
Penal Code concerning ta’zir crimes15 to seek a prison sentence of between three and 10 years in prisonon the basis that the perpetrator’s conduct caused “disruption in order and security” or stirred “fears”
that he or others may commit it again.
Article 302 of the 2013 Islamic Penal Code exempts any perpetrator of murder from “retribution-in-kind”(qesas) and the payment of “blood money” (diyah) if they establish that the murder victim had committed
a hadd crime (crimes that have fixed definitions and punishments under Shari’a law and are considered tobe against God) punishable by the death penalty; the “crimes” related to consensual same-sex relations[…] as well as adultery and certain sexual conduct outside marriage fall within the scope of this provision.
Again, the 2013 Islamic Penal Code does not provide what alternative sentences the perpetrator shallreceive in such circumstances, but they may eventually receive a prison sentence of between three and10 years in prison on the basis of Article 612 of the 1996 Islamic Penal Code.
Article 303 of the 2013 Islamic Penal Code provides that even when the murder victim is not proven tohave committed a hadd crime, if the perpetrator establishes that he “falsely” killed the victim on the basisof a belief that the victim had committed a hadd crime, the perpetrator would still be exempt from“retribution-in-kind” (qesas) and would only be required to pay “blood money” (diyah) and serve between
three to 10 years in prison, as per Article 612 of the 1996 Islamic Penal Code.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all circumstances, but is alarmed that Iranian criminal
law exonerates or reduces the punishment for killings that are effectively related to the defence of“honour”, thereby justifying and normalizing violence against women, girls, and LGBTI persons engaging in
51
conduct deemed as “religiously forbidden” (haram) and constituting a “crime against God”.

A few days later, Amnesty International also wrote in May 2021 that: “Any gender presentation outsideof what is expected from an individual’s biological sex at birth must be accompanied by a legal sex
change, or else be considered a criminal offence. This mandates gender reassignment surgery,sterilisation, and a complex documentation process for all gender non-conforming individuals, andthreatens all who do not comply with criminal prosecution”.52

50

Amnesty International, Iran: Murder of 20-year-old gay man highlights urgent need to protect LGBTI rights, 17
May 2021, p. 4
51
Amnesty International, Iran: Murder of 20-year-old gay man highlights urgent need to protect LGBTI rights, 17
May 2021, p. 5
52
Amnesty International, Iran: Why Was Alireza Fazeli Monfared Murdered?, 21 May 2021

23

In June 2021, Mai Sato and Christopher Alexander wrote a piece for the Australian Outlook, of theAustralian Institute of International Affairs, on state persecution of sexual minorities. It stated that:
In Iran, the criminal code distinguishes between murder and “honour” killings. This allows the offender toreceive a lesser punishment compared to a punishment for murder conviction, or escape punishment
completely. In these cases, the murder is committed by individuals, but the state is essentially sending themessage to its citizens that it is acceptable to kill people based on their sexual orientation. The Iranianpenal code provides that if the father carries out the honour killing, he can avoid
punishment (qisas). Similarly, if the killing was a reaction to the victim committing a capital offence, the53
offender only needs to pay compensation (divat).

The OONI, OutRight Action International, and the Citizen Lab’s August 2021 research report commented
on the Computer Crimes Law and its relevance for LGBTIQ communities in Iran:LGBTIQ individuals have been targeted online in the form of surveillance and harassment. Iran’s new
Islamic Penal Code of 2013, particularly Article 639, further empowers authorities to target members of
LGBTIQ social media groups and organized community chatrooms for facilitating a “place ofimmorality.”375 The passing of the Computer Crimes Law has significantly expanded state surveillanceand censorship powers, because many Internet-related laws are written vaguely, allowing for their broad
application. Article 14 of the Computer Crimes Law, for example, criminalizes “producing, sending,publishing, distributing, saving or financially engaging in obscene contact by using computer ortelecommunications systems or portable data storage devices.”376 This article has been used to enforce
state-defined morality against LGBTIQ communities and to prohibit the dissemination of materials, suchas sexual health information.377 Article 15 criminalizes the use of devices for inciting or aiding andabetting crimes. Additional language notes that fines and prison sentences are mandated for anyone who
encourages “the public access to immoral content or facilitates access to this content,” or who “provokes
or invites the public to participate in crimes against chastity . . . or acts of sexual perversion.”378 Similarly,
Article 18 “criminalizes the use of a computer or telecommunications to disseminate lies with theintention of damaging the public, disturbing the public state of mind or disturbing the official authorities’state of mind.”379 […]345 James Marchant et al., Breaking the Silence: Digital Media and the Struggle for LGBTQ Rights in Iran (Small Media,
2018): 92, https://smallmedia.org.uk/media/projects/files/BreakingTheSilence_2018.pdf. […]375 Being Lesbian in Iran (New York, NY: OutRight Action International, 2016): 36,
https://outrightinternational.org/sites/default/files/OutRightLesbianReport.pdf.
376 Marchant et al., Breaking the Silence, 92; Matthew Carrieri et al., After the Green Movement: Internet Controls in
Iran, 2009-2012 (OpenNet Initiative, February 2013), https://opennet.net/blog/2013/02/after-green-movementinternet-controls-iran-2009-2012.
377 Rubin, “Evolution of Iranian Surveillance Strategies Toward the Internet and Social Media.”
378 Marchant et al., Breaking the Silence, 92.
54379 Ibid.

53

Mai Sato and Christopher Alexander, When the State Kills: Persecution of Sexual Minorities, Australian Outlook,
17 June 2021
54
Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI), OutRight Action International, and The Citizen Lab, No
Access: LGBTIQ Website Censorship in Six Countries, 8 August 2021, p. 85

24

Amnesty International reported in January 2022 that: “Gender non-conforming individuals in Iran risk
criminalization unless they seek a legal gender change, which require gender reassignment surgery andsterilization”.55
In February 2022, HRANA wrote in an article that: “Gender affirmation surgery has not been designatedas legal or illegal under Iranian civil law. In 2013, however, Family Protection Bill set out some rules
about the sex change process. In 1982, in a Fatwa, Ruhollah Khomeini, authorized religiously the sexchange surgery. Nonetheless, uncertainties in the law regarding this process and official acceptance of
new identity have confused many transgender citizens who are afraid of being deprived of their rights
by the erratic attitude of legal authorities”.56
In February 2022, the UK Parliament research briefing on LGBT+ rights and issues in the Middle East
stated that: “Iran […] has strict laws preventing freedom of expression and the government uses themwidely to shut down media outlets, websites and organisations with content related to sexual
orientation. There are also no protections, constitutional or otherwise, against discrimination and samesex marriage or civil unions are not recognised”.57
In April 2022, Sayeh Isfahani wrote for the Atlantic Council, as well as for ARTICLE19, on the potential
impact of a new Iranian Internet ‘Protection Bill’ on the LGBTQI community. The post stated that:
International human rights organizations and the United Nations are saying a lot about the repressive“Regulatory System for Cyberspace Services Bill”—widely referred to as the “Protection Bill”—currently
under review by the Iranian parliament. However, not much light has been shed on one of the mostmarginalized groups that will suffer the most: Iran’s LGBTQI community. […]Queer expression and identities are targeted as “immoral” or “obscene” criminal acts within Iran’s Islamic
Penal Code and, in some cases, are punishable by the death penalty. Despite this, the queer community
has been using social media, dating apps—like Grindr, Hornet, Bumble, and Tinder—along with messaging
apps like WhatsApp and Telegram in creative ways to forge a semblance of community online. […]All these hard-earned but fragile gains can be eroded, or at least severely impaired, if Iran’s parliament, as
expected, proceeds with ratifying and implementing this oppressive piece of legislation.
Access to Internet and online anonymity at risk
Several key provisions in the Protection Bill pose an imminent threat to freedom of expression in Iran andendangers the LGBTQI community in particular. The bill envisions tightened state control over online
spaces and aims to erode online anonymity while criminalizing VPNs (Virtual Private Networks)—essential
tools for circumventing online censorship.
Under the bill, control over key communication infrastructure will be delegated to armed forces andsecurity agencies—including the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and police force—that havea history of cracking down on marginalized communities. These agencies, which lack transparency and55

Amnesty International, Ill-Treated Iranian LGBTI Defender At Risk, 25 January 2022
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Transgender Citizen Dies By Suicide After Disallowance of Gender
Affirming Surgery, 8 February 2022
57
UK Parliament, Research Briefing: LGBT+ rights and issues in the Middle East, 9 February 2022, p. 8
56

25

have been the main perpetrators of the persecution of LGBTQI persons in Iran, would be in a position to
shut down and surveil the Internet with increased impunity and ease. […]One of the most concerning provisions of the bill is a chapter which, in practice, would lead to theintroduction of a blanket ban against all international services, especially social media platforms andencrypted communication tools. Iran already has one of the most censored online spaces in the world,
where all major social media platforms—except Instagram—are banned.
The imposition of such a blanket ban, coupled with provisions in the bill that aim to criminalize VPNs,
would severely curtail access to encrypted communications and platforms outside the control of
authorities inside Iran. In a country where authorities have no qualms in policing private lives andcriminalizing queer bodies and expressions to the extreme of the death penalty, encrypted andindependent communication tools are one of the last barricades protecting people’s online privacy. […]In Iran, online anonymity and encryption aren’t enough to prevent the targeting and identification of atrisk groups. Similarly, users in Iran live in a climate where state actors are on the watch to spot thesmallest “blunder” in order to identify users and mount charges against them. What little protective
shields there were to help users will be withered away with the enforcement of the Protection Bill.
The Islamic Republic also hopes to push people onto local platforms linked to state agencies by curtailingaccess to secure communication tools. These platforms don’t use encryption and would not hesitate toshare user data with authorities. Bereft of privacy protections, especially from the state, online spaces willturn into hunting grounds for security agencies, where they can roam with impunity.
Furthermore, provisions in the bill aim to reinforce the Islamic Republic’s data localization push. The bill
will either result in users emigrating to local services or potentially strong-arming international firms into
hosting users’ data inside Iran. The latter can lead to a situation where authorities can pressure thecompanies into surveillance and censorship operations, as seen in countries such as Russia.
With authoritarian states increasingly relying on digital “evidence” to persecute and prosecute at-risk
groups like the LGBTQI community, data localization can turn online spaces into a treasure trove forsecurity agencies.
The bill also requires platforms to “authenticate” users, tying their legal identity to their online persona.
This will remove online anonymity, pushing users toward more self-censorship if not total withdrawal
from online expression.
Many Iranians, including the queer community, rely on online anonymity to evade persecution at thehands of state actors. The institutions responsible for this persecution include Iran’s Cyber Police as wellas the numerous cyber divisions of the IRGC and its militia arm, the Basij. Benefiting from hefty budgets,these state actors monitor social media platforms and often orchestrate “raids” leading to the arrest ofpeople criticizing the clerical establishment and security agencies or those “flouting morals and religious
values.” Beyond the state, queer individuals in Iran rely on online anonymity to evade hate crime, which
in many cases, although sanctioned by the state, is perpetrated by their relatives. […]The bill also aims to criminalize the development, reproduction, and distribution of the ubiquitous
methods Iranians use to circumvent censorship (VPNs and proxy software). A clause in the bill makes theuse of these tools punishable by up to two years in jail. Since the Internet is strictly censored in Iran,people heavily rely on these tools for accessing the most basic services, including secure online
communication tools, video sharing platforms like YouTube, and dating apps.
By creating a new criminal offense, which is likely to entail phone searches and online surveillance, the bill
will expose the LGBTQI community to higher risk of persecution.
Over the past couple of years, confiscation of electronic devices and unwarranted laptop and phone
searches have become the norm for Iranian security forces, even when arresting women for “disregarding
hijab rules.” The criminalization of VPNs would provide officers with additional legal justification to26

conduct such searches that have been known to create double or layered legal consequences and charges
for communities such as LGBTQI people.
VPN criminalization is also widely known to be a part of a wider policy of a multi-tiered system of Internet
access. The creation of “legal VPNs” has long been discussed by top officials such as President Ebrahim
Raisi. The policy would mean users are ranked based on their profession and proximity to centers of58
power and given different levels of access to the Internet.

The 2021 USDOS report on human rights practices in Iran, published in April 2022, stated that: “The law
does not prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity”.59 The samestatement is found in the 2020 USDOS report on human rights practices in Iran, published in March
2021.60
In a July 2022 country update for religious freedom in Iran, the US Commission on International
Religious Freedom (USCIRF) remarked that: “Iranian lesbians also have little legal recourse if forced bytheir families into heterosexual marriages where they are subjected to sexual relations with a man
against their will”.61
ARTICLE19 published a legal analysis in July 2022 on two supplementary articles to Book Five of theIslamic Penal Code (on Ta’zirat and Deterrent Punishments) along with five notes, added to the Islamic
Penal Code in January 2021, and their compliance with international human rights law. In reference to
Article 499 bis, which “imposes heavy punishments on anyone who ‘insults’ legally recognised religions,
Islamic branches, and Iranian ethnicities with the intention to cause ‘violence or tension’ in society orwith the knowledge that their conduct will result in ‘violence or tension’”62, the report wrote that:
Article 499 bis merely refers to ‘religions’ and ‘ethnicities’ in their abstract forms, without naming thegroups the prohibited expression is targeting or the protected characteristics. This failure to include all
the protected characteristics that appear under the broader non-discrimination provisions ofinternational human rights law – such as race, language, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation,
migration or refugee status, political or other opinion, and disability – is despite the fact that individuals
and groups with protected characteristics, including the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning,
and intersex (LGBTQI) community and migrants and refugees from Afghanistan, have faced systematic
63
hate speech over the past decades.

58

Atlantic Council, The Internet ‘Protection Bill’ will hurt all Iranians, but the queer community will have the mostto lose, 12 April 2022
59
US Department of State (USDOS), 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 12 April 2022
60
US Department of State (USDOS), 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 30 March 2021
61
US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Country Update: Iran - Religious Freedom in Iran in
2022, July 2022, p. 4
62
ARTICLE19, Legal Analysis: Iran: New Penal Code provisions as tools for further attacks on the rights to freedomof expression, religion, and belief, 6 July 2022, p. i
63
ARTICLE19, Legal Analysis: Iran: New Penal Code provisions as tools for further attacks on the rights to freedomof expression, religion, and belief, 6 July 2022, p. 17

27

The Center for Human Rights in Iran wrote in September 2022, quoting Iranian human rights lawyer
Saeid Dehghan, that: ““The crime of ‘promoting homosexuality’ is not mentioned in Iranian laws… At
most, the only law the authorities can base their accusations on is Article 639 of the Islamic Penal Code,which calls for a maximum punishment of 10 years for engaging in LGBTQ activities, not execution.” […]Meanwhile, the charge of “corruption on earth” is used in the Islamic Republic’s judicial system as avague catch-all charge to prosecute individuals for perceived political and cultural transgressions”.64
FIDH confirmed in a statement in September 2022 that: “The vague accusation of “spreading corruption
on earth” is frequently used in Iran to prosecute people accused of a broad range of offences”.65
The USDOS 2022 report on human rights practices in Iran, published in March 2023, stated that:
The law does not prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, orsex characteristics and does not recognize LGBTQI+ individuals, couples, or their families. The law
classifies gay men and transgender women as having mental disorders and, on those grounds, exempts
them from the otherwise mandatory service for male citizens. Military identity cards list the subsection of66
the law dictating the exemption.

The same or similar statements with regards to military service can also be found in the 2021 USDOS
report on human rights practices in Iran, published in April 2022,67 and in the 2020 report, published in
March 2021.68
Equality Now, the Centre for Supporters of Human Rights (CSHR), and Femena gave an overview of
Iran’s criminal laws and regulations within its submission in advance of the 139th session of the UN
Human Rights Committee. It stated the following with relevance to the LGBTQI+ community:
Articles 199 and 209 of Iran’s Islamic Penal Code provide that in cases of adultery and other sexual activity
and where diya37 is involved, the testimony of a woman is worth half that of a man.38 Specifically, Article
199 prescribes the standard of proof for testimony in all offenses shall be two male witnesses, unless incases of ‘illicit sex outside of marriage’ (‘zina’) or various forms of homosexual sexual activity either
between men or women (‘livat’, ‘tafkhiz’ and ‘musaheqeh’) where four male witnesses are required.39 To
prove zina, punishable by the hadd punishment40 of flogging, shaving [of head] and/or banishment, thetestimony of two ‘just’ men and four ‘just’ women are considered sufficient. If the punishment provided isother than the above, testimony of at least three men and two women shall be required. In such cases, if
two just men and four just women testify for the offense, only the hadd punishment of flogging shall begiven. Bodily offenses punishable by diya shall also be proved by one male witness and two female
witnesses. […]64

Center for Human Rights in Iran, UN, Governments Worldwide Must Speak Out for LGBTQ Activists Sentenced to
Death in Iran, 6 September 2022
65
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and League for the Defense of Human Rights in Iran (LDDHI),
Iran: Death sentence against two women for speaking out in support of LGBTQI+ rights, 22 September 2022
66
US Department of State (USDOS), 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 20 March 2023
67
US Department of State (USDOS), 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 12 April 2022
68
US Department of State (USDOS), 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 30 March 2021

28

37 Diya are fines imposed under Shari’a for certain crimes.
38 “Where, in financial claims such as diya for bodily offenses, and also in claims which are about claiming a sum ofmoney such as a negligent or quasi-intentional bodily offense which must be compensated by a diya, the private
claimant is unable to provide an admissible evidence which meets the requirements under Shari’a, s/he [still] canproduce one male witness or two female witnesses together with an oath and prove the financial part of his/herclaim.”
39 Zina is defined as illicit sex outside of marriage. Livat, tafkhiz and musaheqeh are defined as various forms ofhomosexual sexual activity either between men or women.
69
40 Hadd is a punishment for certain crimes as specified under Shari’a.

All Human Rights for All in Iran and eight other civil society organisations stated the following in theirreport to the UN Human Rights Committee ahead of its 139th session and periodic review of Iran:
Besides the criminalization of same-sex conduct, a number of other legal provisions directly impact on therights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Intersex, Queer individuals and other persons with diverse sexual
orientation, gender identity or gender expression (LGBTIQ+ individuals). This is the case in particular of
Iranian laws related to public decency. For instance, Article 639 of the 2013 Islamic Penal Codecriminalizes the facilitation or encouragement of “people to immorality or prostitution”. Article 6 of thePress Law (1986) prohibits the dissemination of material “which violates public chastity” including“forbidden practices” such as same sex relations. Similarly, Article 14 of Law on Computer Crimes
criminalizes the distribution of “immoral content”. Governmental-mandated organizations set up topreserve “public morality”, notably the Basij militia, reportedly harassed, arrested, detained and abused
LGBTIQ+ individuals on the basis of the aforementioned regulations. Similarly, law enforcement forces
have been reportedly arresting and detaining trans individuals for appearing cross-dressed in public, an
act considered haram (forbidden under Islamic law) until a ‘disorder’ could be medically and legally
established. Additionally, Article 638 of the 2013 Penal Code provides that all women must appear in
public wearing the mandatory hijab, a provision that has been reportedly used against both transgendermen pressured into wearing a hijab and transgender women accused of “cross-dressing” in public,70
regardless of whether their change in gender has been legally recognised.

6Rang wrote in a September 2023 report that:
Article 638 of the Islamic Penal Code provides that “women who appear without Islamic hijab in public
will be sentenced to imprisonment between 10 days and two months or payment of fine.” This law
applies to all women regardless of their religious beliefs, including Christian, Jewish, Zoroastrian, Baha’i,and atheist women, none of whose belief systems require hijab. Under current laws, all girls as young as
69

Equality Now, the Centre for Supporters of Human Rights (CSHR), and Femena, Information on the Islamic
Republic of Iran for its review by the Human Rights Committee at the 139th Session (09 Oct 2023 - 03 Nov 2023),
12 September 2023, pp. 8-9
70
All Human Rights for All in Iran, Association for Human Rights in Kurdistan – Geneva (KMMK-G), Association for
the Human Rights Of The Azerbaijani People In Iran (AHRAZ), Balochistan Human Rights Group, Iran Human Rights
Documentation Center (IHRDC), Impact Iran, Kurdpa, Rasank, and Siamak Pourzand Foundation, Alternative reportto the Human Rights Committee. For the periodic review of the Islamic Republic of Iran: Discrimination andviolence based on religion or belief, ethnicity and language, sexual orientation and gender identity, Human Rights
Committee, 139th session (Geneva), 9 October – 3 November 2023, September 2023, p. 16

29

seven – the age girls begin their formal education - are required to observe full hijab. As such, itconstitutes a zero-tolerance policy toward any lesbian women, trans women or non-binary persons whomay, for example, wish to cut her hair short, stop wearing hijab, wear androgynous or gender-neutral
clothing or clothing in a manner regarded as ‘masculine’.45
The same article authorizes judges to sentence those who engage in conduct that is “haram” [religiously
forbidden] or “offends public morals” to 74 lashes.46 This article has been used to punish those who‘cross-dress’ or simply act or behave against conformity with the social norms that are set in law. Similar
restrictions are faced by gay men, trans men, and non-binary persons who wish to express their gender
identity through make-up, ‘feminine’ dress, and mannerisms that are typically regarded as ‘feminine’. […]45 https://justice4iran.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Hejab-Report-JFI-English.pdf.
71
46 Ibid.

With regards to legal barriers in the media (non-explicit), the ILGA Database page for Iran summarisedthat:
In 2022, the Iranian Parliament submitted a bill for review entitled the Regulatory System for Cyberspace
Services Bill (2022). International human rights organisations have highlighted how this bill, should it bepassed into law, will have dire effects on the LGBTI community in Iran. The bill envisions tightened state
control over online spaces and aims to erode online anonymity while criminalising VPNs (Virtual Private
Networks), which are essential tools for circumventing online censorship. The bill also delegates control
over key communication infrastructure to armed forces and security agencies like the Islamic
72
Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) who have a history of targeted persecution of LGBTI persons in Iran.

The same database page listed that, to the best of ILGA World’s knowledge, “laws in force in Iran do notoffer protection against discrimination based on “sexual orientation”, “gender identity”, “gender
expression” or “sex characteristics”” in the provision of goods and services, in healthcare, in education,in employment, or in housing. The page also states that, to the best of ILGA World’s knowledge, “laws inforce in Iran neither aggravate penalties for crimes committed on the basis of “sexual orientation”,“gender identity”, “gender expression” or “sex characteristics” nor do they explicitly consider suchcrimes as “hate crimes””; that “laws in force in Iran do not prohibit incitement to hatred, violence or
discrimination on the basis of “sexual orientation”, “gender identity”, “gender expression” or “sexcharacteristics””; “laws in force in Iran do not regulate or restrict sexual orientation, gender identity or
gender expression change efforts (SOGIECE), regularly known as “conversion therapies””; and that “lawsin force in Iran do not restrict medically unnecessary interventions aimed to modify the sex
characteristics of intersex minors without their free, prior and full informed consent”.73

71

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), War on Bodies and Minds: Gender Persecution of LGBTIQ+
Protestors in the Context of the 2022-23 Iran Uprising, September 2023, p. 16
72
ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) Database, Jurisdiction: Iran, undated
73
ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) Database, Jurisdiction: Iran, undated

30

The page also notes that, to the best of ILGA World’s knowledge, “civil unions or marriage are not legallyavailable for same-sex couples in Iran” and that “neither joint adoption nor second parent adoption arelegally available for same-sex couples in Iran”.74
On legal gender recognition, on name changes and gender marker changes, the ILGA Database page for
Iran also details the following:
The National Organisation for Civil Registration is the state agency in charge of issuing national
identification cards and birth certificates in Iran. The Civil registration regulations allow both adults andemancipated minors to change their names. In the case of unemancipated minors, their legal guardians or
their father/grandfather may apply on their behalf.
However, Article 20 of the Civil registration Law (1976) states that “it is banned to choose names thatdiffer with or mislead to the gender” and “forbids anyone to change their name to another that does notcorrespond with their gender”. Subsection 14 exempts those cases where a competent court issued aruling to change an applicant's gender marker in their official documents and identity cards, but even so,
legal gender recognition remains unattainable for the majority of the cases, and thus gendered namechanges are by and large not possible. […]On 8 November 1987 the Legal Medicine Organisation of Iran sent a query to the Legal Office of the
Ministry of Justice asking for clarification on the legality of “sex reassignment surgery”. The response wasbased on various sections of Ayatollah Khomeini’s fatwa (a ruling on a point of Islamic law given by arecognised authority) entitled "Tahrir al-wasilah". In 1963, Khomeini had addressed the legal status ofintersex individuals and in 1968 he had expressed that his “view was contrary to prohibiting the changing,by operation, of a man’s sex to that of a woman or vice versa”. A separate story has also been widelyreported, about a trans woman who went to the residence of the Ayatollah directly to advocate for her
right to legal gender recognition in 1987. The Ayatollah issued her with a letter, which she used to accesssurgery and legal gender recognition in 1997.
The Iranian government has long interpreted this fatwa as requiring “sex (re-)assignment surgeries” ontrans persons, prior to accessing legal recognition. This decision was grounded on the idea that the “soulmust prevail over the flesh”, linking such medical interventions to the possibility of modifying the gendermarker. […] As such, access to surgery and legal gender recognition requires extensive screening frommedical, psychological, and government officials.
Over the following decades, Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), statutes and medical procedures progressively
developed to establish a path to recognise the rights of trans persons, such as in 2013, when Article 4 wasintroduced in the Family Protection Act (2013), stating that the Family Court has competence overdecisions regarding “sex reassignment”, and the General Legal Department of the judiciary issued
Advisory Opinion No. 4/8/92-1444/92/7 (2013) to clarify the legal process to obtain a gender marker
modification. It states that “before obtaining a sex reassignment surgery and applying for a change of
gender in identity cards, the applicant is first required to obtain court authorisation. When considering
the request, the court should refer the issue to the Legal Medicine Organisation of Iran (for examinations,
treatments and a gender identity disorder diagnosis), and based on the agency’s opinion and otherevidence, the court may resolve "as it considers appropriate”. After undergoing the court-approved
surgery, the applicant must approach the court again requesting an order for rectifying their gendermarker and name at the National Organisation for Civil Registration. Before rendering a decision, the74

ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) Database, Jurisdiction: Iran, undated31

court may require the plaintiff to undergo a body examination to confirm the “full completion of thesurgeries”. This procedure varies in each municipality, where there may be different specific legal
75
procedures not specified in the national guidelines.

b. Implementationi. Arrests
In September 2020, 6Rang released a research report on structural and social violence against LGBTI
people in Iran, based on a qualitative and quantitative online survey questionnaire shared on social
media. On the category of violence in the legal system, the research found that “12.6 percent (N:29)
reported they were arrested by the police because of their gender identity and expression, and sexual
orientation. […] Many participants, even those who have not experienced police persecution, reported
being in constant fear of being arrested by the police.”76 The report further wrote that:[…] the national police and paramilitary militia, known as Basij, regularly arrest, detain, and violently
abuse LGBTI individuals. These actions are not based on sexual behavior, but on a mere perception ofsexual orientation based on appearance and demeanor. It is noteworthy that this includes lesbian andtransgender women who disregard the mandatory veiling and other restrictive dress codes imposed on
women.10
Legal prohibition on the free expression of sexual orientation and gender identity goes beyond the public
spaces and controls behavior also in private spaces. These laws provide the police and state actors withthe excuse to raid private gatherings and parties where LGBTI people are reported to be gathering. They
arrest the people present in the absence of any proof of illegal activity and merely on the basis ofappearance and behavior.11 […]10 Ibid [6Rang “Submission UN Universal Periodic Review 34th Session Working Group”, Available at:https://uprdoc.ohchr.org/uprweb/ downloadfile.aspx?filename=6762&file=EnglishTranslation]
77
11 Ibid, supra note 1

In October 2020, IranWire reported on the arrest of three transgender Iranians because of Instagram
posts, writing that:Three people from Iran’s LGBTQ community who have large followings on Instagram have been arrested
by security forces and taken to Evin Prison, IranWire has learned.
The three detainees have been named as Meysam Valipour, Meysam Dehghani, and Alireza Asadi. All
three, residents of Tehran, had published explicit posts about their sexual orientation and gender identity,
as well as humorous content and posts critical of the Iranian regime.

75

ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) Database, Jurisdiction: Iran, undated
6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Hidden Wounds: A Research Report on Violence Against LGBTI
in Iran, September 2020, p. 10
77
6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Hidden Wounds: A Research Report on Violence Against LGBTI
in Iran, September 2020, p. 12
76

32

Although the main reason for the arrests of the three, who are in their early 20s, has not yet been
officially announced, unofficial reports hint that they have been targeted for these posts, which were
described as “going against the social norms” of the Islamic Republic.
A source close to the three, who asked not to be named for security reasons, told Journalism is Not a
Crime, IranWire’s affiliate website: "There was no reason to detain these people other than for their
posting of videos, photos and content related to sexual orientation and gender identity on their personal
pages. Two weeks ago, two of my friends were arrested at their home and taken to Evin Prison. My otherfriend was arrested three or four days ago. Two of these guys are transgender. I do not know anything
about the details of these detentions because their families will not speak. All I know is that they are in
Evin Prison now." […]Iran’s law enforcement unit, or NAJA, regards its remit as enforcing people’s adherence to both the law
and the moral principles of the Islamic Republic. In September 2020, the head of NAJA, Seyyed Alireza
Adiani, indirectly threatened people who defied these codes, emphasizing how much power and authority
Iran’s online police, or FATA, have to crack down on cybercrime and immoral behavior that goes against
the religious, cultural, and social values of the Islamic Iran.
FATA, he said, was a "presence on the battlefield” and pursued “jihad in the name of God."In recent years, as groups of people have expanded their networks and activities online, Iranianauthorities have expanded their operations too, setting out plans to further monitor, target and restrict
particular individuals and groups, including activists and influencers. As people encounter new ways tocommunicate and share information online, they also face greater pressure. Certain platforms and apps
have come under particularly fierce fire, and some authorities have repeatedly called for Instagram to be78
blocked or filtered.

Reporting on the murder of a non-binary gay twenty-year-old man, Alireza Fazeli Monfared, in May
2021, Amnesty International stated that: “Alireza Fazeli Monfared’s partner and a close friend of his
separately told the organization that, on at least one occasion, in August 2020, the authorities had
arbitrarily arrested and detained him for several days in connection with his Instagram account on which
he had posted videos of himself dancing, amongst other things”.79
HRANA stated in their 2021 annual report, published in December of that year, that: “In some cases,
security and law enforcement agencies acknowledge the detention and harassment of members of thiscommunity. For example, in June of this year, Reza Molouki, head of the FATA police [Iran’s cyber police]in the east of Tehran Province announced the identification and arrest of a citizen on charges of“corruption on earth”, calling his relationship with a homosexual illegitimate”.80
Amnesty International also reported in January 2022 on the arbitrary detention of gender nonconforming human rights defender Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani, known as Sareh, writing that:

78

IranWire, Three Transgender Iranians Arrested Because of Instagram Posts, 20 October 2020
Amnesty International, Iran: Murder of 20-year-old gay man highlights urgent need to protect LGBTI rights, 17
May 2021, p. 2
80
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Annual Report 2021: Annual Statistical Report of Human Rights
Conditions in Iran, December 2021, p. 54
79

33

[…] Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani, known as Sareh, is arbitrarily detained in the central prison in Urumieh solely
in connection with her real or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity as well as her social media
posts and statements in defence of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI)
people. The Revolutionary Guards arrested her on 27 October 2021 near the Iranian border with Turkey
81
while she was attempting to irregularly enter Turkey to seek international protection.

The February 2022 UK Parliament research briefing on LGBT+ rights and issues in the Middle East
remarked that: “Iranian security forces frequently harass, arrest, and detain individuals they suspect of
being LGBT+. House raids and surveillance on individuals and internet sites are common in efforts to
identify LGBT individuals”.82
In its annual report covering 2021 and published in April 2022, USCIRF noted that: “The Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) arrested a lesbian woman in November on charges including“supporting homosexuality””.83
BBC News remarked in an article in September 2022 that: “Over the past few years, a vibrantunderground LGBT movement has taken shape inside Iran, but this appears to have increased theauthority's hostility. […] there have been reports of people being arrested for using LGBT dating apps”.84
In December 2022, HRANA reported the following arrest:
On December 17, 2022, Raha Ajodani, a non-binary teenager, was arrested by security forces in Tehran
and reportedly transferred to a youth detention centre. […]An informed source told HRANA, Ajodani was arrested while leaving her home. The agents searched thehouse and confiscated some of her belongings.
“Since her registered gender does not match her gender identity, it is unclear in which section for boys or
girls, Ajodani has been sent, raising her family concerns,” this informed source added.
Despite frequent family inquiries, the reason for her arrest and the charges are unknown.
85
Earlier, on October 26, 2022, Ajodani was arrested at recent protests and released after a few hours.

Freedom House, in their annual Freedom in the World report for Iran, published in March 2023 on
events in 2022, recorded that: “In September 2022, a rights group reported that two LGBT+ activists had
been sentenced to death for supposedly promoting homosexuality. The judiciary confirmed thesentence but said the case was connected to human trafficking”.86

81

Amnesty International, Ill-Treated Iranian LGBTI Defender At Risk, 25 January 2022
UK Parliament, Research Briefing: LGBT+ rights and issues in the Middle East, 9 February 2022, p. 983
US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), 2022 Annual Report - Iran Chapter: Key Findings,
April 2022, p. 23
84
BBC News, 'I want to see the rainbow flag raised in Iran', 11 September 2022
85
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Iran Protests: Non-binary Teenager Raha Ajodani Arrested, 20
December 2022
86
Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2023: Iran Country Report, March 2023
82

34

The 2022 USDOS report on human rights practices in Iran, published in March 2023, stated that:“Security forces harassed, arrested, and detained individuals they suspected or perceived as being
LGBTQI+”.87 A similar statement can be found in the 2020 USDOS report on human rights practices in
Iran, published in March 2021.88
In June 2023, HRANA reported that: “In Tehran, five transgender citizens were arrested following aquarrel with a religious vigilante who targeted them for their attire. […] The incident unfolded when aself-proclaimed religious enforcer took it upon themselves to interfere with these citizens, citing thereligious duty of “enjoining good and forbidding wrong,” ultimately resulting in the arrest of thesetransgender individuals”.89
6Rang released a report in September 2023 on the gender persecution of LGBTIQ+ protestors in thecontext of the 2022-23 Iran uprising, based on inputs from seventy individuals. On arrests, the report
described the following:
From the 16th of September 2022 until February 2023, among thousands of people arrested were thosebelonging to the LGBTIQ+ community. The officials confirmed the arrest of 20,000 people27, but humanrights organisations believe that the actual number is much higher.
The evidence suggests the involvement of different units of the Islamic Republic Police (FARAJ), theIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and its Basij militia. The agents of the Ministry of Intelligence(VAJA) and their branches in education, healthcare, universities, factories, and government offices(altogether known as Herasat28) have also played a significant role in the crackdown in the streets orelsewhere where the protests were taking place. […]Mahan’s story shows how the authorities make an issue out of gender identity. He is a gay man from areligious city:
It was a few days after Mahsa Amini’s death. We were angry and angry and could not sit on ourhands and do nothing. Two of my friends and I decided to graffiti walls. We wrote Mahsa Amini's
name on walls all over the city; even on the walls of mosques.64
One night, when they finished work and were almost home, they were arrested by a few plainclothes
officers who attacked, handcuffed, and blindfolded them and forced them in a van with tasers andthreats.65
Although they were arrested over expressing their dissident in the form of graffities, they werequestioned about their gender due to their appearances while being handcuffed and blindfolded […]. […]The arrest of Mohammad Sadeghi, who was perceived as non-masculine by the authorities is an exampleof how the perceived sexual orientation and gender identity of a person can become an aggravatedelement in suppressing their right to freedom of expression.
On 16th of July 2023, Mohammad Sadeghi, a young actor, was arrested during a raid on his apartment inTehran by the Intelligence Organisation of the Police. He had posted a video on his Instagram accountradically criticising the policies of the government in reinstating the morality police ten months after thedeath of Jina Mahsa Amini, referring to a video of a woman being brutally arrested.68
87

US Department of State (USDOS), 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 20 March 2023
US Department of State (USDOS), 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 30 March 2021
89
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Five Transgender Individuals Arrested and Coerced into
Confession, 26 June 2023
88

35

Sadeghi used to post photos of himself on Instagram that challenged gender norms and binaries. He also
supported LGBTIQ+ persons who posed and took photos with the Rainbow flags in streets. […]Benyamin Ghaffari, a 20-year-old queer influencer was also arrested in January 2023 70 and detained in
Evin prison for posting in support of the 2022 protests. He was later released on bail.71 [...]
Sabri, a trans woman said, “in []83 November, I joined the crowd in Vali-Asr Street84 to express myprotests, and for freedom of expression and thoughts, not even the LGBTIQ+ rights which we are far away
from. While I had not set foot outside for four years due to health problems but [with killing Jina Mahsa
Amini, they did something that I could not be silent about].”85
Over seven security forces assaulted and arrested her:
They beat me even harder when they realised that I’m trans and that’s the reason for my hair
being long. They insulted me, insulted my mother. They used a lighter to burn my hair. They
touched me inappropriately. After that, I was put inside a van and taken to somewhere like apolice station. We were blindfolded and didn’t know where we were being taken. They kept
kicking us while our hands were tied. Our eyes were closed, and we didn't know where we weregoing. They kept kicking us with our eyes and hands tied. They didn’t know which detention
centre to take me to, men’s or women’s. Finally, they saw that I’m registered as male on my ID.86[…]
Dana, a 41-year-old trans woman who was arrested at night with about 50 other protestors in the city of
Karaj said that she was treated differently by the guards and other security forces in the detention centre.
[…] Erfan, a 35-year-old gay man, was raped repeatedly in detention. He was arrested after being
identified, together with his two other friends who were also LGBTIQ+ persons, by the authorities for his
involvement in a Telegram group that was used to organise street protests in their cities. The admin of the
Telegram group was arrested and information about the group members including Erfan and his twoother friends got into the hands of the IRGC. From searching his phone, they also learned that he sent
videos of protests to Vahid Online, a Telegram Channel and Twitter account that was one of the main
sources of news about the protests.102 […]Although they were released on bail or under the Supreme Leader’s Amesty’s order,111 or a combinationof both, their activities are still being monitored and the harassment and intimidation still continues in
one way or another. […]Story of Raha Ajoudani
Raha Ajoudani, trans influencer, blogger, and civil activist was 19 years old when she was arrested byagents from the Ministry of Intelligence on 26th of October 2022 in Tehran, at the location where she was
supposed to meet someone she was in love with. A few days earlier, she posted a video on her Instagram
page in which she said: “Each and every one of us knows this very well. As long as this government holds
power, it's a sword hanging over each of us. Any of us could have been Mahsa Amini. It could have been
any of us who were killed instead of Mahsa Amini."116“The reason I find myself on this path today is due to an incident that occurred when I was 12 years old.
At that age, during a Basij student camp, I was raped by a camp organiser who was a member of the
Revolutionary Guards. I reported the incident to the camp authorities and confided in my friends, butduring those days no one believed me. They accused me of hallucinating, attention-seeking, or attempting
to tarnish the reputation of the Basij. This experience led me to decide not to remain a victim and to strive
so that others would not go through the same ordeal.”117
On 26th of October 2022, 15 agents from the Ministry surrounded her, took her phone violently, andthrew her on the ground: “When I told them why are you arresting me so brutally, they said, ‘Don't
pretend to be a girl here, this isn't the place to stir our emotions with a feminine tone’. I said, ‘Why did
there have to be 15 people to arrest me? Am I a terrorist?’ They replied, ‘You're worse than a terrorist.

36

Why would someone who has connections with adversarial governments like the US and Israel is at least
not worse than a terrorist or an ISIS member?’
Their reference was to an open letter that I and a group of civil activists inside Iran had written to theUnited Nations Security Council [about the protests in Iran].” They took her to a Ministry of Intelligence
office in Baradaran Mozaffari Street and interrogated her for hours. They questioned her about the
involvement of the LGBTIQ+ community in the uprising.
They conditioned her release on her making a commitment both in writing and in front of a camera thatshe did what she did under the influence of foreign spies, and that she was wrong and would not engage
in any media activity and remain silent about her arrest. They prepared the text for her and made herwear her headscarf while on camera. They told her that she should wait a few days until they summoned
her again, and then released her.
On 17th of December 2022, Raha was arrested again during a raid to her home and by IRGC forces. […]27 https://www.npr.org/2023/02/05/1154584532/iran-acknowledges-it-has-detained-tens-of-thousands-in-recentprotests.
28 The Intelligence Ministry has set up Herasat divisions within all civil institutions and universities across the nation,
assigning them the responsibility of pinpointing potential security risks. Allegedly, Herasat representatives engage inmonitoring staff (such as overseeing their communications), serve as sources of information, and exert control overrecruitment and termination procedures. See: https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/irans-coerciveapparatus-capacity-and-desire. […]64 Interview with Mahan, July 2023 (his real identity is withheld for security reasons).
65 Ibid. […]68 Sadeghi was released on bail on 21st of August. At the time of writing, he is awaiting his trial: https://www.hranews.org/2023/hranews/a-43026. […]70 https://6rang.org/73777.
71 Ibid. […]85 6Rang Interview with Sabri, July 2023 (her real identity is withheld for security reasons).
86 Ibid. […]102 6Rang Interview with Erfan, August 2023 (his real identity is withheld for security reasons). […]111 https://apnews.com/article/iran-protests-and-demonstrations-government-ali-khamenei8560e45570321ad08ef75f1f743f9b80. […]116 https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=838481037407989.
90
117 6Rang Interview with Raha Ajoudani, August 2023.

In October 2023, Freedom House stated in its Freedom on the Net report for Iran that:
Prosecution of LGBT+ people over their online expression is prevalent and has increased over the years. In
October 2022, Iran Wire reported that three openly transgender Instagram users were arrested andtransferred to notorious Evin Prison in Tehran. The three had been targeted due to their social media
posts, which Iranian authorities described as “flouting social and religious norms.”219 According to the
Iran Prisoners Atlas project, they have since been released. […]219 “3 LGBTQ Instagrammers Arrested,” Iran Wire, October 20, 2020, https://iranwire.com/fa/jinac/42235

91

90

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), War on Bodies and Minds: Gender Persecution of LGBTIQ+
Protestors in the Context of the 2022-23 Iran Uprising, September 2023, pp. 10, 20-22, 25, 27-29, and 31
91
Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2023: Iran, 4 October 2023

37

The UN Human Rights Committee’s November 2023 concluding observations on the fourth periodic
report of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its implementation of the ICCPR stated that it is “concernedthat State actors frequently harass and detain lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals on thebasis of public decency laws”.92
ILGA World, in their updated November 2023 report on the enforcement of laws criminalisingconsensual same-sex acts and diverse gender expressions, gave the following examples in Iran:In a 2020 report by 6Rang, one person interviewed said “[m]y family gave me over to the police because I
am intersex”. No further details are known regarding this incident, but the intervention of the State topersecute an intersex individual is notable.283 The same 2020 report by 6Rang notes six additional
individual testimonies of violent arrest, though dates, locations and details of the victims’ detentions are
not known.284
In August 2020 a self-described non-binary gay man by the name of Alireza Fazeli Monfared, from
Khuzestan province, was arbitrarily arrested by police and detained for several days in connection tosocial media posts made by Monfared in which they were seen dancing and expressing themselves in a
way likely not in line with a masculine gender expression. […]On 20 October 2020 it was reported that three young social media “influencers”—two of whom seem tobe transgender—were arrested in Tehran and taken to Evin Prison for making posts online explicitly
discussing their sexual orientations and for publishing satirical content critical of the government. Further
details of their cases were not identified at the time of publication.286
On 27 October 2021, activist Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani was arrested by the IRGC again after attempting toleave Iran. She was accused of “illegally leaving the country” and “collaborating with hostile media”
because of an interview she did with the BBC. […]It was reported on 13 November 2021 that two men who had engaged in same-sex sexual activity weresentenced to death for “adultery”. The wife of one of the men requested clemency from the court, but
her father allegedly demanded the execution of his son-in-law for his behaviour. The court ruled in thefather’s favour, though the date set for the men to be hanged, and whether any actions for an appeal
might be open to them, were not clear at the time of publication.289 […]In July 2022, the Iranian intelligence organisation of the IRGC reportedly arrested Zahra Sedighi-Hamadaniagain, accusing her of “trafficking Iranian women into Iraq, promoting homosexuality, gambling, fraud,and promoting illicit sexual relations and publishing them on the Internet”.292 […]On 17 December 2022 a transgender teenager, was arrested as she left her home in the Shahre Rey areaof Tehran. The girl was taken to a juvenile detention centre, but her family expressed fear that as soon as
she comes of age, she could be transferred to a men’s facility and subjected to abuse there by theauthorities. At the time of writing, she had not been granted access to her family or a lawyer.295
On 19 January 2023 a non-binary blogger was detained, but released some time later, according to 6Rang.
The blogger seems to have been arrested for speaking out in favour of anti-government protests which
had spread across much of Iran in the preceding months. They made statements on social media
indicating that they expected to be arrested soon, and implied that if the authorities claimed they died ofsuicide or illness while in custody that this should not be believed.296 […]92

UN International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, Human Rights Committee, Concluding observations on
the fourth periodic report of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 23 November 2023, p. 3

38

283 6Rang, Hidden Wounds: A Research Report on Violence Against LGBTI in Iran (2020), 11.
284 Id., 11. […]286 This source contains personal names or images and has thus been redacted to protect the safety of those
involved. If you require access to this source for corroboration or for COI Research purposes, please reach out toresearch@ilga.org. […]289 “Ιράν: Γκέι ζευγάρι καταδικάστηκε σε θάνατο μετά από απαίτηση της οικογένειας” [Iran: Gay couple sentenced
to death at family request], Antivirus Magazine, 13 November 2021. […]292 This source contains personal names or images and has thus been redacted to protect the safety of those
involved. If you require access to this source for corroboration or for COI Research purposes, please reach out toresearch@ilga.org. […]295 “Iran: salvate Raha Ajudani, ragazza trans minorenne arrestata” [Iran: rescue Raha Ajudani, a minor trans girlarrested], Gay.it, 24 December ‫ ; “و ش نا سای ی جدی د م وج‬2022‫[ ” جام ع ه ای ن م قاومت و ل ج ی ب ی یت ا اف راد د س ت گ ریی‬The new wave of identifying and arresting LGBT people and theresistance of this community], 6Rang, 19 January 2023.
‫ “جام ع ه ای ن م قاومت و ل ج ی ب ی یت ا اف راد د س ت گ ریی و ش نا سای ی جدی د م وج‬296 ” [The new wave of identifying and93
arresting LGBT people and the resistance of this community], 6Rang, 19 January 2023.

1. Entrapment
The OONI, OutRight Action International, and the Citizen Lab’s August 2021 research report on LGBTIQ
website censorship in six countries set out the following on Iran:LGBTIQ individuals are targeted online with surveillance and harassment. This is especially the case since
the passing of Law No. 71063 on Computer Crimes of 2009, which significantly expands state surveillanceand censorship powers.345 Entrapment through dating apps is also a persistent concern. […]Evidence exists that members of law enforcement would pose as gay or trans people interested in“meeting up” to entrap LGBTIQ people, while those who were entrapped by police on dating apps (orcaught offering sex for money) are then used to entrap others.381 […]345 James Marchant et al., Breaking the Silence: Digital Media and the Struggle for LGBTQ Rights in Iran (Small Media,
2018): 92, https://smallmedia.org.uk/media/projects/files/BreakingTheSilence_2018.pdf. […]381 Houshyar, LGBT Rights in Iran; Shadi Amin (Director of 6rang, an Iranian Lesbian and Transgender network), as
94
discussed with the interviewer, August 27, 2020.

6Rang’s September 2023 report on the gender persecution of LGBTIQ+ protestors in the context of the2022-23 Iran uprising reported on the following case:
Navid is a 25-year-old gay man. His story demonstrates how the breach of the right to privacy of LGBTIQ+
persons in the context of the protests can result in further gender-based violations.75
Navid was arrested on suspicion of plainclothes security forces who he believed were IRGC [Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps]. He was taken to the university mosque, had his phone checked and security
93

ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) World, Our Identities Under Arrest: A
global review on the enforcement of laws criminalising consensual same-sex acts and diverse gender expressions,
30 November 2023, pp. 175-176
94
Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI), OutRight Action International, and The Citizen Lab, No
Access: LGBTIQ Website Censorship in Six Countries, 8 August 2021, pp. 82, 85, and 86

39

forces discovered that he was gay as a result of seeing his chats with his boyfriend. The officers thenforced him to add their numbers on his phone and solicited him for sex in exchange for indemnity.76 He
was then taken to Evin Prison and released on bail after 14 days. He has been subsequently sentenced to
two years imprisonment.77 […]75 6Rang Interview with Navid, July 2023 (his real identity is withheld for security reasons).
76 Ibid.
95
77 On the time of the interview, he was still waiting to be summoned to prison to serve his sentence.

2. Mistreatment in investigations
In their report on the state-sanctioned killing of sexual minorities in February 2021, Mai Sato andChristopher Alexander gave the following information of prosecutions for same-sex sexual conduct:
When prosecuted for same-sex sexual conduct, defendants often struggle to find a lawyer:
One of our biggest challenges in Iran is to find a legal representative . . . No one would like to doit. We had just a couple of lawyers who take LGBT case several years ago, and they had to escape
Iran and claim asylum . . . And the reason is that homosexuality is punishable by death in Iranaccording to Islamic punishment code. If anyone wants to challenge that rule, [they are deemed
to be] against this rule, therefore you are against Islamic rule, therefore you are against Islam,and therefore you are against God. That person [the lawyer] can be executed or killed for being
immoral or infidel . . . A lot of lawyers are reluctant to take those cases because they don’t want
to lose their license, they don’t want to be accused that they’re supporting LGBT causes. […]34
Judges have the power to sentence defendants accused of same-sex sexual acts to death with little
evidence. The evidentiary requirements for proving livat (penetrative sex between men) are varied, andmay include the confession of the offender, the testimony of four male witnesses who claim to havewitnessed the sexual act, or the ‘knowledge of the judge’ (Jafari, 2015:22). The latter is particularly
concerning, insofar as it ‘enables judges to rely on vague circumstantial evidence to determine whether acrime has occurred even in the absence of other evidence or in the presence of exculpatory evidence’(Ibid.) Our interviewees explained how this provision operates in practice:
A lot of time, that Article [knowledge of the judge] is being used, because there are [otherwise] a
lot of conditions [to prove the same-sex sexual acts… But if none of them exist, and the judge
thinks, ‘okay, you look gay, and it’s obvious for me that you are not a macho, patriotic man, I am
comfortable to sentence you.’ […]The ‘knowledge of the judge’ [may] be proved with some small, small evidence, [like] theatmosphere and environment of the case… […] Even if the accused stays silent and did notconfess, the judge may write something [like] ‘he had behaviour like a woman. Behaviour like an
LGBT.’ […]Because this [the prosecution of same-sex sexual acts] is so reliant on individual judges’
perception of a case, it is very arbitrary to find out where the sentence is coming from. There aresome constituencies and entities within the government that are pretty supportive of LGBT
issues, even though privately, [so] when it comes to individual judges and a lack of legal
precedents for these cases, you know, we see that the attack is arbitrary... […]95

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), War on Bodies and Minds: Gender Persecution of LGBTIQ+
Protestors in the Context of the 2022-23 Iran Uprising, September 2023, p. 23

40

34 A human rights lawyer who used to practice in Iran spoke about how the Iranian authorities were not happy withhim defending death penalty cases including sexual minorities, children, and women, which led to his eventual
96
departure from Iran […].

Amnesty International reported in January 2022 on the arbitrary detention of Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani(Sareh), giving the following details with regards to her treatment during detention and investigation:
Gender nonconforming human rights defender Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani, known as Sareh, is arbitrarily
detained in the central prison in Urumieh solely in connection with her real or perceived sexual
orientation and gender identity as well as her social media posts and statements in defence of the rightsof lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people. The Revolutionary Guards arrested her
on 27 October 2021 near the Iranian border with Turkey while she was attempting to irregularly enter
Turkey to seek international protection. Following her arrest, she was forcibly disappeared for 53 days. It
subsequently transpired that the Revolutionary Guards held her in solitary confinement in a detention
centre in Urumieh. During this period, she says a Revolutionary Guard agent subjected her to intenseinterrogations accompanied by verbal abuse and insults directed at her identity and appearance andthreatened to execute or otherwise harm her and take away the custody of her two young children. These97
acts violate the absolute prohibition on torture and other ill-treatment.

The February 2022 UK Parliament research briefing on LGBT+ rights and issues in the Middle East stated
that: “Iranian security forces frequently harass, arrest, and detain individuals they suspect of being
LGBT+. […] Those that are arrested are commonly subjected to torture and ill treatment in order toextract confessions and are denied the right to a fair trial”.98
Reporting on the sentencing to death of Zahra Sediqi Hamedani (Sareh) in September 2022, Hengaw
Organization for Human Rights emphasised that: “It should be noted that Zahra Sediqi Hamadani wasdeprived of the right to access a lawyer during her detention, and the security agents threatened her
with her execution and deprivation of custody of her two children besides verbal harassment and insults
to her identity and appearance”.99
Also reporting on the sentencing to death of Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani (Sareh) as well as Elham
Choubdar, another reported activist of the LGBT community, Amnesty International commented in
September 2022 that:
The proceedings leading to the women’s convictions and sentences were grossly unfair. Zahra SedighiHamadani was forcibly disappeared for 53 days following arrest. During this time, she was subjected toabusive interrogations without access to a lawyer, prolonged solitary confinement, homophobic insults,
96

Mai Sato and Christopher Alexander, State-Sanctioned Killing of Sexual Minorities: Looking Beyond the Death
Penalty, February 2021, pp. 39-40
97
Amnesty International, Ill-Treated Iranian LGBTI Defender At Risk, 25 January 2022
98
UK Parliament, Research Briefing: LGBT+ rights and issues in the Middle East, 9 February 2022, p. 999
Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Zahra Sediqi Hamadani, an LGBT community activist, was sentenced todeath by the Revolutionary Court of Urmia, 4 September 2022

41

death threats and threats to take away the custody of her children, which violate fair trial rights and theabsolute prohibition on torture and other ill-treatment. Amnesty International understands that Elham
Choubdar was pressured to make “confessions”. Moreover, the offence of “corruption on earth” fails tomeet requirements for clarity and precision needed in criminal law and breaches the principle of legality
100
and legal certainty.

The USDOS 2022 report on human rights practices in Iran, published in March 2023, stated that: “Those
accused of “sodomy” often faced summary trials, and evidentiary standards were not always met. The
Iranian Lesbian and Transgender Network (6Rang) noted that individuals arrested under such conditions
were traditionally subjected to forced anal examinations – which the United Nations and World HealthOrganization stated may constitute torture – and other degrading treatment and sexual insults”.101 The
same statements were found in the 2021 USDOS report on human rights practices in Iran, published in
April 2022,102 and their 2020 report, published in March 2021.103
In June 2023, HRANA reported on the use of forced confessions:
In Tehran, five transgender citizens were arrested following a quarrel with a religious vigilante whotargeted them for their attire. The footage of their coerced confession has recently been released by
security-affiliated media. […]The recently published video captures their forced confession, in which they express remorse for their104
behaviour and appearance. The identities of these individuals remain unknown at present.

6Rang’s September 2023 report on the gender persecution of LGBTIQ+ protestors in the context of the2022-23 Iran uprising gave detailed information on the following cases:
Mahan’s story shows how the authorities make an issue out of gender identity. He is a gay man from areligious city:
It was a few days after Mahsa Amini’s death. We were angry and angry and could not sit on ourhands and do nothing. Two of my friends and I decided to graffiti walls. We wrote Mahsa Amini's
name on walls all over the city; even on the walls of mosques.64
One night, when they finished work and were almost home, they were arrested by a few plainclothes
officers who attacked, handcuffed, and blindfolded them and forced them in a van with tasers andthreats.65
Although they were arrested over expressing their dissident in the form of graffities, they werequestioned about their gender due to their appearances while being handcuffed and blindfolded:
Even though I don’t appear out-of-the-ordinary, I could hear the officers say ‘these are girls. Why
have you brought them here?’ They meant me and my other friend who was a girl. One of theofficers came to me and asked if I was a girl or a boy. I answered, ‘isn’t it clear that I’m a boy?’100

Amnesty International, Urgent Action: Iranian LGBTI Defender Sentenced to Death, 15 September 2022
US Department of State (USDOS), 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 20 March 2023
102
US Department of State (USDOS), 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 12 April 2022
103
US Department of State (USDOS), 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 30 March 2021
104
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Five Transgender Individuals Arrested and Coerced into
Confession, 26 June 2023
101

42

This made him use derogatory terms to speak to me. They insulted and cursed me, and if I
responded to their insults, they would shock me with tasers. Amid humiliation and insults, theyeven told us to take off our pants to see if we are girls or boys!66 […]Confiscating mobile phones and other electronic devices of those arrested is a common practice for theIslamic Republic security forces.72 Detainees are usually forced to give the passwords of their devices
without a warrant and whatever is discovered on these devices can be used as evidence against them incourt. Those who are arrested during protests are no exception and the authorities may check theirphones and make decisions on whether to hold or release them based on what they find in theirmessages, photos, social media accounts, etc. LGBTIQ+ persons are the most vulnerable group; many
aspects of their private life are criminalised, and anything discovered by the authorities on their devices
that proves they had same-sex relations is incriminating.
Participants in this research experienced such violations to their right to privacy which later lead to extra
measures on deprivation of human rights because their sexual activities were criminalised. In addition to
being arrested during protests considered illegal by the authorities, they may face extra charges orpunishments due to their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression:
They searched my phone. They used my photos as an excuse to say that I have a mental andsexual illness or, as they say, I am trans. But I'm not trans [I’m gay], with all due respect to mytrans friends. But their sick minds see everything like this. It was as if the reason for my arrest had
been forgotten. The questions were only about my sexual orientation, sex, appearance, andbehaviour. They were trying to file a case against me. They kept asking if I’m a prostitute. They
asked whether this is how I got the cash that was in my wallet. This went on for hours. Finally,
they put papers in front of me and forced me to sign. It was written in the papers that I confirm
that I am transgender and have a mental and sexual illness. They said that my family must
approve this and sign the papers, otherwise they wouldn’t let me go. They kept us all night. In themorning, they called my family, and told them to sign for me and take me.73
The interrogators who belonged to the Intelligence Organization of the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps], according to the above’s father, deleted all his Instagram posts even his personal photos.74
Navid is a 25-year-old gay man. His story demonstrates how the breach of the right to privacy of LGBTIQ+
persons in the context of the protests can result in further gender-based violations.75
Navid was arrested on suspicion of plainclothes security forces who he believed were IRGC. He was taken
to the university mosque, had his phone checked and security forces discovered that he was gay as aresult of seeing his chats with his boyfriend. The officers then forced him to add their numbers on his
phone and solicited him for sex in exchange for indemnity.76 He was then taken to Evin Prison andreleased on bail after 14 days. He has been subsequently sentenced to two years imprisonment.77
Two of the participants of this research who had been detained due to taking part in the protests said thatthey believed their personal and home phones, as well as their activities on social media and even their
movement, are being heavily monitored by security forces since their release.78 […]All participants of this research who were arrested while exercising their rights to freedom of expression
or freedom of assembly experienced torture and ill-treatment, often aggravated by gender-based
violence and sexual abuse. These included the use of derogatory and insulting words referring to theirgender, being threatened with rape, physical torture, and physical sexual assault. […]Mahan, a gay man was arrested because of spray-painting ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ on walls. He wasblindfolded and taken to several places, presumably detention centres, where he was interrogatedrepeatedly for hours. He says that as soon as interrogators became privy to his sexual orientation due tohis appearance, they neglected the reason for his arrest.97 He was kept for questioning on the basis of his
identity:43

It was as if the reason for my arrest had been forgotten. The questions were only about my sexual
orientation, sex, appearance, and behaviour. They were trying to file a case against me. They kept
asking if I’m a prostitute. They asked whether this is how I got the cash that was in my wallet.
This went on for hours. Finally, they put papers in front of me and forced me to sign. It was
written in the papers that I confirm that I am transgender and have a mental and sexual illness.
They said that my family must approve this and sign the papers, otherwise they wouldn’t let mego. They kept us all night. In the morning, they called my family, and told them to sign for me andtake me.98
He believes that interrogators target LGBTIQ+ protestors: "They constantly threatened us with thepossibility of being raped in prison because of our appearance and identities. They would tell us that we
had been caught by good people and we were safe, since they hadn’t raped us. It was as if they
themselves openly admitted that they do these things with detainees and protesters.”99
Sabri, a trans woman was arrested during a protest in Tehran and also had the same experience of being
subjected to sexual insulting words and rape threats. She was placed under pressure and death threats tofalsely confess in front of the interrogators’ camera that she had set fire to trashcans.100 She was asked
who she had been collaborating with, where she had graffitied, etc. She and a few others refused toanswer. Consequently, they were transferred from an unknown detention centre to another location thatthey called a prison. She was taken to a square in Tehran and released a few hours later after the head of
the prison realised that she was trans: “I don’t know if he felt sorry for me, or he did not want a LGBT
person in his prison”.101
Erfan, a 35-year-old gay man, was raped repeatedly in detention. He was arrested after being identified,
together with his two other friends who were also LGBTIQ+ persons, by the authorities for his
involvement in a Telegram group that was used to organise street protests in their cities. […]After the 7-day interrogation process, they were transferred from the IRGC detention centre where they
were held in cells with only one inmate to a ward in the city general prison holding criminals with heavycharges. He and his friends were raped or otherwise sexually assaulted two to three times a day by theother prisoners for 20 days before being released. He believes that although those who identified andarrested him never mentioned anything about his sexual orientation, they knew about it and the guards
used it to humiliate and abuse him.103
For instance, they searched him and touched his chest and genitals every time he was being returned tohis cell after interrogation - an unusual process for a detainee returning from an interrogation room in thesame building while blindfolded.104 […]The impact of sexual abuse and gendered psychological abuse on LGBTIQ+ protestors after being released
is devastating. Erfan almost committed suicide twice. He said, “I attempted suicide twice after I was
released. I don’t know why but I had a lot of suicidal thoughts to the point where I was too scared tosleep. One of my friends who is a doctor told me to take a drug test, so I did. The test came back positive
for methamphetamine, amphetamine, and morphine. This was very interesting. My friend said this wasprobably why I was feeling suicidal.”106 He said it might’ve been in the tea or the food they gave us everyday. We had to drink the tea and eat the food. Whether it was in the food or the tea, I can say I had
withdrawal symptoms.”107 […]Raha Ajoudani, trans influencer, blogger, and civil activist was 19 years old when she was arrested byagents from the Ministry of Intelligence on 26th of October 2022 in Tehran, at the location where she was
supposed to meet someone she was in love with. A few days earlier, she posted a video on her Instagram
page in which she said: “Each and every one of us knows this very well. As long as this government holds
power, it's a sword hanging over each of us. Any of us could have been Mahsa Amini. It could have been
any of us who were killed instead of Mahsa Amini."116

44

“The reason I find myself on this path today is due to an incident that occurred when I was 12 years old.
At that age, during a Basij student camp, I was raped by a camp organiser who was a member of the
Revolutionary Guards. I reported the incident to the camp authorities and confided in my friends, butduring those days no one believed me. They accused me of hallucinating, attention-seeking, or attempting
to tarnish the reputation of the Basij. This experience led me to decide not to remain a victim and to strive
so that others would not go through the same ordeal.”117
On 26th of October 2022, 15 agents from the Ministry surrounded her, took her phone violently, andthrew her on the ground: “When I told them why are you arresting me so brutally, they said, ‘Don't
pretend to be a girl here, this isn't the place to stir our emotions with a feminine tone’. I said, ‘Why did
there have to be 15 people to arrest me? Am I a terrorist?’ They replied, ‘You're worse than a terrorist.
Why would someone who has connections with adversarial governments like the US and Israel is at least
not worse than a terrorist or an ISIS member?’
Their reference was to an open letter that I and a group of civil activists inside Iran had written to theUnited Nations Security Council [about the protests in Iran].” They took her to a Ministry of Intelligence
office in Baradaran Mozaffari Street and interrogated her for hours. They questioned her about the
involvement of the LGBTIQ+ community in the uprising.
They conditioned her release on her making a commitment both in writing and in front of a camera thatshe did what she did under the influence of foreign spies, and that she was wrong and would not engage
in any media activity and remain silent about her arrest. They prepared the text for her and made herwear her headscarf while on camera. They told her that she should wait a few days until they summoned
her again, and then released her.
On 17th of December 2022, Raha was arrested again during a raid to her home and by IRGC forces. All her
electronic devices were confiscated, her mother was intimidated not to break the news to media outlets
outside the country, and she was taken to Branch 8 of Shahr-e Ray Prosecution Office where charges werebrought against her. […]After 31 days of detention, she was released on a heavy bail of 20 billion Iranian Rials (approximately
473,000 USD). During 26 days of her detention, she was kept in solitary confinement in a clandestinedetention centre where other detainees and the guards were all men.
A day later, she was summoned again to the Prosecution Office to be informed about a travel ban issued
against her.
Branch 29 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court tried her on 24 June 2023, and sentenced her to a total of
two year and six months imprisonment; “I had to appear in court dressed and perceived as a man.”
The verdict also mentioned the defendant's sensitive circumstances, which referred to her gender. The
authorities felt it was inappropriate for her to be sent to the men’s prison because her gender expression
was that of a woman; it was also inappropriate for her to go to a woman’s prison because she was legallya man. Therefore, her sentence was converted into a fine of 740 million Iranian Rials (approximately
17,500 USD) which she is unable to pay. […]64 Interview with Mahan, July 2023 (his real identity is withheld for security reasons).
65 Ibid.
66 Ibid.
67 Ibid. […]72 https://cpj.org/2022/09/iranian-security-forces-step-up-arrests-of-journalists-as-anti-state-protests-spread.
73 6Rang Interview with Mahan, July 2023 (his real identity is withheld for security reasons).
74 Ibid.
75 6Rang Interview with Navid, July 2023 (his real identity is withheld for security reasons).
76 Ibid.

45

77 On the time of the interview, he was still waiting to be summoned to prison to serve his sentence.
78 6Rang Interview with Setare, July 2023 (her real identity is withheld for security reasons), and 6Rang Interview
with Mahan, July 2023 (his real identity is withheld for security reasons) […]97 6Rang Interview with Mahan, July 2023 (his real identity is withheld for security reasons).
98 Ibid.
99Ibid.
100 Inhaling smoke is a way to ease the impact of tear gas. Therefore, protestors set trash cans on fire. It was also
used to prevent security forces from getting to protestors.
101 6Rang Interview with Sabri, July 2023 (her real identity is withheld for security reasons). […]103 Erfan
104 After the first interrogation, Erfan was taken to a doctor in the detention center to be generally examined while
he was blindfolded: “I remember when someone took my hand and led me to the doctor down the hallway. On theway back, they turned to me and said, 'You're not very dainty.' I didn't say anything. When they took me to thedoctor, they said, 'Yes, Doctor, this one is also quite dainty. Be careful with this one.' The doctor performed a physicalexamination. As they were taking me to the cell, they said, 'Gosh, you're not very dainty at all.' I turned and said,'Goodness, you're not very decent either.” […]106 Ibid.
107 Ibid. […]116 https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=838481037407989.
105
117 6Rang Interview with Raha Ajoudani, August 2023.

ILGA World, in their updated November 2023 report on the enforcement of laws criminalisingconsensual same-sex acts and diverse gender expressions, wrote:
Persons with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities are often held arbitrarily for extended
periods, or sentenced on minimal or circumstantial evidence. It is also reportedly difficult for the accusedto receive willing legal representation from lawyers who may not want to associate with their cases, while
those that do are sometimes barred from their own clients’ trials. Judicial procedures remain opaque,with judges seemingly able to forego the traditional need for a confession or four male witnesses in a caseof same-sex activity, and rely on their own “discretional knowledge” to mete out the death penalty
instead.234 […]On 27 October 2021, activist Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani was arrested by the IRGC again after attempting toleave Iran. She was accused of “illegally leaving the country” and “collaborating with hostile media”
because of an interview she did with the BBC. Zahra was forcibly disappeared for 53 days after her arrest,
and was subject to extreme abuse in a detention centre in Urumieh from October to December 2021.287[…]
On 17 December 2022 a transgender teenager, was arrested as she left her home in the Shahre Rey areaof Tehran. The girl was taken to a juvenile detention centre, but her family expressed fear that as soon as
she comes of age, she could be transferred to a men’s facility and subjected to abuse there by theauthorities. At the time of writing, she had not been granted access to her family or a lawyer.295 […]234 UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions,
Philip Alston. Addendum: Communications to and from Governments, A/HRC/14/24/Add.1 (2010), para. 450; Iran
Human Rights Documentation Centre, Denied Identity: Human Rights Abuses Against Iran’s LGBT Community (2013),

105

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), War on Bodies and Minds: Gender Persecution of LGBTIQ+
Protestors in the Context of the 2022-23 Iran Uprising, September 2023, pp. 20-24, 26-29, and 31-32

46

21-22; Mai Sato and Christopher Alexander, State-Sanctioned Killing of Sexual Minorities: Looking Beyond the Death
Penalty (Monash University, 2021), 40. […]287 “Iran: UN experts demand stay of execution for two women, including LGBT activist”, OHCHR, 28 September
2022.
295 “Iran: salvate Raha Ajudani, ragazza trans minorenne arrestata” [Iran: rescue Raha Ajudani, a minor trans girlarrested], Gay.it, 24 December ‫ ; “و ش نا سای ی جدی د م وج‬2022‫[ ” جام ع ه ای ن م قاومت و ل ج ی ب ی یت ا اف راد د س ت گ ریی‬The new wave of identifying and arresting LGBT people and theresistance of this community], 6Rang, 19 January 2023.
‫ “جام ع ه ای ن م قاومت و ل ج ی ب ی یت ا اف راد د س ت گ ریی و ش نا سای ی جدی د م وج‬296 ” [The new wave of identifying and106
arresting LGBT people and the resistance of this community], 6Rang, 19 January 2023.

ii. Treatment in detention facilities
For further relevant information consult also section II., b., ii, 2. Mistreatment in investigations.
In January 2020, the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran wrotethat [Note that no date is provided for this incident, but is likely to have taken place between the date of
the previous report 18.07.2019 and the publication date of this report 28.01.2020]:
Another former detainee who was an activist for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights and forgender equality and who had spent 19 days in solitary confinement in ward 209 at Evin Prison informed
the Special Rapporteur that she was kept in a cell measuring 2m by 3m and could not talk to her family or
the outside world for the first 15 days of her detention. She was not allowed to have any books. In thebathroom, only hot water was available, and in her cell the lights were on 24 hours a day. She developed
an anxiety disorder that caused panic attacks, as a result of which she was taken to the prison clinic,
where she was given medication. Another person who was in solitary confinement in ward 209 reports
having been kept in such confinement for 83 days. For three weeks he had access only to the bathroom.
He could ring a bell to ask for assistance and, when taken to the bathroom, he was blindfolded. Duringthat period, he could not receive visits. His parents came every week but were sent back every time.
Another detainee who was held in solitary confinement in Zahedan Prison was not allowed to talk to his
107family for 30 days.

In January 2021, IranWire released an article on the experiences of and conditions for LGBT prisoners in
Iran. It wrote:
According to IranWire's findings, most LGBT prisoners are held in Evin Prison in Tehran province, detained
for alleged crimes from “nudity” or “feminine behavior” to recognized criminal acts such as robbery andfraud.

106

ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) World, Our Identities Under Arrest: A
global review on the enforcement of laws criminalising consensual same-sex acts and diverse gender expressions,
30 November 2023, pp. 170 and 176
107
UN General Assembly, Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran: Report of the Special
Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, 28 January 2020, p. 16

47

Prison is a frightening place for LGBT Iranians. The conditions in which they are held are just as bad as
those for people convicted of national security crimes. Long periods of solitary confinement and thedeprivation of their rights are, as always, just the beginning.
Up until March 2020, most known gay and transgender prisoners were being held on Ward 240 of Evin
Prison. Ward 240 is at the disposal of the Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic. It has several
storeys, and each floor features a long corridor from which there are several cells on each side. Each cell
has a small hatch, and at the bottom a small door, like that of a mailbox. There are two types of cells inthis section; smaller ones that are three and a half square meters each, and others that measure aroundeight square meters. Inside each is a basin and a shower, as well as a “window” close to the ceilingcovered with a metal mesh.
It is not possible to open the windows. No one can reach them. The gay and transgender prisoners of
Ward 240 were held in the eight-square-meter cells, often entirely alone for the duration of theirimprisonment, which could last for years on end. […]Transfer to the Basement of Ward One
In January 2020, after a flurry of reports were published pointing out the grim conditions these prisoners
were dealing with, most of them were abruptly transferred to the basement of a different building in
Evin.
Through the main gates of Evin Prison, across the green space and through to the other side of theadministrative buildings, stands a building known as Andarzgah (Ward) One. The ground floor is being
used as a quarantine space, where prisoners are held for at least two days, after which, depending on theconviction, they will be distributed across the rest of the complex.
But Ward One also has a basement. Past the guard’s room is a small door on the right that is always
closed, but leads 16 steps down to another small door, beyond which lies the land of the forgotten. For
years, the underground floor has either stood empty or held overflow prisoners for a limited period oftime. Since January 2020, it has instead housed the gay and transgender prisoners of the Islamic Republic.
The basement has no amenities. No outdoor space for breaks and exercise, no store to buy goods fromwithout the help of intermediaries. But there are cameras: at least three for every prisoner, according tothose who have been held. Aside from the surveillance, the only other relic of Ward 240 is the daily insults
and humiliation from the guards. […]One Ward One basement detainee, who recently went on leave, told IranWire that the absence of family
support made life in this miserable space even harder.
"We are imprisoned in these harsh conditions for a long time,” they said, “often for petty crimes involving
just one, private plaintiff. We were cursed with long periods of solitary confinement and now a life
underground.
“When we raise these issues with our families, they say this is what we deserve - and maybe even that108
this will correct us.”

In August 2021, ABC News reported on conditions at Iran’s Evin Prison after a group of hackers
reportedly leaked a series of videos showing torture and inhumane conditions, writing that:
The videos show prison officers beating inmates, stripping them naked for body investigations, anddozens of prisoners sleeping on floors due to a lack of beds in cells. […]With the videos going viral, former prisoners shared what they claim are their experiences of torture,humiliation and severe conditions. […]108

IranWire, Voices From the Basement: Gay and Trans Detainees on Life in Evin Prison, 9 June 2021

48

Arash Sadeghi, a prisoner who is on temporary sick leave from the prison, said the situation facing people
from minority groups, such as the LGBTQ community, is shocking. He said he believes the voices of suchgroups of prisoners never reach outside of the thick walls of Evin Prison.
"The LGBTQ prisoners' condition is so difficult that they have the highest number of suicide attempts
amongst all other prisoners. They are constantly insulted, humiliated and sexually abused by the prison
109
staff," Sadeghi told ABC News.

HRANA reported in October 2021 on conditions for and treatment of LGBTQ+ prisoners in detention in
Iran, stating the following:
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, there are about 15 inmates imprisonedon LGBTQ+ related charges in Wards 2 and 10 of Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj.
Ironically named the “cultural ward” by its residents, Ward 10 is where inmates convicted of crimes suchas robbery, murder and membership in ISIS are housed. Ward 2, known as “Dar-al-Quran”, houses
inmates convicted of violent crimes.
In contrast, the 15 LGBTQ+ prisoners being held in these notorious wards have largely been detained on
charges related to having consensual same-sex relationships, known as “Lavat”, which are forbidden
under Islamic Law.
“From the very moment they come to prison, (these prisoners) are harassed and intimated by inmatesconvicted of violent crimes,” an informed source told HRANA. “Some of them are still waiting for legal
proceedings after two to five years.” […]“Some of them have been long time held in prison without holding any court and conviction,” theinformed source added. “They are living in hard conditions worsened by the treatment of fellow
110
inmates.”

In January 2022, 6Rang reported on conditions for trans prisoners in Iran, writing that:
Leaked footage from Evin Prison, Tehran, shows the deplorable living conditions and treatment of transindividuals in the so-called ‘trans ward’, including inhumane solitary confinement, neglect and suicide.
Several videos were leaked by a group of hackers who had intercepted the prison’s CCTV system andrecorded scenes of violence, one of which was located at the underground of the Quarantine Ward, asconfirmed by 6Rang.
The horrifying living conditions depicted in these videos were overcrowding, lack of fresh air and sunlightand discrimination based on gender identity. Upon further research, 6Rang discovered that before theseprisoners are transferred to the ‘trans ward’, they were usually kept in solitary confinements in Ward 240,some for months or even years. They were essentially quarantined and had only been allowed in therecreational yard a handful of times in years. There are reports about the cramped conditions causing
physical ailments, such as issues with vision and bone problems.
Former prisoners who spoke up on social media after the leak talked of the sexual abuse they or theirfellow trans prisoners experienced. They pointed to this as a cause of suicide in Evin prison, another scenethat was shown in the footage.

109

ABC News, Iran to investigate videos showing torture, inhumane conditions in prison, 31 August 2021
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Fifteen LGBTQ+ Prisoners Being Held in Wards 2 and 10 of Rajai
Shahr Prison, 20 October 2021
110

49

Violence and harassment run rampant in Evin prison, both at the hands of the guards and otherinmates. One of the videos shows a physical fight between two prisoners with the guards standing to the111side and not acting to break up the conflict. The negligence in part of the prison is quite clear here.

Amnesty International reported in January 2022 on the conditions of arbitrary detention of Zahra
Sedighi-Hamadani (Sareh), writing that:
Gender nonconforming human rights defender Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani, known as Sareh, is arbitrarily
detained in the central prison in Urumieh solely in connection with her real or perceived sexual
orientation and gender identity as well as her social media posts and statements in defence of the rightsof lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people. The Revolutionary Guards arrested her
on 27 October 2021 near the Iranian border with Turkey while she was attempting to irregularly enter
Turkey to seek international protection. Following her arrest, she was forcibly disappeared for 53 days. It
subsequently transpired that the Revolutionary Guards held her in solitary confinement in a detention
centre in Urumieh. During this period, she says a Revolutionary Guard agent subjected her to intenseinterrogations accompanied by verbal abuse and insults directed at her identity and appearance andthreatened to execute or otherwise harm her and take away the custody of her two young children. These
112
acts violate the absolute prohibition on torture and other ill-treatment.

The February 2022 UK Parliament research briefing on LGBT+ rights and issues in the Middle East stated
that: “Iranian security forces frequently harass, arrest, and detain individuals they suspect of being
LGBT+. […] Those that are arrested are commonly subjected to torture and ill treatment in order toextract confessions and are denied the right to a fair trial”.113
Reporting on the sentencing to death of Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani and Elham Choubdar, Amnesty
International remarked in September 2022 that:
The proceedings leading to the women’s convictions and sentences were grossly unfair. Zahra SedighiHamadani was forcibly disappeared for 53 days following arrest. During this time, she was subjected toabusive interrogations without access to a lawyer, prolonged solitary confinement, homophobic insults,
death threats and threats to take away the custody of her children, which violate fair trial rights and theabsolute prohibition on torture and other ill-treatment. Amnesty International understands that Elham
114
Choubdar was pressured to make “confessions”.

6Rang’s September 2023 report on the gender persecution of LGBTIQ+ protestors in the context of the2022-23 Iran uprising commented on the following cases:
Mahan’s story shows how the authorities make an issue out of gender identity. He is a gay man from areligious city:
111

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Suicide and neglect: Trans prisoners treated worse than
animals in Iran’s most notorious prison, 10 January 2022
112
Amnesty International, Ill-Treated Iranian LGBTI Defender At Risk, 25 January 2022
113
UK Parliament, Research Briefing: LGBT+ rights and issues in the Middle East, 9 February 2022, p. 9
114
Amnesty International, Urgent Action: Iranian LGBTI Defender Sentenced to Death, 15 September 202250

It was a few days after Mahsa Amini’s death. We were angry and angry and could not sit on ourhands and do nothing. Two of my friends and I decided to graffiti walls. We wrote Mahsa Amini's
name on walls all over the city; even on the walls of mosques.64
One night, when they finished work and were almost home, they were arrested by a few plainclothes
officers who attacked, handcuffed, and blindfolded them and forced them in a van with tasers andthreats.65
Although they were arrested over expressing their dissident in the form of graffities, they werequestioned about their gender due to their appearances while being handcuffed and blindfolded:
Even though I don’t appear out-of-the-ordinary, I could hear the officers say ‘these are girls. Why
have you brought them here?’ They meant me and my other friend who was a girl. One of theofficers came to me and asked if I was a girl or a boy. I answered, ‘isn’t it clear that I’m a boy?’
This made him use derogatory terms to speak to me. They insulted and cursed me, and if I
responded to their insults, they would shock me with tasers. Amid humiliation and insults, theyeven told us to take off our pants to see if we are girls or boys!66 […]All participants of this research who were arrested while exercising their rights to freedom of expression
or freedom of assembly experienced torture and ill-treatment, often aggravated by gender-based
violence and sexual abuse. These included the use of derogatory and insulting words referring to theirgender, being threatened with rape, physical torture, and physical sexual assault.
Kamran, a gay man who was arrested at a protest in a southern city described the condition as follows:
When we were in detention, they didn't give us any food for almost 24 hours. We were sofrightened that we didn't even dare to ask for water. Until morning, they were kicking the metaldoor, there were 24 of us in a small detention centre where we couldn't even stretch our legs, andthey constantly demanded that we stand up.
After that, they transferred us from our hometown to the prison in Bushehr which was about a 3hour drive away (300 kilometres), we were in a van with metal walls and no windows in thesouthern heat. They didn't even open a ventilation duct.
Our hands were bound with plastic handcuffs, and they insulted us. The space was so small andthey intentionally wafted unpleasant smells from the handcuffs towards our faces, just to makeus lose our balance. (I can say that for the first two days in prison, my leg was so injured that I
couldn't feel it.)95
Dana, a 41-year-old trans woman who was arrested at night with about 50 other protestors in the city of
Karaj said that she was treated differently by the guards and other security forces in the detention centre.
While everyone was severely beaten, they also used vulgar terms against her such as bacheh kouni (battyboy) that referred to her gender.96
Mahan, a gay man was arrested because of spray-painting ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ on walls. He wasblindfolded and taken to several places, presumably detention centres, where he was interrogatedrepeatedly for hours. He says that as soon as interrogators became privy to his sexual orientation due tohis appearance, they neglected the reason for his arrest.97 He was kept for questioning on the basis of his
identity:
It was as if the reason for my arrest had been forgotten. The questions were only about my sexual
orientation, sex, appearance, and behaviour. They were trying to file a case against me. They kept
asking if I’m a prostitute. They asked whether this is how I got the cash that was in my wallet.
This went on for hours. Finally, they put papers in front of me and forced me to sign. It was
written in the papers that I confirm that I am transgender and have a mental and sexual illness.
They said that my family must approve this and sign the papers, otherwise they wouldn’t let me51

go. They kept us all night. In the morning, they called my family, and told them to sign for me andtake me.98
He believes that interrogators target LGBTIQ+ protestors: "They constantly threatened us with thepossibility of being raped in prison because of our appearance and identities. They would tell us that we
had been caught by good people and we were safe, since they hadn’t raped us. It was as if they
themselves openly admitted that they do these things with detainees and protesters.”99
Sabri, a trans woman was arrested during a protest in Tehran and also had the same experience of being
subjected to sexual insulting words and rape threats. She was placed under pressure and death threats tofalsely confess in front of the interrogators’ camera that she had set fire to trashcans.100 She was asked
who she had been collaborating with, where she had graffitied, etc. She and a few others refused toanswer. Consequently, they were transferred from an unknown detention centre to another location thatthey called a prison. She was taken to a square in Tehran and released a few hours later after the head of
the prison realised that she was trans: “I don’t know if he felt sorry for me, or he did not want a LGBT
person in his prison”.101
Erfan, a 35-year-old gay man, was raped repeatedly in detention. He was arrested after being identified,
together with his two other friends who were also LGBTIQ+ persons, by the authorities for his
involvement in a Telegram group that was used to organise street protests in their cities. The admin of the
Telegram group was arrested and information about the group members including Erfan and his twoother friends got into the hands of the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps]. From searching his
phone, they also learned that he sent videos of protests to Vahid Online, a Telegram Channel and Twitter
account that was one of the main sources of news about the protests.102
After the 7-day interrogation process, they were transferred from the IRGC detention centre where they
were held in cells with only one inmate to a ward in the city general prison holding criminals with heavycharges. He and his friends were raped or otherwise sexually assaulted two to three times a day by theother prisoners for 20 days before being released. He believes that although those who identified andarrested him never mentioned anything about his sexual orientation, they knew about it and the guards
used it to humiliate and abuse him.103
For instance, they searched him and touched his chest and genitals every time he was being returned tohis cell after interrogation - an unusual process for a detainee returning from an interrogation room in thesame building while blindfolded.104 He also said the fact that they put him and his friend in thatparticular ward implied they knew about their sexual orientation and wanted to punish them for it.105
The impact of sexual abuse and gendered psychological abuse on LGBTIQ+ protestors after being released
is devastating. Erfan almost committed suicide twice. He said, “I attempted suicide twice after I was
released. I don’t know why but I had a lot of suicidal thoughts to the point where I was too scared tosleep. One of my friends who is a doctor told me to take a drug test, so I did. The test came back positive
for methamphetamine, amphetamine, and morphine. This was very interesting. My friend said this wasprobably why I was feeling suicidal.”106 He said it might’ve been in the tea or the food they gave us everyday. We had to drink the tea and eat the food. Whether it was in the food or the tea, I can say I had
withdrawal symptoms.”107 […]Raha Ajoudani, trans influencer, blogger, and civil activist was 19 years old when she was arrested byagents from the Ministry of Intelligence on 26th of October 2022 in Tehran, at the location where she was
supposed to meet someone she was in love with. A few days earlier, she posted a video on her Instagram
page in which she said: “Each and every one of us knows this very well. As long as this government holds
power, it's a sword hanging over each of us. Any of us could have been Mahsa Amini. It could have been
any of us who were killed instead of Mahsa Amini."11652

“The reason I find myself on this path today is due to an incident that occurred when I was 12 years old.
At that age, during a Basij student camp, I was raped by a camp organiser who was a member of the
Revolutionary Guards. I reported the incident to the camp authorities and confided in my friends, butduring those days no one believed me. They accused me of hallucinating, attention-seeking, or attempting
to tarnish the reputation of the Basij. This experience led me to decide not to remain a victim and to strive
so that others would not go through the same ordeal.”117 […]They took her to a Ministry of Intelligence office in Baradaran Mozaffari Street and interrogated her forhours. They questioned her about the involvement of the LGBTIQ+ community in the uprising.
They conditioned her release on her making a commitment both in writing and in front of a camera thatshe did what she did under the influence of foreign spies, and that she was wrong and would not engage
in any media activity and remain silent about her arrest. They prepared the text for her and made herwear her headscarf while on camera. They told her that she should wait a few days until they summoned
her again, and then released her.
On 17th of December 2022, Raha was arrested again during a raid to her home and by IRGC forces. […]“The accusations included insulting Islamic sanctities, engaging in propaganda against the system, callingfor people to wage war and commit murder to disrupt national security, and allegedly collaborating withadversarial governments. Then they asked for an explanation, and I said, ‘I didn't incite anyone to war or
murder.’ They showed me a video related to Mahsa Amini that had been published by me. I asked,‘Where do you see in this video that I'm inciting violence and murder?’ They replied, ‘Just the fact thatyou're calling for nationwide protests is enough for that purpose.’ At that point, they told me, ‘You're nota woman; why is your hair so long?’ Then they sent a female police officer who pulled my hair to see if it
was real or fake.” […]During 26 days of her detention, she was kept in solitary confinement in a clandestine detention centre
where other detainees and the guards were all men.
A day later, she was summoned again to the Prosecution Office to be informed about a travel ban issued
against her. […]Branch 29 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court tried her on 24 June 2023, and sentenced her to a total of
two year and six months imprisonment; “I had to appear in court dressed and perceived as a man.” […]64 Interview with Mahan, July 2023 (his real identity is withheld for security reasons).
65 Ibid.
66 Ibid.
67 Ibid. […]95 6Rang Interview with Kamran, June 2023 (his real identity is withheld for security reasons).
96 6Rang Interview with Dana, July 2023 (her real identity is withheld for security reasons).
97 6Rang Interview with Mahan, July 2023 (his real identity is withheld for security reasons).
98 Ibid.
99Ibid.
100 Inhaling smoke is a way to ease the impact of tear gas. Therefore, protestors set trash cans on fire. It was also
used to prevent security forces from getting to protestors.
101 6Rang Interview with Sabri, July 2023 (her real identity is withheld for security reasons).
102 6Rang Interview with Erfan, August 2023 (his real identity is withheld for security reasons).
103 Erfan
104 After the first interrogation, Erfan was taken to a doctor in the detention center to be generally examined while
he was blindfolded: “I remember when someone took my hand and led me to the doctor down the hallway. On theway back, they turned to me and said, 'You're not very dainty.' I didn't say anything. When they took me to thedoctor, they said, 'Yes, Doctor, this one is also quite dainty. Be careful with this one.' The doctor performed a physical53

examination. As they were taking me to the cell, they said, 'Gosh, you're not very dainty at all.' I turned and said,'Goodness, you're not very decent either.”
105 Ibid.
106 Ibid.
107 Ibid. […]116 https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=838481037407989.
115
117 6Rang Interview with Raha Ajoudani, August 2023.

The UN Human Rights Committee’s November 2023 concluding observations on the fourth periodic
report of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its implementation of the ICCPR stated that it is “concernedthat State actors frequently harass and detain lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals on thebasis of public decency laws and subject such persons to torture and ill-treatment while they are in
detention”.116

iii. Prosecutions and convictions under laws that are deployed against
the LGBTQI+ community (or those perceived as supporting the
LGBTQI community)
In February 2020, 6Rang noted, in a response to a 2019 official report by the Dutch government on thesituation of Iranian LGBT persons, that: “there is no information published about many cases and they
are buried due to a lack of transparency and respect for due process and because of the regime’s
success in oppressing these victims and stopping them from making their case public”.117 The response
continued:
A lack of respect for due process is the reason why these sentences are not published; theregime conceals its human rights violations. In addition to no transparency, those charged with the crimeof Lavat (sodomy) do not have the right to legal representation or attorney. The regime of Iran always
labels these cases as Lavat-e Be-Onf or sodomy by force or rape—alleging the one party forced the other.
The regime does this by offering a less severe sentence for one of the parties in exchange for the
confession that he was forced into the same-sex intercourse by the other party. In other words, they offer
one of the parties a deal in exchange for a false confession that he did not consent to the sexual conduct.
This makes the case appear non-consensual and stops human rights organisations from fighting against
the criminalisation and punishment of consensual same-sex conduct using this case. However, in thesecases, there is not proof or documentation, whatsoever, of any force being applied by one party to theother, or vice versa, in the sexual relation. These same-sex sexual conducts are almost always with the118
consent of both parties.
115

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), War on Bodies and Minds: Gender Persecution of LGBTIQ+
Protestors in the Context of the 2022-23 Iran Uprising, September 2023, pp. 20-21, 27-29, and 31-32
116
UN International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, Human Rights Committee, Concluding observations on
the fourth periodic report of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 23 November 2023, p. 3
117
6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), 6Rang letter to Dutch government regarding its asylum policy
for Iranian LGBTQI, 11 February 2020
118
6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), 6Rang letter to Dutch government regarding its asylum policy
for Iranian LGBTQI, 11 February 2020

54

Erasing 76 Crimes reported in July 2020 that a “top Iranian aide has been charged with “spreading moral
corruption” for sharing a cartoon online that showed loving lesbian and gay parents”.119 The article
further wrote, quoting 6Rang, that:
Iranian president’s special assistant for citizenship rights, Shahindokht Molaverdi, has been charged with“spreading moral corruption and depravity” after she “accidentally” authorised the publication of arainbow family infographic.
Following a complaint by the security and judicial authorities, the Culture and Media Court filed anindictment against Molaverdi. According to Fars News Agency, one of the three charges against is“spreading moral corruption and depravity” and providing the means for this sort of behaviour.
Earlier [on May 15], on the occasion of World Family Day, Molaverdi posted a photo on her Telegram
channel, in which there were two illustrations of same-sex couples. Subsequently, Mashregh News
published screenshots of this post from Molaverdi’s Telegram and wrote: “on the occasion of World
Family Day, Molaverdi has published a post on her Telegram that depicts the deviant and reprehensible
homosexual families made up of two women and a child and two men and a child.”
In response to this report and waves of attacks on social media, Molaverdi said she had accidentally120
posted the image on her Telegram channel and quickly deleted it afterwards.

DW reported in December 2020 on the sentencing of a British-Iranian social researcher:
Iran sentenced British-Iranian researcher Kameel Ahmady to nine years in prison on Sunday, Iranian news
agency Tasnim reported. […]The anthropologist and social researcher was convicted of conducting "subversive" research work. He wasalso fined €600,000 ($727,000), which, according to Iranian amount authorities, is the amount heallegedly received for his research by institutions accused of trying to toppled [sic] the Iranian regime. […]The report by Tasnim said Ahmady had been charged with cooperating with European embassies forpromoting homosexuality, visiting Israel, cooperation and communication with foreign and hostile media,
infiltration, and sending false reports about the country to the United Nation’s special rapporteur on
121human rights in Iran.

In their report on the state-sanctioned killing of sexual minorities in February 2021, Mai Sato andChristopher Alexander wrote that:[…] based on our research, it is almost impossible to determine, or even estimate with any accuracy, thenumber of executions carried out for same-sex sexual conduct:
The lack of transparency and lack of due process that makes it very difficult to figure out what ishappening in Iran’s criminal justice [system], and in particular for crimes such as this one [samesex sexual conduct], where the state tries to hide it from the international community. […][The] Iranian regime always change[s] the story… and it makes our organisation and activists’jobs more difficult to prove what exactly happened. […]119

Erasing 76 Crimes, Iran official charged for cartoon of loving same-sex parents, 18 July 2020
Erasing 76 Crimes, Iran official charged for cartoon of loving same-sex parents, 18 July 2020
121
Deutsche Welle (DW), Iran jails British-Iranian researcher for 'subversive' work, 14 December 2020
120

55

In addition to the government and the criminal justice system, the public is reluctant to speak on thisissue. […] data concerning cases involving sexual minorities are difficult to collect: ‘because of thetransphobic and homophobic culture, [families] don’t want to contact the media or human rights
122
organisations’ […].

Amnesty International stated in their 2021 annual report on human rights in 2020 that, in Iran: “At least
160 people were sentenced to flogging, according to the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, for theft andassault as well as for acts that are protected under international human rights law, such as participatingin peaceful protests, engaging in extramarital or consensual same-sex relationships and attending
mixed-gender parties. In many cases, flogging sentences were carried out”.123
In April 2021, USCIRF reported in its annual report covering 2020 that: “Iran invokes its interpretation of
Shari’a to justify religious freedom violations against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex(LGBTI) community and actively executes LGBTI people for their sexual identity”.124 Similarly in its 2022
annual report covering 2021, USCIRF wrote that: “Iran actively executes people who engage in same-sex
relations, citing religious grounds”.125
According to IHR in July 2021, “Farhad Najafi and Ali Ahmadi who had been sentenced to death for therape of a man, have been executed in Maragheh Prison” on the morning of 5 July.126
Amnesty International reported in January 2022 on the arbitrary detention of Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani(Sareh), writing that:
Gender nonconforming human rights defender Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani, known as Sareh, is arbitrarily
detained in the central prison in Urumieh solely in connection with her real or perceived sexual
orientation and gender identity as well as her social media posts and statements in defence of the rightsof lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people. The Revolutionary Guards arrested her
on 27 October 2021 near the Iranian border with Turkey while she was attempting to irregularly enter
Turkey to seek international protection. […]On 16 January 2022, Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani was brought before the lead investigator of Branch 6 of the
Office of the Revolutionary and Public Prosecutor in Urumieh who informed her that she is accused of“spreading corruption on earth” including through “promoting homosexuality”, “communication with
anti-Islamic Republic media channels” and “promoting Christianity”. The first two accusations stem fromher public defence of LGBTI rights, including on her social media platforms and in an appearance in a BBC
documentary aired in May 2021 about the abuses that LGBTI people suffer in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
122

Mai Sato and Christopher Alexander, State-Sanctioned Killing of Sexual Minorities: Looking Beyond the Death
Penalty, February 2021, p. 42
123
Amnesty International, Amnesty International Report 2020/21: The state of the world’s human rights, 7 April
2021, p. 192
124
US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), 2021 Annual Report - Iran Chapter: Key Findings,
April 2021, p. 26
125
US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), 2022 Annual Report - Iran Chapter: Key Findings,
April 2022, p. 23
126
Iran Human Rights (IHR), Farhad Najafi and Ali Ahmadi Executed on Rape Charges in Maragheh, 8 July 2021

56

According to information obtained by Amnesty International, the latter accusation is for wearing a crossnecklace and attending a house church in Iran several years ago. Her case has since been referred to the127head of the Office of the Revolutionary and Public Prosecutor in Urumieh to issue a formal indictment.

At the beginning of February 2022, HRANA reported that: “On the morning of January 30, two inmatesaccused of and convicted for “forced sodomy” were executed in Maragheh Central Prison. […] theexecuted inmates were Mehrdad (Akbar) Karimpour, age 32, and Farid Mohammadi. Six years ago, they
were arrested, accused of forcible sodomy, and subsequently sentenced to death”.128
The USDOS 2021 report on human rights practices in Iran, published in April 2022, stated that:“Punishment for same-sex sexual activity between men was more severe than between women”.129 The
same statement is found in the USDOS 2020 report on human rights practices in Iran, published in
March 2021.130
In July 2022, the UN Special Rapporteur wrote in the UN report on the situation of human rights in Iran
that: “With regard to sexual minorities, in February 2022 two men were executed after being convicted
on charges of sodomy. The two had spent six years on death row”.131
In its July 2022 country update for religious freedom in Iran, USCIRF also wrote that: “Iran is one of ahandful of countries that actively executes gay men for same sex intercourse. In January, Iran hanged
Mehrdad Karimpou and Farid Mohammad at Maragheh Prison on sodomy charges. In June, Iran hanged
Iman Safari Rad, on sodomy charges at Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj”.132
On 4 September 2022, Hengaw Organization for Human Rights reported that:
Zahra Sediqi Hamedani, known as "Sareh", 31, from Naqadeh, and Elham Chubdar, 24, from Urmia, bothactivists of the LGBT community, were sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court of Urmia in a joint
case on the charge of "Corruption on Earth" through the promoting homosexuality.
According to the report received by Hengaw Human Rights Organization, the sentence has beenannounced to them in the past few days in the women's ward of Urmia Central Prison.
The two activists of the LGT community were accused by the Urmia Public Prosecutor's Office on Sunday,
January 16, 2022, of "Corruption on Earth" through "promoting homosexuality", "promoting Christianity",133
and "communicating with the media opposing the Islamic Republic".
127

Amnesty International, Ill-Treated Iranian LGBTI Defender At Risk, 25 January 2022
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Two Inmates Executed in Maragheh Central Prison, 3 February
2022
129
US Department of State (USDOS), 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 12 April 2022
130
US Department of State (USDOS), 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 30 March 2021
131
UN General Assembly, Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran: Report of the Special
Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Javaid Rehman, 18 July 2022, p. 7
132
US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Country Update: Iran - Religious Freedom in Iranin 2022, July 2022, p. 4
133
Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Zahra Sediqi Hamadani, an LGBT community activist, was sentenced todeath by the Revolutionary Court of Urmia, 4 September 2022
128

57

Referring to the same sentencing, BBC News wrote in September 2022 that “"This is the first time that awoman has been sentenced to death in Iran for her sexual orientation," spokeswoman Shadi Amin
[director of 6Rang] told AFP news agency”.134
In reference to the same case, ARTICLE19 wrote in September 2022 that “the cases of Zahra (Sareh)
Seddiqi-Hamedani and Elham Choubdar also show how anti LGBTQI laws are repeatedly combined withother penal laws (such as ‘corruption on earth’) to create multiple charges and garner the highest
sentences possible”.135
While reporting also on the same case, BBC News noted in September 2022 that: “According to Iranianactivists, at least four other people have been executed for being gay in the last 12 months, two of themas recently as June” but that “The use of the same tactic with two LGBT women marks a new departure.
Sex between women is not punishable with the death sentence, but with up to 100 flogs”.136
Amnesty International posted a campaign on 15 September 2022 related to the same court case. It
stated that:
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) rights defender Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani, 31,
known as Sareh, and another woman, Elham Choubdar, 24, were sentenced to death after the
Revolutionary Court in Urumieh, West Azerbaijan province, tried them in early August 2022 andsubsequently convicted them of “corruption on earth.” Official statements, state media reports, andstatements made by prosecution officials to Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani since her arrest in October 2021
indicate that she was targeted for discriminatory reasons tied to her real or perceived sexual orientation
and/or gender identity, as well as her peaceful LGBTI rights activism, including on social media, and her
association with LGBTI asylum seekers in Iraq. On 18 July 2022, state media affiliated with the
Revolutionary Guards aired a homophobic video portraying Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani as a “criminal” forpublishing online content which “promoted homosexuality” and “challenged the stigma around religiously
forbidden [namashrou] sexual relations”. The propaganda video linked Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani’s peacefulonline LGBTI rights activism to unfounded accusations of “gambling” and “smuggling women and girls
from Iran to Erbil [Iraq]” in a bid to vilify her. Court documents and other information reviewed byAmnesty International indicate that Elham Choubdar was similarly targeted for discriminatory reasons
related to her real or perceived sexual orientation and/or gender identity, LGBTI supportive activities on137
social media, and association with Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani.

Similarly, FIDH reported in September 2022 on the death sentence given to the two women for speaking
in support of LGBTQI+ rights. It stated that:134

BBC News, Iran sentences two LGBT activists to death, 6 September 2022
ARTICLE19, Iran: Death sentences for LGBTQI activists must be immediately overturned, 8 September 2022
136
BBC News, 'I want to see the rainbow flag raised in Iran', 11 September 2022
137
Amnesty International, Urgent Action: Iranian LGBTI Defender Sentenced to Death, 15 September 2022
135

58

On August 10, 2022, the Islamic Revolution Court of Urmia, West Azerbaijan Province, tried LGBTQI+
rights defender Ms. Zahra (aka Sareh) Sedighi Hamedani and Ms. Elham Chubdar, another woman active
on LGBTQI+ matters online and associated with Ms. Sedighi Hamedani. The two were found guilty of"spreading corruption on earth" (Article 286 of the Islamic Penal Code) through "being members of gangs
smuggling young women and girls, promoting homosexuality, proselytising Christianity, and contacts with
opposition media". They were sentenced to death, following a grossly unfair trial. While the date of theirconviction is unknown, the two women learned of their sentences on September 1, 2022, in the women’s
wing of Urmia jail, where they have been arbitrarily detained since late 2021. Their sentences have been138
appealed to the Supreme Court, which will examine their cases in the coming months.

Erasing 76 Crimes, in their 2022 summary of LGBT rights progress in Asia, stated that on Iran that: “Thegovernment continued executing LGBT people in 2022”.139
The February 2023 report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran also
observed that: “On 1 September 2022, two lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights activists, Zahra(Sareh) Sedighi and Elham Choobdar, were sentenced to death for vaguely worded and broadly definedcharges of efsad-e fil-arz. A third co-defendant, Soheila Ashrafi from Urmia, currently held in Urmia
Central Prison, is awaiting the verdict in her case.137”.
[…] 137 See https://iranhr.net/en/articles/5460

140

Amnesty International followed up on the above case in their annual report on events in 2022,
published in March 2023, noting that: “The Supreme Court quashed their conviction and sentence inDecember and sent their case for retrial”.141
6Rang also provided an update in January 2023 that: “After immense international pressure, appeals
against the death sentences of two Iranian LGBTQ+ activists have been accepted. 6Rang has been
informed that the two LGBTQ+ activists have had their appeal approved and their case sent to anothercourt in Urmia for review”.142
In March 2023, 6Rang further reported that: “According to news received by 6Rang on March 13th,
2023, Elham Choubdar has been released after a one billion Rial bail was paid. This is great news.
However, Sareh Sedighi Hamedani is still imprisoned due to failing to post a two billion Rial bail”.143
138

International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and League for the Defense of Human Rights in Iran (LDDHI),
Iran: Death sentence against two women for speaking out in support of LGBTQI+ rights, 22 September 2022
139
Erasing 76 Crimes, 2022 in worldwide LGBT rights progress – Part 4: Asia, 5 January 2023
140
UN General Assembly, Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran: Report of the Special
Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Javaid Rehman, 7 February 2023, p. 10
141
Amnesty International, Amnesty International Report 2022/23: The state of the world’s human rights, 27 March
2023, p. 199
142
6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Appeal against LGBTQ+ activists’ death sentence accepted, 16January 2023
143
6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Elham Choubdar has been released from Urmia prison on bail,
13 March 2023

59

In May 2023, Amnesty International gave the following update that: “Sareh Sedighi-Hamadani’s death
sentence for defending LGBTQIA+ rights has been overturned after facing unjust imprisonment andcharges from Iranian authorities”.144 The most recent information available in December 2023 by 6Rang
reported that “Iranian LGBT+ activist Sareh (Zahra Sedighi Hamedani) who was released from prison on
heavy bail following the cancellation of her death sentence, arrived safely in a secure country today”.145
The USDOS 2022 report on human rights practices in Iran, published in March 2023, stated that:“Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) activists expressed concern that the
government executed LGBTQI+ individuals under the pretext of more severe, and possibly specious,
criminal charges such as rape and incest. Those accused of “sodomy” often faced summary trials, andevidentiary standards were not always met”.146 This first sentence was also found in the USDOS 2021
report, published in April 2022,147 and the 2020 report in March 2021.148
In its annual report covering 2022 and published in May 2023, USCIRF wrote that: “Iran […] targeted andactively executed lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) Iranians on religious
grounds, including those outside the country. Prison officials hanged two gay men on sodomy charges inJanuary and two other gay men in July. In August, a court in Urmia issued death sentences against two
LGBTQI+ activists for ‘corruption on Earth’”.149
The USDOS 2023 trafficking in persons report for Iran, published in June 2023, stated that: “thegovernment brought spurious trafficking charges against LGBTQI+ activists, undercutting thegovernment’s efforts to hold sex and labor traffickers criminally accountable”.150 The report further
explained the cases of Zahra (Sareh) Seddiqi-Hamedani and Elham Choubdar:[…] in September 2022, the government announced it convicted and sentenced two LGBTQI+ female
activists to death on charges of human trafficking and “corruption on earth;” according to media andhuman rights organizations, the latter term is often used to describe attempts to undermine the Iranian
government. Media sources and an international organization reported the trafficking charges stemmed
from the activists’ work to help other LGBTQI+ persons leave Iran to escape persecution; Iranian media
reported the activists were arrested for allegedly trafficking women for the purposes of commercial sex toErbil. An international organization and several NGOs condemned the sentencing and called the charges
baseless; observers expressed concern the government arbitrarily detained, ill-treated and prosecuted151
the women on the discriminatory basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
144

Amnesty International, Good News: Sareh Sedighi-Hamadani’s Death Sentence Overturned, 16 May 2023
6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Iranian LGBT+ activist Sareh arrives in a safe country following
her release on bail, 1 December 2023
146
US Department of State (USDOS), 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 20 March 2023
147
US Department of State (USDOS), 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 12 April 2022
148
US Department of State (USDOS), 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 30 March 2021
149
US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), 2023 Annual Report - Iran Chapter: Key Findings,
May 2023, p. 26
150
US Department of State (USDOS), 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report: Iran, 15 June 2023
151
US Department of State (USDOS), 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report: Iran, 15 June 2023
145

60

HRANA reported in July 2023 on the prosecution of Raha Ajoudani:
Raha Ajoudani, a transgender citizen and resident of Tehran, has received a two-year and six-monthsentence from the Tehran Revolutionary Court. Additionally, she has been subjected to a six-month travelban, restricting her from leaving the country. However, due to “her status as a trans woman and the lackof appropriate holding facilities,” her imprisonment has been replaced with a fine.
The verdict specifies that Ajoudani will face a one-year and six-month travel ban for charges related to“propaganda against the regime,” six months for “blasphemy,” and one year for “incitement to subvert
national security.”
Arrested by security forces on December 17, 2022, Ajoudani was released on bail on January 17, 2023.
152
Notably, she was briefly detained during the 2022 nationwide protests on October 26, 2022.

6Rang’s September 2023 report on the gender persecution of LGBTIQ+ protestors in the context of the2022-23 Iran uprising wrote on the story of Raha Ajoudani:
Raha Ajoudani, trans influencer, blogger, and civil activist was 19 years old when she was arrested byagents from the Ministry of Intelligence on 26th of October 2022 in Tehran, at the location where she was
supposed to meet someone she was in love with. A few days earlier, she posted a video on her Instagram
page in which she said: “Each and every one of us knows this very well. As long as this government holds
power, it's a sword hanging over each of us. Any of us could have been Mahsa Amini. It could have been
any of us who were killed instead of Mahsa Amini."116“The reason I find myself on this path today is due to an incident that occurred when I was 12 years old.
At that age, during a Basij student camp, I was raped by a camp organiser who was a member of the
Revolutionary Guards. I reported the incident to the camp authorities and confided in my friends, butduring those days no one believed me. They accused me of hallucinating, attention-seeking, or attempting
to tarnish the reputation of the Basij. This experience led me to decide not to remain a victim and to strive
so that others would not go through the same ordeal.”117
On 26th of October 2022, 15 agents from the Ministry surrounded her, took her phone violently, andthrew her on the ground: “When I told them why are you arresting me so brutally, they said, ‘Don't
pretend to be a girl here, this isn't the place to stir our emotions with a feminine tone’. I said, ‘Why did
there have to be 15 people to arrest me? Am I a terrorist?’ They replied, ‘You're worse than a terrorist.
Why would someone who has connections with adversarial governments like the US and Israel is at least
not worse than a terrorist or an ISIS member?’
Their reference was to an open letter that I and a group of civil activists inside Iran had written to theUnited Nations Security Council [about the protests in Iran].” They took her to a Ministry of Intelligence
office in Baradaran Mozaffari Street and interrogated her for hours. They questioned her about the
involvement of the LGBTIQ+ community in the uprising.
They conditioned her release on her making a commitment both in writing and in front of a camera thatshe did what she did under the influence of foreign spies, and that she was wrong and would not engage
in any media activity and remain silent about her arrest. They prepared the text for her and made her

152

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Raha Ajoudani Sentenced to Travel Ban and Fine, 7 July 2023

61

wear her headscarf while on camera. They told her that she should wait a few days until they summoned
her again, and then released her.
On 17th of December 2022, Raha was arrested again during a raid to her home and by IRGC [Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps] forces. All her electronic devices were confiscated, her mother was
intimidated not to break the news to media outlets outside the country, and she was taken to Branch 8 of
Shahr-e Ray Prosecution Office where charges were brought against her.
“The accusations included insulting Islamic sanctities, engaging in propaganda against the system, callingfor people to wage war and commit murder to disrupt national security, and allegedly collaborating withadversarial governments. Then they asked for an explanation, and I said, ‘I didn't incite anyone to war or
murder.’ They showed me a video related to Mahsa Amini that had been published by me. I asked,‘Where do you see in this video that I'm inciting violence and murder?’ They replied, ‘Just the fact thatyou're calling for nationwide protests is enough for that purpose.’ At that point, they told me, ‘You're nota woman; why is your hair so long?’ Then they sent a female police officer who pulled my hair to see if it
was real or fake.”
After 31 days of detention, she was released on a heavy bail of 20 billion Iranian Rials (approximately
473,000 USD). During 26 days of her detention, she was kept in solitary confinement in a clandestinedetention centre where other detainees and the guards were all men.
A day later, she was summoned again to the Prosecution Office to be informed about a travel ban issued
against her.
Branch 29 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court tried her on 24 June 2023, and sentenced her to a total of
two year and six months imprisonment; “I had to appear in court dressed and perceived as a man.”
The verdict also mentioned the defendant's sensitive circumstances, which referred to her gender. The
authorities felt it was inappropriate for her to be sent to the men’s prison because her gender expression
was that of a woman; it was also inappropriate for her to go to a woman’s prison because she was legallya man. Therefore, her sentence was converted into a fine of 740 million Iranian Rials (approximately
17,500 USD) which she is unable to pay. She is not only under financial hardship but constant pressure[…]. […]
116 https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=838481037407989.
153
117 6Rang Interview with Raha Ajoudani, August 2023.

The UN Human Rights Committee’s November 2023 concluding observations on the fourth periodic
report of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its implementation of the ICCPR stated that it is “concerned by
the prosecution of human rights defenders who advocate on behalf of sexual or gender minorities, andthat some defenders, such as Zahra (Sareh) Sedighi Hamadani and Elham Chobdar, had been sentenced
to death”.154
ILGA World, in their November 2023 report on the enforcement of laws criminalising consensual samesex acts and diverse gender expressions, gave the following additional examples:

153

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), War on Bodies and Minds: Gender Persecution of LGBTIQ+
Protestors in the Context of the 2022-23 Iran Uprising, September 2023, pp. 31-32
154
UN International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, Human Rights Committee, Concluding observations on
the fourth periodic report of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 23 November 2023, p. 3

62

In October 2019 a British-Iranian anthropologist studying child marriage and female genital mutilation in
the country was arrested, with reports in November 2020 indicating that he had been sentenced by Iran’s
Revolutionary Court to nine years’ imprisonment and a fine of USD 700,000 for “promoting
homosexuality”, as well as “visiting Israel [...], cooperation and communication with foreign and hostile
media, infiltration aimed at changing the law, and sending false reports about the country to the UN’s
Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran”.282 […]On 27 October 2021, activist Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani was arrested by the IRGC again after attempting toleave Iran. She was accused of “illegally leaving the country” and “collaborating with hostile media”
because of an interview she did with the BBC. Zahra was forcibly disappeared for 53 days after her arrest,
and was subject to extreme abuse in a detention centre in Urumieh from October to December 2021.287
According to 6Rang, a criminal court ordered her to pay a fine of 5,300,000 tomans (approx. USD 128) forthe charge of illegal border crossing. She was found not guilty of the other charges, which included“encouraging prostitution and moral corruption”. In August 2022, 6Rang reported that a branch of the
Urumieh Criminal Court had acquitted her on the charges of encouraging people to commit morally
corrupt acts. An appeals court upheld this verdict, though the charges relating to her online activities
were referred to the Revolutionary Court.288
It was reported on 13 November 2021 that two men who had engaged in same-sex sexual activity weresentenced to death for “adultery”. The wife of one of the men requested clemency from the court, but
her father allegedly demanded the execution of his son-in-law for his behaviour. The court ruled in thefather’s favour, though the date set for the men to be hanged, and whether any actions for an appeal
might be open to them, were not clear at the time of publication.289
On 3 February 2022 two men who had been on death row for six years in Maragheh Central Prison were
executed. They had been convicted of “forcible sodomy”, and as such are not tallied in the enforcement
count above, though Iranian activists have claimed that the State regularly uses accusations of rape tojustify the execution of homosexuals. […]The Norway-based NGO, Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) found evidence that on 29 June 2022, 10 men
convicted of various charges had their punishments meted out in a mass execution at the Rajai-Shahr
prison in Karaj. One of them was convicted on a charge of “sodomy”.291
In July 2022, the Iranian intelligence organisation of the IRGC reportedly arrested Zahra Sedighi-Hamadaniagain, accusing her of “trafficking Iranian women into Iraq, promoting homosexuality, gambling, fraud,and promoting illicit sexual relations and publishing them on the Internet”.292 Iranian State media later
reported that another activist was also charged and convicted as part of the same case. Judicial
authorities notified the two accused on 1 September 2022 that they been convicted and sentenced todeath by the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Urumieh. They were convicted on charges of “corruption on
Earth” and “trafficking” LGBT+ persons to safety out of Iran, according to a press release by the Office of
the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).293 The sentences were appealed at
the Supreme Court of Iran and in December 2022 the verdicts appear to have been overturned. The death
sentence against Zahra was formally revoked on 9 January 2023, according to 6Rang. The other activist
was released on 13 March 2023 after bail of Rial 1,000,000,000 (USD 23,640) was paid. On 18 March
Zahra was also freed, on a bail of USD 45,000.294 […]282 This entry has been redacted for the safety of those in involved. For more information, please contact ILGAWorld. […]287 “Iran: UN experts demand stay of execution for two women, including LGBT activist”, OHCHR, 28 September
2022.

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288 “Sareh, an Iranian LGBTI activist, is facing a possible criminal conviction”, 6Rang, 6 August 2022; OHCHR, UA IRN
21/2022, 20 Sep 2022.
289 “Ιράν: Γκέι ζευγάρι καταδικάστηκε σε θάνατο μετά από απαίτηση της οικογένειας” [Iran: Gay couple sentenced
to death at family request], Antivirus Magazine, 13 November 2021. […]291 “Rights Watchdog Says Iran Secretly Executed 10 Prisoners On June 29”, Big News Network, 1 July 2022.
292 This source contains personal names or images and has thus been redacted to protect the safety of those
involved. If you require access to this source for corroboration or for COI Research purposes, please reach out toresearch@ilga.org.
293 OHCHR, UA IRN 21/2022, 20 September 2022; “Iran: UN experts demand stay of execution for two women,
including LGBT activist”, OHCHR, 28 September 2022.
294 “Todesurteile gegen LGBTIQ-Aktivist*innen offenbar aufgehoben” [Death sentences against LGBTIQ activists
apparently overturned], Mannschaft Magazin, 31 December 2022; “Elham Choubdar has been released from Urmia
prison on bail”, 6Rang, 13 March 2023; “LGBTQ+ activist facing death penalty in Iran walks free after sentence
overturned”, PinkNews, 15 March 2023; “Sareh will be spending Nowruz alongside her family and children”, 6Rang,
155
18 March 2023.

III.

Treatment by State Actors
a. Public statements by government officials

Following the UN Human Rights Council’s third periodic review of human rights in Iran in 2019, Iranrejected the majority of recommendations related to LGBT rights, except two recommendations relating
to ending discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation which it “partially supported”. In its replies in
February 2020, Iran stated, referring to anti-discrimination:
Although this specific right is not stipulated in the international human rights instruments, which Iran has
accepted, it should be noted that under Iran`s laws, all individuals are equal before the law and areentitled to equal rights. Regarding the transgender people, a special support-oriented approach has been
adopted by the government which tries to offer counseling, financial and insurance services to themthrough relevant laws, competent authorities and social institutes. According to the law, transgender156
people can apply for gender identity redetermination surgery through competent courts.

In May 2020, Pink News reported that:On May 15 Shahindokht Molaverdi [former aide for women’s and family affairs in Iran] shared a poster tomark the International Day of Families on her Telegram account. Produced by the UN, the simple
illustration depicted several families, including two same-sex couples with children.

155

ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) World, Our Identities Under Arrest: A
global review on the enforcement of laws criminalising consensual same-sex acts and diverse gender expressions,
30 November 2023, pp. 175-176
156
UN General Assembly, Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review: Islamic Republic of Iran,Addendum: Views on conclusions and/or recommendations, voluntary commitments and replies presented by theState under review, 20 February 2020, p. 4

64

Beneath it the caption read: “The structure of family has changed in the past few decades, but the United
Nations still considers it as the main division of society”, adding that it is important to “support vulnerable
families at times of crisis.”
The sentiment sparked outrage in the strictly conservative Muslim nation, which punishes homosexuality
with the death penalty. […]Conservative lawmaker Alireza Zakani demanded that President Hassan Rouhani condemn “this collapse
157
of morality or lack of a minimum understanding of the notion of the family”.

In May 2020, Erasing 76 Crimes commented that:
In Iraq and Iran, politicians stirred up homophobic disputes focusing on the May 17 celebration of theInternational Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia (Idahobit) and the May 15
celebration of the U.N.’s International Day of Families. […]In Iran, politicians and social media expressed outrage, while the conservative Mashreq News suggested
that a government aide could be imprisoned for 10 years for sharing an online poster that included same158
sex couples in a promotion for the International Day of Families.

DW published an article in February 2021 on the difficulties of being gay in Iran, writing that: “According
to the latest report by Ahmed Shaheed, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights
situation in Iran, there is great reason for concern. Iran's gay, lesbian, bi- and transgendercommunities face both widespread discrimination and ongoing human rights violations, the report said.
"High-ranking officials" said Shaheed, "use hateful rhetoric when talking about gays, referring to them as
sub-human or just plain sick."”159
In June 2022, HRANA posted an article about increased state-sponsored discrimination against Iranian
LGBTQI+ communities, remarking that:
The Islamic Republic has long criminalized homosexuality in its domestic legal systems while also actively
fueling propaganda campaigns in both media and educational institutions including throughdiscriminatory public media content, textbooks, and campaigns aimed at so-called “Conversion Therapy”.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, as the number of LGBTQI+ activists inthe country continue to grow, Iranian politicians, cultural public figures and celebrities have made publicstatements aimed at inciting public discrimination, hostility, and violence against the LGBTQI+ community
inside of Iran.
Officials representing the government have gone on record with their discriminatory positions. […] Our
initial research points to the unrestricted and inappropriate use of the internet as the major cause of theissue. In an interview with a foreign news agency, Minoo Mohraz, the head of the Iranian Research Centerfor HIV/AIDS (IRCHA) said, “for the sake of public health protection, sex workers, addicted people, and157

Pink News, Top Iranian aide apologises for ‘homosexual propaganda’ after sharing cartoon of loving lesbian andgay parents, 19 May 2020
158
Erasing 76 Crimes, Iraq, Iran outraged by rainbow flags, LGBT-tolerant poster, 27 May 2020
159
Deutsche Welle (DW), The difficulties of being gay in Iran, 26 February 202165

homosexuals have to be identified and treated.” Mohraz added, “[…] we have to treat them before they160
pollute the rest of society”.

ARTICLE19 spoke in September 2022 of “increasing anti-LGBTQI sentiments and statements made by thecountry’s president, in which he has demonised and dehumanised individuals for their sexual
orientation” 161, writing further that:
In a public speech on 1 September, President Ebrahim Raisi – against whom there is evidence of
involvement in crimes against humanity –propagated hate against the LGBTQI community and calledhomosexuality the ‘ugliest of behaviours’, ‘ugliness and filth’, and a ‘wretched’ act. […] In March 2022,
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei also doubled down on his long-standing rhetoric against the LGBTQI
community and called homosexuality ‘shameful’ and examples of ‘moral vulgarity and moral chaos’ and162‘sexual chaos’.

While reporting on the sentencing to death of two lesbian women in Iran, BBC News noted in
September 2022 that: “Only a few days ago, the country's hardline president Ebrahim Raissi referred tohomosexuals using the highly offensive word and described homosexuality as "dirty behaviour" and"modern barbarism". In March, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei described homosexuality as part of the"moral depravity" widespread in Western civilisation”.163
In March 2023, 6Rang released a report on official hate speech used against LGBT people in Iran as atool of oppression. In the context of the nationwide protests from October 2022, the report wrote that:
One of the largest minority groups that made themselves visible during the protests was the LGBTQ+
community. As such, issues related to individuals in this minority group have come to light in the face of
the Iranian general public. We have witnessed immense support, for example graffiti on university
campuses signposting it as a safe space for LGBTQ+ people. […]As this report outlines, the official hate speech towards LGBTQ+ community has been a response toincreasing visibility. […]Although strives have been made in terms of visibility for LGBTQ+ people in the recent protests, hatespeech is still rampant, especially amongst state officials who use it publicly to vilify LGBTQ+ people
further. State media presents LGBTQ+ individuals as ‘immoral and corrupt’, ‘animalistic and subhuman’and ‘sick and diseased’; apart from being presented as inferior, LGBTQ+ people are often accused ofworking with Western imperialists or being anti-revolutionary.
These sentiments were seen repeatedly during the period of September 2022 to February 2023. […] It canbe deduced that hate speech made by officials against this minority increased or intensified in thereporting period.
Hateful representations of LGBTQ+ individuals by state officials, paramilitary groups and media […]160

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), State-Sponsored Discrimination against Iranian LGBTQI+
Communities Ramps up amidst a Growing and More Vocal Activist Community, 22 June 2022
161
ARTICLE19, Iran: Death sentences for LGBTQI activists must be immediately overturned, 8 September 2022
162
ARTICLE19, Iran: Death sentences for LGBTQI activists must be immediately overturned, 8 September 2022
163
BBC News, 'I want to see the rainbow flag raised in Iran', 11 September 2022

66

These acts were not only limited to visibility on social media and the public, but also wider protests
against the current treatment of LGBTQ+ people, internationally. In October 2022, a representative from
6Rang stood in front of over 100,000 people at the largest opposition protest, in Berlin, stating that
democracy cannot be achieved in Iran without the realisation of LGBTQ+ rights15. In November 2022,
6Rang’s director, gave a statement at the emergency session of the UN Human Rights Council about thisissue.16 The voices of the LGBTQ+ community being heard internationally and publicly, outside thecontrol of the Islamic Republic, has precipitated an onslaught of hateful propaganda.
Although the official hate speech targeting LGBTQ+ community has a history as long as the Islamic
Republic, it was only during these protests that the state forces recognised their role in revolutionary
mobilisations and acted quickly to discredit it by associating it with a foreign government.
Same sex acts have long been represented as immoral and anti-Islamic by the Islamic Republic regime.
The highest-ranking officials often take part in vilifying LGBTQ+ individuals publicly and without regard.
One of the ways in which officials have instigated hate against this minority group is by using Islam andreligion. In December 2022, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei gave a public speech in which he said:“Banning hamjensbazi [faggotry] is not only a concern of Islam, but it is forbidden in all religions.”17
Iranian officials have continued to show homosexuality as a moral failure and an agenda by the West. In
February 2023, President Ebrahim Raisi spoke about the ‘promotion of homosexuality’ in a speech:“On the matter of family, we are the accusers and you [the West] are the accused. You are promoting thelowliest form of obscenity – homosexuality.”18
Raisi has likened homosexuality to the, “…ugliest morality that is accepted by the modern world.”19
On a similar note, Mostafa Mahdavi, the Deputy Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps(IRGC) in Lorestan Province said, “when homosexuality is made legal in the West, it shows that theirmorality has fallen.”20 […]Officials of the Islamic Republic have often used derogatory language that likens homosexuality toanimalistic behaviour and deviancy. Again, hate speech here has been directed at the protests and uses
homophobia to instil fear. […]Much of the fearmongering about same-sex relationships mandated by state officials and state media liesin the concept of interrupted or broken traditional families. Heteronormative familial relationships are thepinnacle of moral goodness in the Islamic Republic framework. As such, LGBTQ+ individuals are shown tobe an interruption to normal family dynamics. […]Furthermore, officials have used the existing societal hatred and ignorance against the LGBTQ+
community to invalidate the protests. […]15 https://6rang.org/73353/
16 https://6rang.org/73518/
17 https://www.ghatreh.com/news/nn66296913/‫ی ی ر ه‬-‫ان ق الب‬-‫مم نوع یت‬-‫ی ی مو ضوعا‬-‫م ثل‬-‫ه مج نس‬-‫ب ازی‬-‫ف قط‬‫م رب وط‬-‫ا س الم‬
18 https://www.khabaronline.ir/news/1730115/‫د ان ت قا‬-‫رئ ی یس‬-‫از‬-‫غ رب‬-‫ب اب ت‬-‫ت روی ج‬-‫ه مج نس‬- ‫گ رای ی‬
19 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrCVrCyFVvo
164
20 https://lorestan.iqna.ir/fa/news/4120129/‫زن‬- ‫در‬-‫گ ف تمان‬-‫ان ق الب‬-‫ا س ال یم‬-‫ی ک‬-‫ شخ ص یت‬-‫م شارک ت گ را ست‬

In July 2023, Erasing 76 Crimes reported on the Iranian President praising anti-LGBTQI+ sentiments in
Uganda, stating that:

164

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Silencing protests: Official hate speech against LGBT people asa tool of suppression, March 2023, pp. 3 and 5-1067During his recent state visit to Uganda, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi didn’t hide his homophobia as helauded his Ugandan counterpart, Yoweri Museveni, for assenting to the country’s new AntiHomosexuality Law.
That action by Museveni was like signing a death warrant for members of the LGBTQI+ community
suspected engaging in what the new law describes as aggravated homosexuality, including repeatedconvictions for homosexual activity or having sex while HIV-positive.
On a mission to further strengthen ties with the Uganda, Raisi was well aware that homosexuals are afavorite target of Museveni and a subject worth raising in a joint press conference with him.
He praised Museveni for signing the bill into law after ignoring calls from local and international humanrights defenders asking him to veto it.
Like Museveni, Raisi also claimed that homosexuality in part of the so called “Western imperialist
agenda”, which he said is part of a Western plan to put an end to human reproduction — what Raisi called“the generation of human beings”.
“Western countries are putting pressure on independent countries by attacking the family foundation,
promoting the ugly phenomenon of homosexuality, the spread of extremism and terrorism, and the useof human rights as a tool …” Raisi said. “The Western countries try to identify homosexuality as an index
of civilization, while this is one of the dirtiest issues.”
He told Museveni that only development of cultural interactions and cultural cooperation between Iranand Uganda will be effective in confronting what he described as plots devised by the enemies of the two165
nations.

In September 2023, 6Rang commented on Ebrahim Raisi’s speech at the UN General Assembly, statingthat:
In his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, Ebrahim Raisi defined the family as consisting of
one woman and one man based on Quranic teachings and referring to protecting family privacy andmarriage. He considered the union of one woman and one man a universal reality.
Devoting the main topic of his speech to promoting Quranic teachings, he defined other forms of family
formation as unnatural and “fake narratives of marriage and sexuality”. He considered it an example of acrime against humanity and the cause of the end of the human race.
Hate speech against sexual and gender minorities from the authorities of the Islamic Republic in Iran andoutside Iran has intensified significantly in the past year. Another example is Raisi’s speech during his
African trip to Uganda. He called homosexuality a “phenomenon.” He called it “disgusting” and criticisedWestern countries for “attacking the family”.
Raisi’s homophobic statements were made last week in the side meeting of the UN Human Rights
166
Council.

6Rang’s September 2023 report on the gender persecution of LGBTIQ+ protestors in the context of the2022-23 Iran uprising wrote that:
6Rang’s previous research29 over the statements made by officials confirm that hate speech andpropaganda against the LGBTIQ+ community intensified during the uprising. The report suggests that the165

Erasing 76 Crimes, Iranian President praises anti-LGBTQI+ sentiments in Uganda, 31 July 2023
6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Ebrahim Raisi’s hate speech at the UN General Assembly
against the LGBTQ+ community, 20 September 2023
166

68

rise in hate speech is a reactionary act against the increased visibility of LGBTIQ+ persons and LGBTIQ+
issues in the protests.30 Official hate speech in Iran has a long history and is becoming more prevalent.
LGBTIQ+ persons are often said to be immoral, animalistic, and a constant threat to Islamic family values.
Hate speech is used by all levels of government, including the president and the Supreme Leader.31
In January 2023, Hojjatollah Masoud Ali, teacher at a seminary (hawza), said:“Reducing and making hijab optional, allowing relationships between boys and girls, accepting
homosexuality and ultimately destroying families are the goals of our enemies.”32 In the same speech, heconflated this ‘immorality’ with the protests, saying, “in the past 100 days, the rioters have shown what
they want!”More explicitly, in December 2022, Khorramabad’s Friday prayer leader, Ahmadreza Shahrokhi, said, “thedispute is not over a few strands of hair … those behind the scenes want to force homosexuality andmarriage with animals on Muslims.”33
Islamic Republic’s high-ranking officials used pre-existing gender social prejudices to spread the fear ofhomosexuality being forced upon Iran if the Islamic Republic were to go by using hate speech to instigate
a link between the protests and ‘immorality’. By doing that, they imposed their “accepted” forms ofgender expression and created a hostile environment against the LGBTIQ+ community and their
participation in protests. Such imposition was not only prevalent among security, judicial, and prison
authorities but also, at least to some extent, among opposition forces. […]As part of their catalogue of human rights abuses based on sexual orientation and gender identity, theIranian authorities consistently make hateful statements that demean and dehumanize people based on
their sexual orientation. Homosexual people are regularly described in official statements and state media
outlets as “immoral”, “corrupt”, “animalistic”, “subhuman”, “sick”, and “diseased”. They are also accusedof collusion with Western-orchestrated Zionist conspiracies aimed at undermining the Islamic Revolution
or corrupting the Muslim population.
These official statements reproduce misogynistic, homophobic, and transphobic values. They reinforce
attitudes, beliefs, and practices that perpetuate violence, discrimination, and other harm on grounds ofsexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and constitute advocacy of hatred. In the contextof Iran, this risk is particularly heightened considering that members of the public are not allowed toaccess and learn about affirmative materials on homosexuality and the human rights of persons belonging
to diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. […]29 https://6rang.org/english/2331/.
30 https://6rang.org/english/3511/
31 https://shorturl.at/kJPW7.
32 https://shorturl.at/ikrZ5.
167
33 Ibid.

The UN Human Rights Committee’s concluding observations on the fourth periodic report of the Islamic
Republic of Iran and its implementation of the ICCPR stated that: “It is particularly concerned by multiple
reports of hate speech by public officials, instigating prejudice against lesbian, gay, bisexual andtransgender persons (arts. 2, 20, 26 and 27)”.168

167

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), War on Bodies and Minds: Gender Persecution of LGBTIQ+
Protestors in the Context of the 2022-23 Iran Uprising, September 2023, pp. 10 and 18
168
UN International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, Human Rights Committee, Concluding observations on
the fourth periodic report of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 23 November 2023, p. 3

69

b. Homophobia and transphobia in government institutions (incl. state-owned
media, within the police, in the prison service, in the judiciary, in the publichealth service, in the military, in the education system/schools)
For further relevant information consult also section II., b., Implementation, section III., a. Publicstatements by government officials, and section III., d. Discrimination.
In March 2020, the Iranian Studies journal published a piece on gender transitions in Islamic law,theatre, and film in Iran. It wrote that:
Despite official legal and religious recognition, trans activists are still fighting for their full needs to be
met, specifically better access to health care,8 improvement in the quality of surgery provided, andgreater public and medical education about transsexuality. […]Though a number of Iranian religious jurists today support SRS [sexual reassignment surgery], the generalpublic is generally not as tolerant or supportive of transgender and transsexual individuals; furthermore,
more recent fatwas have tried to place limits on the permissibility of transsexuality with regard to surgery.
[…]For decades, the Iranian government has extended financial assistance to those seeking hormonal andsurgical interventions through charity foundations and insurance companies. While the Imam Khomeini
Charity Foundation has long offered loans to help pay for SRS, the economics of transitioning are not that
simple and some transgendered Iranians have expressed concern regarding the quality of surgery
available. […]There are, of course, other legal and bureaucratic hurdles which make transitioning difficult even though
it is legally and religiously sanctioned.
While identity cards and birth certificates can be legally changed, the slow bureaucracy of doing so cancreate other related problems. […]8 Trans people are eligible for “special groups” insurance coverage (according to the law of Universal Health Services
169
in 1995) for basic medical insurance coverage.

In May 2020, the UN Independent Expert on Protection against Violence and Discrimination based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (IESOGI) produced a paper on conversion therapy, writing that
“In the Islamic Republic of Iran, individuals who inevitably fail at “converting” their sexual orientation
will often be pressured to undergo gender-affirming surgery, in the belief that it will neutralize theirorientation”.170
The following month, Erasing 76 Crimes reported on a television exposé from Iran targeting LGBTQ safe
houses in Iraq. It wrote that:169

Emily O’Dell, “Performing Trans in Post-Revolutionary Iran: Gender Transitions in Islamic Law, Theatre, andFilm”, Iranian Studies, Volume 53, Issue no. 1-2, March 2020, pp. 131 and 133-135
170
UN Independent Expert on Protection against Violence and Discrimination based on Sexual Orientation and
Gender Identity (IESOGI), Report on Conversion Therapy, 1 May 2020, p. 2

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An Arabic-language “documentary” aired on Iran’s state-run news channel Al-Alam last week, targeting
LGBTQ Iraqis and the LGBTQ advocacy group IraQueer. The 22-minute program, titled “The Dark Room:Queer COVID,” condemns LGBTQ activism as an American effort to subvert the Arab and Islamic identityof Iraq.
Opening with dramatic music and flashing images of military operations in Iraq circa 2003, when the
United States invaded and overthrew Saddam Hussein, the program discusses IraQueer and its financial
backers, HIVOS and USAID. […]The proposition of the Iranian conspiracy-based exposé, which links the policy of former President George
W. Bush during the Iraq War to that of President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, andcurrent President Donald Trump, is that the United States is conducting a “cultural crusade” in Iraq:
though the formal combat in Iraq has ended, Al-Alam claims the United States is continuing to corrupt
and subvert the morality of Arab nations by funding LGBTQ organizations like IraQueer. […]The program also analyzes IraQueer’s safe houses, where LGBTQ Iraqis in unsafe environments can findshelter, food, and support. The television program suggests that IraQueer’s network of safe houses is
responsible for the spread of COVID-19 in Iraq. Fear-mongering to civilians worried about the
pandemic, Al-Alam presents graphic videos of doctors and sick people alongside generic stock images ofWestern LGBTQ+ Pride events. It also links the LGBTQ movement in Iraq to the spread of the fatal
respiratory disease. There is no evidence to corroborate Al-Alam’s claims.
171
The program comes at a time of increasing cultural tension among Iran, Iraq, and the United States.

FIDH commented in a report in June 2020 on Iran’s state media that “sexual minorities are labelled ashedonists, immoral, and promiscuous agents of foreign powers with a mission to corrupt the Islamic
society”.172
In October 2020, IranWire reported on the arrest of three transgender Iranians because of Instagram
posts, writing that:
Although it’s risky for transgender people to be overtly “out” in Iranian society, particularly given the rife
levels of discrimination against the LGBTQ community in general, over the last few years, groups andindividuals have become more outspoken on social media, especially Instagram. […]The dangers of these activities are of course much debated and discussed, since Iranian authorities
monitor platforms regularly. […]In recent years, as groups of people have expanded their networks and activities online, Iranianauthorities have expanded their operations too, setting out plans to further monitor, target and restrict
particular individuals and groups, including activists and influencers. As people encounter new ways tocommunicate and share information online, they also face greater pressure. Certain platforms and apps
have come under particularly fierce fire, and some authorities have repeatedly called for Instagram to be173
blocked or filtered.

171

Erasing 76 Crimes, TV exposé from Iran targets LGBTQ safe houses in Iraq, 18 June 2020
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Orwellian State: Islamic Republic of Iran's state media as aweapon of mass suppression, June 2020
173
IranWire, Three Transgender Iranians Arrested Because of Instagram Posts, 20 October 2020
172

71

In their report on the state-sanctioned killing of sexual minorities in February 2021, Mai Sato andChristopher Alexander wrote that:
One of the interviewees noted that, in Iran, the 2013 Penal Code criminalises same-sex sexual acts, rather
than same-sex love or relationships […]. Same-sex attraction, on the other hand, is pathologised, and dealt
with in the medical space:
The situation for lesbian, gay, and bisexual people in Iran is characterized by a fundamental
dichotomy between concepts of perversion and deviation (enheraf) on the one hand andpathology and disorder (ekhtelal) on the other. This dichotomy is instituted by a legal frameworkin which homosexual acts are treated as crimes, whereas homosexual desires are taken as
symptoms of a gender identity disorder in need of cure. (Bahreini and Nayyeri, 2021) […]Medicalisation of same-sex attraction manifests in the form of various conversion practices, founded
upon the misguided premise that such interventions may bring gay people into line with the strict binarymodel of human sexuality espoused by the clerics. One particularly heinous method embraced by the174state is coerced sex-reassignment surgeries […].

The same report commented on homophobia within the judiciary, adding that:
When prosecuted for same-sex sexual conduct, defendants often struggle to find a lawyer:
One of our biggest challenges in Iran is to find a legal representative . . . No one would like to doit. We had just a couple of lawyers who take LGBT case several years ago, and they had to escape
Iran and claim asylum . . . And the reason is that homosexuality is punishable by death in Iranaccording to Islamic punishment code. If anyone wants to challenge that rule, [they are deemed
to be] against this rule, therefore you are against Islamic rule, therefore you are against Islam,and therefore you are against God. That person [the lawyer] can be executed or killed for being
immoral or infidel . . . A lot of lawyers are reluctant to take those cases because they don’t want
to lose their license, they don’t want to be accused that they’re supporting LGBT causes. […] 34
Judges have the power to sentence defendants accused of same-sex sexual acts to death with little
evidence. The evidentiary requirements for proving livat (penetrative sex between men) are varied, andmay include the confession of the offender, the testimony of four male witnesses who claim to havewitnessed the sexual act, or the ‘knowledge of the judge’ (Jafari, 2015:22). The latter is particularly
concerning, insofar as it ‘enables judges to rely on vague circumstantial evidence to determine whether acrime has occurred even in the absence of other evidence or in the presence of exculpatory evidence’(Ibid.) Our interviewees explained how this provision operates in practice:
A lot of time, that Article [knowledge of the judge] is being used, because there are [otherwise] a
lot of conditions [to prove the same-sex sexual acts… But if none of them exist, and the judge
thinks, ‘okay, you look gay, and it’s obvious for me that you are not a macho, patriotic man, I am
comfortable to sentence you.’ […]The ‘knowledge of the judge’ [may] be proved with some small, small evidence, [like] theatmosphere and environment of the case… […] Even if the accused stays silent and did notconfess, the judge may write something [like] ‘he had behaviour like a woman. Behaviour like an
LGBT.’ […]174

Mai Sato and Christopher Alexander, State-Sanctioned Killing of Sexual Minorities: Looking Beyond the Death
Penalty, February 2021, p. 39

72

Because this [the prosecution of same-sex sexual acts] is so reliant on individual judges’
perception of a case, it is very arbitrary to find out where the sentence is coming from. There aresome constituencies and entities within the government that are pretty supportive of LGBT
issues, even though privately, [so] when it comes to individual judges and a lack of legal
precedents for these cases, you know, we see that the attack is arbitrary... […]34 A human rights lawyer who used to practice in Iran spoke about how the Iranian authorities were not happy withhim defending death penalty cases including sexual minorities, children, and women, which led to his eventual
175
departure from Iran […].

IranWire published an article in March 2021 on government loans for gender reassignment surgery in
Iran. It wrote that:
It might appear at first glance that transgender people in Iran enjoy legal protection, because they canapply for a permit to undergo gender reassignment surgery. But despite the growth of social networks andgreater media attention to trans and LGBT rights, the very difficult situation of trans Iranians within theirfamilies, society, and the legal system remains: especially so in a country in which securing one’s mostbasic human rights is not an easy task. […]Last year, the Iranian government had also promised to open a center for trans people. "The problem oftrans people is serious,” said Ali Rabiei at the time, “and we should not brand a group who want tochange their gender with a label and stigma. Some of these people have a disease, and we have to deal
with them through the eyes of a sick person. Our plan is to treat these people, and we have tried so far topay part of the cost of surgery and their gender reassignment."
This sounds hopeful at first glance – until we remember that trans people all experience their gender
identity differently and not all will want to undergo corrective surgery. But in Iran, in order for their legal
documents to match their gender identity, trans people first have to obtain permits from the court andlegal authorities for hormone therapy and surgery to change the outward appearance of their genitals tofemale or male, which they must then undergo.
The use of the terms "treatment" and "patient" by the government spokesperson reflects the system's
sickness-oriented view of transgender identity, which is leading to forced surgeries: so-called“unification”. […]As long as the system's view of the LGBT community remains either criminal or morbid, and until thecorrect information on sexual and gender issues is provided by the media and the education system,
these individuals will find no path toward acceptance in Iran. Financial aid is only a small part of the176
problem, and cannot cure their pain.

IHR wrote in a May 2021 article that:
A two-year military service is compulsory for all men in Iran unless they are exempted on one of the
sanctioned grounds. Gay men may be exempted after going through a long and arduous process.
According to the army’s 2020 Medical Exemption Regulations, “Article 33, Paragraph 8” will be written in
the exemption section of their military cards. Article 33 Psychological exemptions are covered by Article
175

Mai Sato and Christopher Alexander, State-Sanctioned Killing of Sexual Minorities: Looking Beyond the Death
Penalty, February 2021, pp. 39-40
176
IranWire, Government Loans for Gender Reassignment Surgery Betray Lack of Understanding, 4 March 2021

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33, and Paragraph 8 refers to “behavioural disorders (neural and mental imbalances) and deviancies
contrary to military etiquette, as well moral and sexual deviancies such as transsexualism.”
Speaking to IHR, a gay man who recently went through the long process of obtaining a military exemption
card said: “The hardest parts were the personal questions about the details of my sex life and that as partof the long examination process, we were asked to bring a family member with us to a military
examination centre. Most families are unaware of their children’s situation due to societal conditions andthis makes things so difficult that many are forced to forgo their exemptions and choose the harsh anddegrading conditions in the military.”
As homosexuality is also punishable by death under Iranian law, gay men who do pursue obtaining an
177
exemption also have to worry about the legal consequences of having confessed to being gay.

On the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia in May 2021, HRANA wrote
an article on the ongoing discrimination and violence against the Iranian LGBTQ+ community, statingthat:
In June 2020, HRANA reported the summons and interrogation of several LGBTQ+ community membersby the security organs after showing up on a highly visited Instagram. Several homosexual andtransgender persons have faced persecution from the government because of their public presence incyberspace where they talked about their sexual identity or orientation.
Based on HRANA’s sources, two individuals (identities protected by HRANA) in the northwestern
provinces of Iran, were summoned and threatened by security organs after showing up on Instagram.
“Maryam”, a transgender woman living in Iran, has spoken to HRANA about being summoned by the
Morality Police of her city and being pressured to spy on her transgender friends and acquaintances to178
reveal information about their gatherings.

The same article further identified “individuals and institutions profiled in Spreading Justice complicit inviolating the rights of the LGBTQ+ community,”179 stating the following:
As the Executive Deputy of Evin Prison, Javad Momeni has been directly involved in gross violations of andpersecution of LGBTQ+ in this prison. According to published reports, he personally harassed and insulted
transgender prisoners in Ward 240, known as the Transgender Ward, which holds transgender prisoners.
According to an eyewitness, “the prison guards were constantly insulting us. They said you are a disgraceor corrupt. In addition, they put a lot of psychological pressure on us. “For example, one day a prison
guard showed me a piece of paper to harass me and claimed that I was going to be executed.” […]The Revolutionary Guards’ intelligence service has been suppressing, detaining, harassing, and violating
the rights of LGBTQ+ community and their rights activists, and Hussein Tayeb, as the organization’scommander, is responsible for these actions. […]177

Iran Human Rights, Iran: The Islamic Penal Code Promotes Violence Against the LGBT Community, 15 May 2021
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), On the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, andBiphobia HRA highlights the ongoing discrimination and violence against the Iranian LGBTQ+ community, 16 May
2021
179
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), On the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, andBiphobia HRA highlights the ongoing discrimination and violence against the Iranian LGBTQ+ community, 16 May
2021
178

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as one of teh most nuterious judges [sic] who has been within the judiciaary of iran [sic] for more than 40
years in various roles, Ebrahim Raisi has played role in the violation of the rights of LGBTQ+ community.
[…]
Hossein Amiri was appointed as the Deputy Chief of FATA Police on June 26, 2019, by the Commander in
Chief of the Police Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Since then, he, along with FATA Police Chief Vahid
Majid, has been responsible for all human rights violations commited by this organ, including the
restrition of expresison of sexual identity and LGBTQ+ litretature. [sic]Vahid Majid as the Commander in Chief of the Iranian Cyber Police, or FATA Police, is responsible forrestricting the freedom of expression in cyberspace, including the restrition of expresison of sexual
identity and LGBTQ+ litretature. [sic]As the judge of Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, [Mahammad] Moghiseh is responsible forwidespread rights violations related to sexual minorities. […]Mousa Ghazanfar-Abadi, as the then head of the Tehran Revolutionary Courts, is responsible for violating
the rights of LGBTQ+ people and prosecuting their rights activists. […]As commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC), [Mahammad-Ali] Jafari has been directly
involved in widespread human rights violations by the Revolutionary Guards, including violations of therights of sexual and religious minorities, torture of opponents of the Islamic Republic, violations of
women’s rights, violations of the right to life, and the severe suppression of social freedoms in Iran. […]The Halalzadeha Popular Movement is responsible for discrimination and violence against the LGBTQ+
community – including forming gatherings against sexual minorities. in one of the gatherings of this groupthey march over the rainbow flag and pass over it by their motorcycles to show their hatred. […]180
Ferghe News actively publishes discriminatory articles targeting LGBTQ+ individuals.

In May 2021, DW released a piece on transgender people in Iran, writing that:
Despite Iran's rigid attitudes toward sexuality, its capital, Tehran, has been dubbed one of the world's
hubs for sex-reassignment surgery. Transgender individuals live and work with no legal barriers in the
country. The government even helps with the costs of hormone medicine and gender reassignment
surgery for those who want it. […]In addition to gay sex being punishable by death, the government classifies men who want to have sex
with other men as mentally ill and therefore incapable of serving in the military and ineligible for a wide
range of public service jobs.
Advocating for the rights of homosexuals in the media is off-limits. At the same time, Iran's official media
outlets do every now and then tell stories highlighting the grievances of transgender people, reports that
often denounce transphobia and call for more substantial support from the government. […]Iran's 'solution' causes more problems
The state's authorization of sex-reassignment surgery and intolerance of homosexuality are not unrelated.
"They would rather have people go under a surgeon's knife than accepting the non-binary nature ofgender," Arastoo [Saman Arastoo, trans Iranian man and theatre director] says. "You must either be a
man or woman in your ID papers, nothing in between is recognized."
Zara Saiedzadeh, a senior lecturer in gender studies at Sweden's Orebro University, with a focus ontransgender life in Iran. "Just because gender confirmation operation is possible, it does not mean that180

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), On the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, andBiphobia HRA highlights the ongoing discrimination and violence against the Iranian LGBTQ+ community, 16 May
2021

75

the government particularly accepts trans people," she says. "And it certainly does not mean that theirneeds and their rights are met."
Iran is one of the countries that still considers trans people as having a mental disorder – the World
Health Organization stopped classifying them as such in 2019. That approach has too many adverse
byproducts, including patients being misdiagnosed and facing intimidation from medical staff when
discussing gender identity.
Before surgery, patients must receive counseling to ensure that they have gender dysphoria and areprepared for the procedure. Arastoo believes that the process is often not properly observed. "Apsychotherapist can be incompetent, even transphobic," he says. "The counseling sessions echo the
feeling of shame and self-hate that the heteronormative society imposes on transgender people.""Even after surgery no one can expect a beautiful, heavenly life," says Saeidzadeh. "Until a trans person isrecognized by the law and families and friends and the community they have problems, and they181
encounter so many different difficulties in managing their everyday life."

In May 2021, Amnesty International wrote on the murder of Alireza Fazeli Monfared by his male
relatives and the discrimination inherent in disclosing sexual orientation on military exemption cards:
Amnesty International understands that two days before his murder, on 2 May 2021, Alireza Fazeli
Monfared had received a military exemption card, exempting him from compulsory military service on thebasis of a provision in Iran’s military regulations which stipulates that individuals with “perversions thatare contrary to social and military values (including sexual perversions and homosexuality) can be
exempted from military service for six months or, if proven by a medical facility, permanently.”
This exemption clause for gay, transgender and gender non-conforming individuals is listed under section
5 (7) of the military regulations, under the category of “mental illnesses”. Alireza Fazeli Monfared’s
exemption card references clause 5 (7) as the reason for the exemption, revealing to anyone who views
the card and is aware of the relevant provisions in Iran’s military regulations that the individual has been
exempted on the basis of their gender identity or sexual orientation. Such non-consensual disclosure ofsexual orientation and gender identity is a breach of the right to privacy and puts gay, transgender andgender non-conforming individuals in Iran at risk of violence and discrimination.
While this provision is discriminatory and degrading towards gay, transgender and other gender nonconforming persons, and treats homosexuality as a form of mental illness or psychopathology in spite ofclear statements to the contrary from various psychiatry bodies across the world and the World HealthOrganization,5 it is commonly used by gay, transgender and gender non-conforming persons in Iran toseek an exemption from compulsory military service to protect themselves from homophobic andtransphobic abuses prevalent in military settings.
According to informed sources, Alireza Fazeli Monfared had served several weeks of military service when
he turned 18 before applying for an exemption card because of the abuse he received from the otherconscripts in connection with his gender expression. The organization understands that he had madecomplaints to officials in the army but had received no support.
Alireza Fazeli Monfared’s partner, Khalil Abiat (Aghil) who is an Iranian asylum seeker based in Turkey andhad been expecting his arrival later in May 2021, told Amnesty International that two days before hismurder, Alireza Fazeli Monfared had expressed concern that the envelope containing his exemption card
may have been viewed by others:

181

Deutsche Welle (DW), How transgender people navigate Iran, 16 May 2021

76

“On Sunday [2 May 2021] Alireza called me. He was very happy and said that his exemption card had
finally arrived. But he said: ‘I think the envelope has been opened. When I was opening it, I felt that it had
been opened [before me] and resealed.’ He said that he had many dreams. He wanted to live a free life,
wear the clothes and make-up that he wanted. He wanted to do modelling and become a make-up artist.”
Given that several male relatives had in the past threatened to kill Alireza Fazeli Monfared and attemptedto physically assault him because of his gender expression, some Iranian LGBTI human rights activists
suspect that the indication on his exemption card pointing to his sexual orientation may have come to theattention of his relatives and triggered or aggravated the risks that led to his murder.
According to information received from Iranian gay men and reports by human rights groups,6 in seeking
exemption from military service on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity, gay,transgender and gender non-conforming individuals are generally forced to undergo humiliating anddegrading physical and psychological tests, including anal examinations, which amount to torture, as wellas interrogations by officials during which they are forced to answer intimate questions about theirgender and sexuality such as their preferences for sexual positions. […]5 The American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality as a disorder from the “Sexual Deviancy” section of
the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 1973 (2nd edition). In 1992, the World HealthOrganization replaced its categorization of homosexuality as a mental illness. Several states then followed suit.
6 Human Rights Watch, “We Are a Buried Generation”: Discrimination and Violence against Sexual Minorities in Iran,
December 2010, https://www.hrw.org/report/2010/12/15/we-are-buried-generation/discrimination-and-violenceagainst-sexual-minorities; 6Rang, Confessing to having same-sex relations is the new norm for military service
182
exemptions in Iran, https://6rang.org/english/2261/

The same statement wrote that:
Further serious concerns related to the human rights situation of LGBTI people in Iran include thepractices of "conversion therapy” aimed at eliminating homosexuality and gender non-conformity. These
have involved, among other abusive practices, the administration of electric shocks, hormones and strong
psychoactive medications, including against children experiencing gender non-conformity and same-sex
attraction.11 Official bans on comprehensive, accurate and age-appropriate information regarding humansexuality, coupled with the promotion of hate speech from public officials,12 has resulted in a lack ofknowledge about issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity, including among health-care
professionals, and the prevalence of “conversion therapies” in medical and counselling settings in Iran.
[…]
11 UN Human Rights Council, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran,Statement by the Special Rapporteur at the forty-sixth session of the Human Rights Council - Item 4, March 2021,
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=26869&LangID=E12
12 UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in theIslamic Republic of Iran, Statement by the Special Rapporteur at the forty-sixth session of the Human Rights Council Item 4, March 2021, https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=26869&LangID=E;
6Rang, “It's a great honor to violate homosexuals’ rights”: Official hate speech against LGBT people in Iran, December

182

Amnesty International, Iran: Murder of 20-year-old gay man highlights urgent need to protect LGBTI rights, 17
May 2021, p. 3

77

2017, https://6rang.org/english/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Official-Hate-Speech-against-LGBT-People-in183
Iran.pdf

The OONI, OutRight Action International, and the Citizen Lab’s August 2021 research report on LGBTIQ
website censorship in six countries, including Iran, stated that:• Pervasive censorship has harmed the ability of LGBTIQ people to organize and advocate for humanrights, as well as access critical information about health and well-being. Iran’s move towards creating anational Internet, called the National Information Network, is projected to further restrict online freedom.
• LGBTIQ individuals are targeted online with surveillance and harassment. This is especially the case since
the passing of Law No. 71063 on Computer Crimes of 2009, which significantly expands state surveillanceand censorship powers.345 Entrapment through dating apps is also a persistent concern.
• Seventy-five unique LGBTIQ-related URLs were found blocked in Iran. Blocked URLs in Iran include many
human rights, cultural, and news sites covering LGBTIQ-related topics. Many blogging platforms are also
blocked; therefore, blogs discussing LGBTIQ topics hosted on these platforms are inaccessible as well.
• Iranian Internet Service Providers (ISPs) alternate between blocking and unblocking access to LGBTIQ
URLs over time.
• VPNs are commonly used to access banned Internet content. However, some Iranian-hosted VPNs are
suspected to be monitored or managed by the government to collect the Internet usage information of its
citizens.346 […]The absence of education about gender and sexuality in Iran results in a gap in people’s knowledge
regarding sexual orientation, and gender identity and expression. […] families often do not have sufficient
information or resources to support their LGBTIQ loved ones, which can lead to bullying and violence,
while healthcare professionals may also be misinformed or misleading on how to appropriately care for
LGBTIQ people.365 […]Shadi Amin [an Iranian writer, activist, and director of 6rang], explained that LGBTIQ-related censorship isoften justified on the grounds of safeguarding morality.391 This pervasive censorship of local andinternational websites has particularly damaged the ability of LGBTIQ people in Iran to organize domestic
and transnational advocacy initiatives.392 […]In this study, we observed the blocking of URLs such as `www.gay.com`, `www.bisexual.org`,`www.planetromeo.com`, `www.grindr.com`, and `www.ifge.org`, in addition to the blocking of several
other Iranian and internationally relevant LGBTIQ URLs. […]345 James Marchant et al., Breaking the Silence: Digital Media and the Struggle for LGBTQ Rights in Iran (Small Media,
2018): 92, https://smallmedia.org.uk/media/projects/files/BreakingTheSilence_2018.pdf.
346 Email correspondence between OutRight and Kevin Schumacher, December 5, 2020. […]365 Ibid [Amin, interview]. […]391 Amin, interview.
184
392 Ibid.

See the report for a fuller list of relevant websites found to be blocked in Iran.185

183

Amnesty International, Iran: Murder of 20-year-old gay man highlights urgent need to protect LGBTI rights, 17
May 2021, p. 5
184
Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI), OutRight Action International, and The Citizen Lab, No
Access: LGBTIQ Website Censorship in Six Countries, 8 August 2021, pp. 82, 84, 87, and 91

78

HRANA noted in their 2021 annual report, published in December 2021, that: “Trans citizens face legal
problems in addition to cultural issues in the process of changing their identity documents or seeking
exemption from conscription. In another report, a citizen living in Tehran, after obtaining a military
exemption due to his gender identity, lost his employment and was unable to renew his license as anexpert of the Food and Drug Administration”.186
In early January 2022, an anonymous Iranian activist writing for ReportOUT reported on escalatingcrackdowns on LGBTQ+ people in Iran:A new phenomenon that has recently arisen in order to extend the hate is putting the rainbow flag on the
ground of the streets during special events like the anniversary of the Revolution. The aim is to firstly raiseawareness that this is the flag of “Sodomians” and putting gay men and women in potential dangers ofgetting reported if they are in anyway using this sign for social purposes (In Iran a large number of gay
people use the flag sign in order to find each other and socialize). Secondly, for people that participate inthese events to trample on the flag is seen as a sign of disrespect. An organisation named ‘Halalzadeha’ isbehind this new movement.
Halalzadeha is supported by the state and has the authority to carry out these events. The organisation
has stated their main goal as the reconstruction of the real family values (Halalzadeha, 2017). The firsttime that this organisation took action on this was on February 12th 2020, the Revolution anniversaryday, and was reported by 6Rang, a non-governmental organization of lesbians and transgenders of Iran
(6Rang, 2020), stating “The rainbow flag has also been added to the list of the state’s enemies." The
Islamic Republic of Iran has a history of burning, and trampling, on the the [sic] flags of opposing countries
such as USA’s flag and Israel’s flag to provoke hate and aggression in people towards these countries. Now
the rainbow flag is being targeted.
The most recent activity took place on October 16th 2021. Halalzadeha had made an official
announcement of this event taking place both on their official website and social media pages including
twitter and Telegram (Halalzadeha, 2021). It was specifically organized on the death anniversary ofprophet Lut (The story of Lut is mentioned in Quran as the prophet who fought against the act of
sodomy). This time, the families including children have participated in this event and were holding signs
such as “Two people of the same sex do not make a couple”, “We are the defenders of prophet Lut” and“homosexuality, the modern barbarism”, as well as trampling the flag (Halalzadeha, 2021). […]Some quotes from Iranian LGBT people on the new flag phenomenon shows a mix of fear yet resilience:“I remember the first time they did it (putting the flag on floor). It happened in Mosalla street where
Khamenei (The supreme leader) was making a speech… They know the meaning of the word they’re using
on the flag and they do it on purpose (The word " ‫ "ه مج ن س باز‬has been used on the flag which is theequivalent to the word faggot in levels of offensiveness). I feel sorry for these people. They’re uneducatedand naïve. From the very young age, they’ve only been taught to hate and see the world as black andwhite. The fact is, many people in Iran are still uneducated about different sexualities and identities andbefore they get a chance at learning, these people come and introduce us as the enemy. The picture that

185

Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI), OutRight Action International, and The Citizen Lab, No
Access: LGBTIQ Website Censorship in Six Countries, 8 August 2021, pp. 91-97
186
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Annual Report 2021: Annual Statistical Report of Human Rights
Conditions in Iran, December 2021, p. 54

79

shows a young boy with his parents hurts me deeply. They’re bringing this kid up with the wrong
information. Maybe this kid grows up to be a part of the LGBT himself and he’s going to suffer from theinternalized homophobia. Another picture shows teenagers participating in this event. They learn that
their LGBT classmates are their enemies and these teenagers are going to suffer even more than they
already are in schools.""They are going to consciously spread the hate in schools. Using the term “pervert” by this organization
indicates that gay people are just all about sex and lust and they actively compare us with paedophiles!
The government knows exactly what they’re doing. If you go ten years back in time, they tended to deny
the existence of us. Like when Ahmadinejad (former president) said “We don’t have homosexuals in Iran”
at Columbia University when asked about the LGBT rights in Iran. But today, they feel threatened by thecourageous LGBT youth who try to educate people and now they are purposefully targeting us.” […]“I’m terrified to my core. They’re encouraging people to hate us” […]“The LGBT flag is the new American flag to the Islamic Republic. They have announced a war against us. I
don’t live in Iran but I still want to be able to see and visit my family back in Iran and I feel like with thesituation that is going on at the moment, I might not be able to go back ever again. At least until thecurrent government is still ruling. Sometimes the uncertainty of the situation drives me mad. I don’t wantto think negative but this is the truth, if say for example there would be a family emergency, I would not be
187
able to go back to Iran and this is absolutely heart breaking”

In January 2022, 6Rang reported on conditions for trans prisoners in Iran, stating that: “Even though
Iranian law does not criminalise trans individuals, there is still social stigma against these individuals thatallows subhuman conditions like this to persist. The prevalent harassment of trans prisoners by prison
authorities exacerbates an already vulnerable group of people”.188
Amnesty International wrote in January 2022 that: “Gender non-conforming individuals who cannot or
do not wish to change their sex assigned at birth or choose between the binary gender categories of
man and woman experience discrimination in access to education, employment, health care and public
services because the Islamic Republic system heavily enforces gender segregation across public spaces
and imposes strict dress codes”.189
Amnesty International stated in their 2022 annual report, on human rights in 2021, that, in Iran: “Themilitary continued to characterize homosexuality as a “perversion”. Military exemption cards issued to
gay and transgender individuals indirectly disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity without
their consent, putting them at risk of violence”.190
Sayeh Isfahani’s April 2022 Atlantic Council blog post on the potential impact of a new Iranian Internet‘Protection Bill’ on the LGBTQI community stated that:187

ReportOUT, A New Crackdown? What is Currently Happening in Iran to LGBTQ+ People?, 4 January 2022
6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Suicide and neglect: Trans prisoners treated worse than
animals in Iran’s most notorious prison, 10 January 2022
189
Amnesty International, Ill-Treated Iranian LGBTI Defender At Risk, 25 January 2022
190
Amnesty International, Amnesty International Report 2021/22: The state of the world’s human rights, 29 March
2022, p. 199
188

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[…] users in Iran live in a climate where state actors are on the watch to spot the smallest “blunder” inorder to identify users and mount charges against them. […]Many Iranians, including the queer community, rely on online anonymity to evade persecution at thehands of state actors. The institutions responsible for this persecution include Iran’s Cyber Police as wellas the numerous cyber divisions of the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] and its militia arm, theBasij. Benefiting from hefty budgets, these state actors monitor social media platforms and often
orchestrate “raids” leading to the arrest of people criticizing the clerical establishment and security
191
agencies or those “flouting morals and religious values.”

In April 2022, The Lancet Psychiatry, a peer-reviewed scientific journal, published a piece on conversion
therapy of Iranian gay men, stating on Iran that: “Religious institutions are opposed to homosexuality,
leading to the rejection of gay men by families and society, the promotion of internalised stigma, andthe development of pseudoscientific therapies by health professionals. Under the control of religious
institutions, the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, the Ministry of Science, Research, andTechnology, and the Psychology and Counseling Organization of Iran have condemnedhomosexuality”.192
In June 2022, HRANA’s article on increased state-sponsored discrimination against Iranian LGBTQI+
communities set out that:
The Islamic Republic has long criminalized homosexuality in its domestic legal systems while also actively
fueling propaganda campaigns in both media and educational institutions including throughdiscriminatory public media content, textbooks, and campaigns aimed at so-called “Conversion Therapy”.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, as the number of LGBTQI+ activists inthe country continue to grow, Iranian politicians, cultural public figures and celebrities have made publicstatements aimed at inciting public discrimination, hostility, and violence against the LGBTQI+ community
inside of Iran.
Officials representing the government have gone on record with their discriminatory positions. […] Our
initial research points to the unrestricted and inappropriate use of the internet as the major cause of theissue. In an interview with a foreign news agency, Minoo Mohraz, the head of the Iranian Research Centerfor HIV/AIDS (IRCHA) said, “for the sake of public health protection, sex workers, addicted people, andhomosexuals have to be identified and treated.” Mohraz added, “[…] we have to treat them before theypollute the rest of society.” […]An apparent grassroots group known as ‘Halalzadeha’ has been circulating content on social media
inciting discriminatory language against sexual and gender minorities. The group is also known to holdgatherings in Tehran aimed at condemning same-sex marriage in other countries. During the last 22
Bahman March (Anniversary of the 1979 Revolution), they stepped and marched on rainbow flags
incitement hostility against members of the LGBTQI+ community. The lack of attempt by police or security
forces to interfere in the gatherings, which is a routine activity in the case of similar gatherings, indicatesthat such groups are potentially supported by the regime. […]191

Atlantic Council, The Internet ‘Protection Bill’ will hurt all Iranians, but the queer community will have the mostto lose, 12 April 2022
192
Amir Kabir and Irwin Nazareth, “Conversion therapy: a violation of human rights in Iranian gay men”, The Lancet
Psychiatry, Volume 9, Issue 4, April 2022

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At odds with the body of knowledge in their respective field, several psychiatrists and psychologists
employ unscientific treatment methods to change the gender identity of transgender people. Underpressure from their family, many transgender youths give in to unscientific treatment methods.
Nonetheless, the Medical Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran has remained in a conspiracy of silence
toward these unsubstantiated methods. The silent complicity in such methods is in stark contrast to theregime’s obligations under international law.
Social media has become a major channel of promotion for such treatments. In an article entitled, “Eight
Guiding Methods to Cure Homosexuality”, which was widely disseminated online, a purported specialistin psychology and hypnosis, Davood Najafi Tavana, claimed that his methods could “change an LGBT
person into a straight person.”
Tavana claimed that: “to cure homosexuality, one must see a psychiatrist as soon as possible to ensure
the normal functioning of the endocrine glands.” He continued, “One can do this by running some tests. In
this phase of treatment, with the help of medicine, your homosexuality will be cured.” He also stated that
one must also, “Purify your mind also by appealing to God and holy Imams. In this way, you can overcome
your diabolic thoughts and temptations.”
Mehr News Agency, which is affiliated with Islamic Development Organization, published an article
criticizing a psychiatrist who had described homosexuality as a natural disposition. The report claimed “sofar, no accredited laboratory has proven that homosexuality is a natural disposition. They asked, “Howcan a psychiatrist who is supposed to comply with scientific principles, expose his patients to damages ofhomosexual intercourse by saying that this is natural?” The report repeated Tavana’s claim thathomosexuality can be cured with drugs, “In Iran, many physicians have the successful treatment ofhomosexual patients in their career. Therefore, the wrong assertion that homosexuality is incurable has tobe debunked as a trick of political advocates of homosexuality.” […]The regime continues incorporating gender stereotypes in educational materials particularly at lowersecondary level (middle school). Such stereotypes indirectly intensify violence against LGBTQI+ people. By
enclosing the gender spectrum into a gender binary, these textbooks adversely impact a children’s
perception of gender minorities and as such incite discrimination and hostility towards those minorities
within their own society.
A textbook titled ‘Family Management and Lifestyles’, which is taught exclusively to girls in the 12th
grade, the text advised girls, “If a man, from the outset of the marriage life, expects his wife to contributeto breadwinning, you better reconsider marrying this man, because, in such marriage life, you have totake over both men’s and women’s roles.” The underlying patriarchal structure of traditional culture aswell as Iran’s domestic legal system puts all efforts to reinforce such strict gender roles and eliminate allgender-equal living patterns. For this purpose, the official education system plays a key role in the
reproduction of gender discrimination and the upbringing of children in accordance with Islamic views on
gender rather than gender equality. […]The regime vigorously censors any content about LGBTQI+ rights to cut the access of families of an LGBTQ
member to these contents. None of the educational platforms, dating websites or computer games are
immune to this type of censorship.
Recently, a Mobile game app called ‘Apex Legends’ was removed from the app store Kafe-Bazar by theorder of the regime’s monitoring working group. Soon after, this application was taken down from the
Myket App store as well. Activists believe that gay and lesbian characters in this game were the reason for
193
this censorship.
193

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), State-Sponsored Discrimination against Iranian LGBTQI+
Communities Ramps up amidst a Growing and More Vocal Activist Community, 22 June 2022

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In July 2022, IranWire reported on Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani (Sareh), the detained LGBT+ rights activist
being framed as a “trafficker” in Iran. It wrote that:
In a video report aired by the hardline Tasnim News Agency on behalf of the IRGC-IO [Intelligence
Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] on Monday, Sareh – whose name was there given
as Zahra Mansouri-Hamedani – was accused of running “one of the largest prostitution networks in Erbil”.
The report claimed she was aided by two other individuals reportedly also now in custody, Alireza FarjadiKia and a friend known only as “Kati”.
Described as an “obscene gang”, the three detainees were said to have smuggled “more than a thousand
Iranian girls” for sale in the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. The report feaured as “evidence” some blurredfootage of nightclub interiors, in which the subjects were not named or identifiable. […]In the same period, Sareh’s friends were arrested and made to give forced confessions against her, someof which then aired on state TV. Shesh-rang reports that these individuals had been promised the footage
194
would not be broadcast.

In its July 2022 country update for religious freedom in Iran, USCIRF stated that:
The government […] uses religion to repress members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer,
and intersex (LGBTQI+) community and actively executes gay men on religious grounds.
In March, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke against “severe moral deprivation in the world today such as
homosexuality” in a televised speech. Government sponsored media portray lesbians in Iran as criminals,
and officials have forced women accused of being lesbian to attend “reorientation courses” where they195
are subjected to physical torture and verbal abuse.

Reporting on the sentencing to death of Zahra Sediqi Hamedani (Sareh) in September 2022, Hengaw
Organization for Human Rights wrote that “the security agents threatened her with her execution anddeprivation of custody of her two children besides verbal harassment and insults to her identity andappearance”.196
In September 2022, 6Rang published a fact sheet on the sentencing to death of Zahra Sadighi Hamedani(Sareh) and Elham Choubdar, writing that:On 27 October 2021, she [Sareh] was arrested by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces in
the province of West Azerbaijan. Following her arrest, she was forcibly disappeared for 53 days. It
subsequently transpired that the Revolutionary Guards held her in solitary confinement in a detention
centre in Urumieh. […] The interrogators used torture and ill-treatment to force Sareh to confess that she
was involved in trafficking Iranian women to Iraqi Kurdistan for prostitution. Despite enormous pressure,
she refused to provide them with false confessions.
194

IranWire, Detained LGBT+ Rights Activist Framed as "Trafficker" in Iran, 20 July 2022
US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Country Update: Iran - Religious Freedom in Iranin 2022, July 2022, pp. 1 and 4
196
Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Zahra Sediqi Hamadani, an LGBT community activist, was sentenced todeath by the Revolutionary Court of Urmia, 4 September 2022
195

83

On 30 December 2021, the Intelligence Organization of the Revolutionary Guards took over Sareh’s
Telegram channel, which had about 1,200 followers. They changed the profile picture to the logo of theintelligence organization and posted a message, which stated, “Protecting family values is the red line of
the unknown soldiers of Imam Zaman [the title used for Mahdi, the 12th Shia Imam] for the Intelligence
Organization of the Revolutionary Guards.” […]In early July 2022, Tasnim, an IRGC news agency published a video accusing Sareh of of [sic] taking part insex trafficking. The video showed the interviews of two individuals who said that Sareh was involved inseducing Iranian women and girls and trafficking them to Iraqi Kurdistan to exploit them. 6Rang research
confirms that those interviews were taken from detainees under duress and in exchange for the197
authorities promises to free them.

A query response on Iran’s armed forces by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, published in
December 2022, referring to information from an interview the previous month with an adjunctresearch professor in law and legal studies at Carleton University (with over twenty years of experience
practising criminal and human rights law in Shiraz, Iran), stated that “to be exempt from military service,
gay and transgender people have to prove they are "'sick'" through medical examination by a military,
forensic and family doctor”.198
A 2022 article in the journal Health Care for Women International on discrimination, violence, andsuicide among transgender women in Iran wrote that: “In Iran, transgender women are not allowed towear women’s clothing until they have undergone gender reassignment surgery, and therefore aretargeted by law enforcement”.199
6Rang’s March 2023 report on official hate speech used against LGBT people in Iran as a tool of
oppression wrote that:
One of the largest minority groups that made themselves visible during the protests was the LGBTQ+
community. As such, issues related to individuals in this minority group have come to light in the face of
the Iranian general public. We have witnessed immense support, for example graffiti on university
campuses signposting it as a safe space for LGBTQ+ people. […]Although strives have been made in terms of visibility for LGBTQ+ people in the recent protests, hatespeech is still rampant, especially amongst state officials who use it publicly to vilify LGBTQ+ people
further. State media presents LGBTQ+ individuals as ‘immoral and corrupt’, ‘animalistic and subhuman’and ‘sick and diseased’; apart from being presented as inferior, LGBTQ+ people are often accused ofworking with Western imperialists or being anti-revolutionary.

197

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Fact sheet on Zahra Sadighi Hamedani (Sareh) and Elham
Choubdar, September 2022
198
Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Query response on Iran: Armed forces, including Islamic Revolution
Guards Corps (IRGC) and Basij (2019 - December 2022), 19 December 2022
199
Azar Nematollahi, Farnaz Farnam, Safoora Gharibzadeh, and Parisa Khoda-Khah “Discrimination, violence, andsuicide in transgender women in Iran”, Health Care for Women International, Volume 43, Issue 7, 2022

84

These sentiments were seen repeatedly during the period of September 2022 to February 2023. […] It canbe deduced that hate speech made by officials against this minority increased or intensified in thereporting period.
Hateful representations of LGBTQ+ individuals by state officials, paramilitary groups and media
Amidst the peak of the protests in November 2022, a group of Basijis (a paramilitary group belonged to
the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)) set rainbow flags on fire in front of the British Embassy in
Tehran12. This was in direct protest of LGBTQ+ people being welcomed by protestors and being visible inprotests. Disgusted by the role of the LGBTQ+ community in the protests, this horrifying and hateful statesanctioned act was a reactionary outcry and attempt at instigating fear.13 14 […]Although the official hate speech targeting LGBTQ+ community has a history as long as the Islamic
Republic, it was only during these protests that the state forces recognised their role in revolutionary
mobilisations and acted quickly to discredit it by associating it with a foreign government.
Same sex acts have long been represented as immoral and anti-Islamic by the Islamic Republic regime.
The highest-ranking officials often take part in vilifying LGBTQ+ individuals publicly and without regard.
One of the ways in which officials have instigated hate against this minority group is by using Islam andreligion. In December 2022, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei gave a public speech in which he said:“Banning hamjensbazi [faggotry] is not only a concern of Islam, but it is forbidden in all religions.”17
Iranian officials have continued to show homosexuality as a moral failure and an agenda by the West. In
February 2023, President Ebrahim Raisi spoke about the ‘promotion of homosexuality’ in a speech:“On the matter of family, we are the accusers and you [the West] are the accused. You are promoting thelowliest form of obscenity – homosexuality.”18
Raisi has likened homosexuality to the, “…ugliest morality that is accepted by the modern world.”19
On a similar note, Mostafa Mahdavi, the Deputy Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps(IRGC) in Lorestan Province said, “when homosexuality is made legal in the West, it shows that theirmorality has fallen.”20 […]Officials of the Islamic Republic have often used derogatory language that likens homosexuality toanimalistic behaviour and deviancy. Again, hate speech here has been directed at the protests and uses
homophobia to instil fear.
State-affiliated medial and journalists have had a hand in spreading hate against the LGBTQ+ community.
The language often resonates with what is said by state officials. Derogatory language is also prevalent inarticles about LGBTQ+ people.
In November 2022, Hosein Shariatmandari, a fundamentalist journalist, said:“One of the main goals of this riot is to break apart and break our country into pieces… One of the hopesof this situation is to legalise and spread hamjensbazi (faggotry) in a future without the Islamic
Republic.”22
Much of the fearmongering about same-sex relationships mandated by state officials and state media liesin the concept of interrupted or broken traditional families. Heteronormative familial relationships are thepinnacle of moral goodness in the Islamic Republic framework. As such, LGBTQ+ individuals are shown tobe an interruption to normal family dynamics.
In an article by Fars News, Hasan Kouhestani wrote, “if we look back to the sexual revolution in the Westwhen men and women were freer in their relationships, we can see that men were no longer interested in
marriage.” […]Furthermore, officials have used the existing societal hatred and ignorance against the LGBTQ+
community to invalidate the protests. […]85

2 This increased after the death of Nika Shakarami, whose family attempted to erase her identity as a queer woman.
This came after Shadi Amin, a prominent LGBTQ+ activist, dedicated the Lesbian Visibility Award to her. An onslaughtof online hate against her and anybody who claimed that Nika was queer followed, claiming that her name was being‘dirtied’. https://www.washingtonblade.com/2022/11/30/even-in-death-we-fight-to-be-visible/ […]12 https://www.instagram.com/p/CkOZ99BsvYM/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
13 https://www.instagram.com/p/CkstEZ3MGER/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D
14 https://6rang.org/73692/ […]17 https://www.ghatreh.com/news/nn66296913/‫ی ی ر ه‬-‫ان ق الب‬-‫مم نوع یت‬-‫ی ی مو ضوعا‬-‫م ثل‬-‫ه مج نس‬-‫ب ازی‬-‫ف قط‬‫م رب وط‬-‫ا س الم‬
18 https://www.khabaronline.ir/news/1730115/‫د ان ت قا‬-‫رئ ی یس‬-‫از‬-‫غ رب‬-‫ب اب ت‬-‫ت روی ج‬-‫ه مج نس‬- ‫گ رای ی‬
19 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrCVrCyFVvo
20 https://lorestan.iqna.ir/fa/news/4120129/‫زن‬- ‫در‬-‫گ ف تمان‬-‫ان ق الب‬-‫ا س ال یم‬-‫ی ک‬-‫ شخ ص یت‬-‫[ م شارک ت گ را ست‬...]
22https://eslahatnews.com/‫≠و≠ی اف ت ه≠ر سم یت≠ای ران≠در≠ه مج ن س بازی≠و≠ا ست≠ج ه نم≠ا س ال یم≠جم هوری≠از≠پ س≠ف ردای‬200‫م ی یا≠ب ش†گ س‬

The USDOS 2022 report on human rights practices in Iran, published in March 2023, stated that: “Thelaw classifies gay men and transgender women as having mental disorders and, on those grounds,
exempts them from the otherwise mandatory service for male citizens. Military identity cards list thesubsection of the law dictating the exemption. According to 6Rang, this practice identified gay ortransgender individuals and put them at risk of physical abuse and discrimination in everyday life –including risk of arrest”.201 The report further noted that:
Security forces harassed, arrested, and detained individuals they suspected or perceived as being
LGBTQI+. In some cases, security forces raided houses and monitored internet sites for information on
LGBTQI+ persons.
The government censored all materials related to LGBTQI+ status or conduct. Authorities blocked
websites or content within sites that discussed LGBTQI+ topics, including Wikipedia pages defining
202
LGBTQI+ and other related topics”.

The same or similar statements can also be found in the USDOS 2021 report on human rights practices
in Iran, published in April 2022,203 and in the 2020 report published in March 2021.204 The 2022 USDOS
report, published in March 2023, added that: “Lesbian and bisexual women are denied full rights aswomen, and for lesbians these vulnerabilities can be greater and can include forced marriage”.205
In April 2023, BBC News published an article on the LGBT community rising up in Iran during theprotests. It wrote that:200

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Silencing protests: Official hate speech against LGBT people asa tool of suppression, March 2023, pp. 3 and 5-10
201
US Department of State (USDOS), 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 20 March 2023
202
US Department of State (USDOS), 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 20 March 2023
203
US Department of State (USDOS), 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 12 April 2022
204
US Department of State (USDOS), 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 30 March 2021
205
US Department of State (USDOS), 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 20 March 2023

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"Are you a degenerate," asked the security officer interrogating a young bisexual woman arrested during
the recent anti-government protests in Iran.
The interrogator had searched the woman's phone and come across her intimate conversations with her
girlfriend. […]"What the hell are these chats? Are you a degenerate?" repeated the interrogator, his voice laced with
disgust and using an offensive and derogatory Persian word which describes any form of same-sex
attraction.
Now out of prison on bail, the woman, who is in her 20s, tells the BBC that she dodged the question bydescribing the conversation as "jokes that are common between girls".
She says that the officer appeared to be focused on pressing charges related to the protests and therefore
did not pursue the allegations of homosexuality. […]"But he kept pounding me with that question: 'Are you a degenerate?' He also mentioned my girlfriend's
name here and there, asking questions about her sexuality," she says.
She had planned to make a rainbow-coloured LGBTQ Pride flag and take it to protests. "But I got arrested
and a lot has happened since," she says. […]A trans non-binary activist in Iran in their early 20s, who say they are defying pressure from the"guardians of cis-heteronormativity", describe the increased visibility of the LGBTQ community as the"rainbow wave".
They also note that in response, top officials of the Islamic Republic are intensifying their homophobic
rhetoric.
In a speech in Tehran on the anniversary of the revolution on 11 February, President Ebrahim Raisi
accused the West of "exploiting women" under the pretext of human rights.
He said those countries were in no place to "set norms for the world, since they are pushing humanity
206
towards the brink of extinction by promoting immoral behaviour like homosexuality".

In May 2023, 6Rang published a report on reparative therapy and systematic medical abuse of Iran’s
LGBTI+ people, based largely on a survey disseminated on 6Rang’s social media in May 2022, reaching
240 respondents. The report stated that:
Many Iranian clinicians view non-hetero and cis-normative identities as pathological, whether due to lackof education or existing prejudice. Reparative therapy has become normalised in society due to lack of upto-date teaching at universities, lack of independent media, governmental pressure, existing societal
prejudice, the misperception of queer people being diseased. These factors have led to families sending
their queer children to conversion therapy facilities. […]Many respondents reported being pressured to uptake reparative therapy by multiple sources and/or
institutions. The most prominent influence was that of family (57 instances), followed by healthinstitutions and services (51 instances), friends and acquaintances (37 instances), educational institutions(18 instances), religious institutions (15 instances), romantic or sexual partners (11 instances), judicial or
military institutions (10 instances), and employers or colleagues (7 instances). […]6Rang’s previous research has found that some medical practices assign other psychiatric diagnoses topatients who deviate from heterosexual and cisgender norms, and often misdiagnose these patients. For
example, homosexuality is often diagnosed as a mood disorder and treated with anti-psychotics;
homosexuality has also been diagnosed as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and treated with206

BBC News, Iran protests: LGBTQ community rises up, 19 April 2023

87

medication and behavioural therapy. These practices see transgender patients as experiencing delusions
that force them to believe they belong in the wrong body, and they are often treated withelectroconvulsive therapy or anti-psychotic drugs.
Some medical practices in Iran specialise in conversion therapy. They believe that homosexuality is due toa lack of positive experiences with the opposite sex and low self-esteem. They encourage their patients toform relationships with people of the opposite sex as a way to convert their sexuality. These practices
enforce control over sex and sexual desires, and tell their patients that they failed to respond totreatment due to a lack of discipline and willingness. Treatments at these facilities include electric shockto the hands and genitals, ingestion of emetic drugs while watching pornographic material depicting samesex intercourse, masturbation while watching pornographic material depicting heterosexual intercourse,
and other inhumane treatments.
Another school of thought adopted by some practitioners in Iran sees homosexuality as a fault in thesubconscious due to early childhood trauma. This is often treated through hypnosis and psychoanalysis tofind the root of the trauma by exploring interactions with important figures, such as parents. These
techniques often result in high time and financial strain, and only serve to confuse patients about their
feelings.
Other facilities use the patients’ displeasure with themselves against them. They frequently use theirreligious beliefs and guilt, while stirring fear of the consequences for their families should they not choosea ‘desirable’ sexual orientation. These types of treatment include emphasis on prayer and a return fromsatanic influence. […]The most common suggestions given to participants who underwent reparative therapy were having
relationships with their undesirable gender (i.e., homosexual participants were encouraged to haverelationships with people of the opposite sex), changing their way of dress, and changing their behaviours
in society. They were also encouraged to cease relationships with desired partners, marriage to people ofopposite sex, and to distance themselves from friends. […]Nearly 90% of the respondents who underwent reparative therapy reported experiencing verbal andpsychological abuse during treatment, and more than 60% of them (22 people) were subjected tocoercion and control. Over a third of participants also experienced violence and physical abuse. Other
violations included disclosing clients’ sexual identity, sexual abuse, and deprivation of education. […]Over 21% of those who underwent reparative therapy were forced or pressured to do so by influential
institutions, from family to health services and educational, judicial and social institutions. A fifth of thisstudy’s participants were pathologized due to their ‘abnormal’ sexual orientations or gender identities,
and were subjected to abuse, harassment, humiliation and violence at the hands of medical
207
professionals.

BBC News reported in July 2023 on a sex tape in Iran leading to the suspension of an official in charge ofpromoting Islamic values, stating that:
A video posted online allegedly shows the head of culture and Islamic guidance in Gilan province, Reza
Tsaghati, having sex with another man.
Their identities and the video's authenticity have not been verified.
Mr Tsaghati has been removed from his post while authorities investigate. […]207

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Straitjacketed Identities: Reparative Therapy in Systematic
Medical Abuse of Iran’s LGBTI+ People, May 2023, pp. 4, 6-8, and 10

88

The video - which has been widely shared on social media - has caused furore online. Mr Tsaghati is thefounder of a cultural centre focused on piety and the hijab.
On Saturday, Iran's culture minister Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili said no negative reports relating to Mr
Tsaghati had existed prior to the video's publication.
Some have said the removal of Mr Tsaghati from his post highlighted the difference in how Iranian
officials are treated when accused of a crime compared to the LGBT+ community, or women who do notadhere to Islamic rules. […]Iranian officials had initially stayed silent following the sex tape's appearance on social media.
But the cultural and Islamic guidance department of Gilan eventually issued a statement on 22 July, inwhich it referred to the "suspected misstep of the director of Islamic guidance in Gilan".
It said the case had been "referred for careful consideration to the judicial authorities" and warned
208
against using the video to "weaken the honourable cultural front of the Islamic Revolution".

6Rang’s September 2023 report on the gender persecution of LGBTIQ+ protestors in the context of the2022-23 Iran uprising gathered the following information:
6Rang’s previous research29 over the statements made by officials confirm that hate speech andpropaganda against the LGBTIQ+ community intensified during the uprising. The report suggests that therise in hate speech is a reactionary act against the increased visibility of LGBTIQ+ persons and LGBTIQ+
issues in the protests.30 Official hate speech in Iran has a long history and is becoming more prevalent.
LGBTIQ+ persons are often said to be immoral, animalistic, and a constant threat to Islamic family values.
Hate speech is used by all levels of government, including the president and the Supreme Leader.31
In January 2023, Hojjatollah Masoud Ali, teacher at a seminary (hawza), said:“Reducing and making hijab optional, allowing relationships between boys and girls, accepting
homosexuality and ultimately destroying families are the goals of our enemies.”32 In the same speech, heconflated this ‘immorality’ with the protests, saying, “in the past 100 days, the rioters have shown what
they want!”More explicitly, in December 2022, Khorramabad’s Friday prayer leader, Ahmadreza Shahrokhi, said, “thedispute is not over a few strands of hair … those behind the scenes want to force homosexuality andmarriage with animals on Muslims.”33
Islamic Republic’s high-ranking officials used pre-existing gender social prejudices to spread the fear ofhomosexuality being forced upon Iran if the Islamic Republic were to go by using hate speech to instigate
a link between the protests and ‘immorality’. By doing that, they imposed their “accepted” forms ofgender expression and created a hostile environment against the LGBTIQ+ community and their
participation in protests. Such imposition was not only prevalent among security, judicial, and prison
authorities but also, at least to some extent, among opposition forces. […]Iranian authorities do not allow individuals to freely define and express their gender identity. Individuals
must obtain a diagnosis of ‘gender identity disorder’ and undergo invasive and irreversible medical
procedures, including hormone replacement therapy and sterilization before they are able to present
their gender through dress, hairstyles, and mannerisms to match those that are stereotypically associatedwith their opposite sex. […]As part of their catalogue of human rights abuses based on sexual orientation and gender identity, theIranian authorities consistently make hateful statements that demean and dehumanize people based on
their sexual orientation. Homosexual people are regularly described in official statements and state media
208

BBC News, Iran sex tape scandal: Government says no prior knowledge of alleged behaviour, 29 July 2023

89

outlets as “immoral”, “corrupt”, “animalistic”, “subhuman”, “sick”, and “diseased”. They are also accusedof collusion with Western-orchestrated Zionist conspiracies aimed at undermining the Islamic Revolution
or corrupting the Muslim population.
These official statements reproduce misogynistic, homophobic, and transphobic values. They reinforce
attitudes, beliefs, and practices that perpetuate violence, discrimination, and other harm on grounds ofsexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and constitute advocacy of hatred. In the contextof Iran, this risk is particularly heightened considering that members of the public are not allowed toaccess and learn about affirmative materials on homosexuality and the human rights of persons belonging
to diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. […]Leni is a 16-year-old gay man and a high school student in Isfahan. […]Leni took part in a protest in Isfahan where he was identified and taken by plainclothes officers who beathim with batons until he fell. He was asked whether he was a boy or a girl. One of the officers attempted
to ascertain his sex by touching his genitals. Because he resisted, an officer kicked him from behind,causing him to hit his head on the ground. He experienced temporary changes to his vision.59 […]Mahan’s story shows how the authorities make an issue out of gender identity. He is a gay man from areligious city:
It was a few days after Mahsa Amini’s death. We were angry and angry and could not sit on ourhands and do nothing. Two of my friends and I decided to graffiti walls. We wrote Mahsa Amini's
name on walls all over the city; even on the walls of mosques.64
One night, when they finished work and were almost home, they were arrested by a few plainclothes
officers who attacked, handcuffed, and blindfolded them and forced them in a van with tasers andthreats.65
Although they were arrested over expressing their dissident in the form of graffities, they werequestioned about their gender due to their appearances while being handcuffed and blindfolded:
Even though I don’t appear out-of-the-ordinary, I could hear the officers say ‘these are girls. Why
have you brought them here?’ They meant me and my other friend who was a girl. One of theofficers came to me and asked if I was a girl or a boy. I answered, ‘isn’t it clear that I’m a boy?’
This made him use derogatory terms to speak to me. They insulted and cursed me, and if I
responded to their insults, they would shock me with tasers. Amid humiliation and insults, theyeven told us to take off our pants to see if we are girls or boys!66 […]On 16th of July 2023, Mohammad Sadeghi, a young actor, was arrested during a raid on his apartment inTehran by the Intelligence Organisation of the Police. He had posted a video on his Instagram accountradically criticising the policies of the government in reinstating the morality police ten months after thedeath of Jina Mahsa Amini, referring to a video of a woman being brutally arrested.68
Sadeghi used to post photos of himself on Instagram that challenged gender norms and binaries. He also
supported LGBTIQ+ persons who posed and took photos with the Rainbow flags in streets. […]News agencies affiliated with the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] confirmed the news of his
arrest and called him an actor who sought attention by wearing women’s make-up, showed ‘abnormal
behaviours’, and advocated for homosexuality.69 […]Trans or non-binary individuals are more likely to be targeted in the midst of a street protest because of
their deviation from social norms of gendered appearance.
Sabri, a trans woman said, “in []83 November, I joined the crowd in Vali-Asr Street84 to express myprotests, and for freedom of expression and thoughts, not even the LGBTIQ+ rights which we are far away
from. While I had not set foot outside for four years due to health problems but [with killing Jina Mahsa
Amini, they did something that I could not be silent about].”85
Over seven security forces assaulted and arrested her:90

They beat me even harder when they realised that I’m trans and that’s the reason for my hair
being long. They insulted me, insulted my mother. They used a lighter to burn my hair. They
touched me inappropriately. After that, I was put inside a van and taken to somewhere like apolice station. We were blindfolded and didn’t know where we were being taken. They kept
kicking us while our hands were tied. Our eyes were closed, and we didn't know where we weregoing. They kept kicking us with our eyes and hands tied. They didn’t know which detention
centre to take me to, men’s or women’s. Finally, they saw that I’m registered as male on my ID.86
Leni was also sexually assaulted by the security forces during the protests.
He was at a protest in Isfahan in December 2022. He was noticed by the police and plainclothes officers
because of his voice. They started a physical altercation with him. He was beaten with batons and fell to
the ground due to pain. They dragged him to a car to harass him. An officer asked him if he is a girl or aboy. Leni answered that he is a boy. One of the officers said, "It’s one of those tranny prostitutes. It’s
probably a girl." The officers attempted to ascertain his sex by touching his genitals. He tried to resist
being touched. Another officer kicked him from the back. Leni hit his head on the ground, which caused
his vision to blur.87
Kamran, a gay man was arrested in a protest in a southern city. The moment the security forces noticed
his earrings, they began beating him, hitting him multiple times on his head and the back of his neck whilecalling him a paedophile. […]All participants of this research who were arrested while exercising their rights to freedom of expression
or freedom of assembly experienced torture and ill-treatment, often aggravated by gender-based
violence and sexual abuse. These included the use of derogatory and insulting words referring to theirgender, being threatened with rape, physical torture, and physical sexual assault. […]Dana, a 41-year-old trans woman who was arrested at night with about 50 other protestors in the city of
Karaj said that she was treated differently by the guards and other security forces in the detention centre.
While everyone was severely beaten, they also used vulgar terms against her such as bacheh kouni (battyboy) that referred to her gender.96
Mahan, a gay man was arrested because of spray-painting ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ on walls. He wasblindfolded and taken to several places, presumably detention centres, where he was interrogatedrepeatedly for hours. He says that as soon as interrogators became privy to his sexual orientation due tohis appearance, they neglected the reason for his arrest.97 He was kept for questioning on the basis of his
identity:
It was as if the reason for my arrest had been forgotten. The questions were only about my sexual
orientation, sex, appearance, and behaviour. They were trying to file a case against me. They kept
asking if I’m a prostitute. They asked whether this is how I got the cash that was in my wallet.
This went on for hours. Finally, they put papers in front of me and forced me to sign. It was
written in the papers that I confirm that I am transgender and have a mental and sexual illness.
They said that my family must approve this and sign the papers, otherwise they wouldn’t let mego. They kept us all night. In the morning, they called my family, and told them to sign for me andtake me.98
He believes that interrogators target LGBTIQ+ protestors: "They constantly threatened us with thepossibility of being raped in prison because of our appearance and identities. They would tell us that we
had been caught by good people and we were safe, since they hadn’t raped us. It was as if they
themselves openly admitted that they do these things with detainees and protesters.”99
Sabri, a trans woman was arrested during a protest in Tehran and also had the same experience of being
subjected to sexual insulting words and rape threats. […]91

Erfan, a 35-year-old gay man, was raped repeatedly in detention. He was arrested after being identified,
together with his two other friends who were also LGBTIQ+ persons, by the authorities for his
involvement in a Telegram group that was used to organise street protests in their cities. The admin of the
Telegram group was arrested and information about the group members including Erfan and his twoother friends got into the hands of the IRGC. From searching his phone, they also learned that he sent
videos of protests to Vahid Online, a Telegram Channel and Twitter account that was one of the main
sources of news about the protests.102
After the 7-day interrogation process, they were transferred from the IRGC detention centre where they
were held in cells with only one inmate to a ward in the city general prison holding criminals with heavycharges. He and his friends were raped or otherwise sexually assaulted two to three times a day by theother prisoners for 20 days before being released. He believes that although those who identified andarrested him never mentioned anything about his sexual orientation, they knew about it and the guards
used it to humiliate and abuse him.103
For instance, they searched him and touched his chest and genitals every time he was being returned tohis cell after interrogation - an unusual process for a detainee returning from an interrogation room in thesame building while blindfolded.104 He also said the fact that they put him and his friend in thatparticular ward implied they knew about their sexual orientation and wanted to punish them for it.105[…]
Raha Ajoudani, trans influencer, blogger, and civil activist was 19 years old when she was arrested byagents from the Ministry of Intelligence on 26th of October 2022 in Tehran, at the location where she was
supposed to meet someone she was in love with. A few days earlier, she posted a video on her Instagram
page in which she said: “Each and every one of us knows this very well. As long as this government holds
power, it's a sword hanging over each of us. Any of us could have been Mahsa Amini. It could have been
any of us who were killed instead of Mahsa Amini."116 […]On 26th of October 2022, 15 agents from the Ministry surrounded her, took her phone violently, andthrew her on the ground: “When I told them why are you arresting me so brutally, they said, ‘Don't
pretend to be a girl here, this isn't the place to stir our emotions with a feminine tone’. I said, ‘Why did
there have to be 15 people to arrest me? Am I a terrorist?’ They replied, ‘You're worse than a terrorist.
Why would someone who has connections with adversarial governments like the US and Israel is at least
not worse than a terrorist or an ISIS member?’
Their reference was to an open letter that I and a group of civil activists inside Iran had written to theUnited Nations Security Council [about the protests in Iran].” They took her to a Ministry of Intelligence
office in Baradaran Mozaffari Street and interrogated her for hours. They questioned her about the
involvement of the LGBTIQ+ community in the uprising.
They conditioned her release on her making a commitment both in writing and in front of a camera thatshe did what she did under the influence of foreign spies, and that she was wrong and would not engage
in any media activity and remain silent about her arrest. They prepared the text for her and made herwear her headscarf while on camera. They told her that she should wait a few days until they summoned
her again, and then released her.
On 17th of December 2022, Raha was arrested again during a raid to her home and by IRGC forces. All her
electronic devices were confiscated, her mother was intimidated not to break the news to media outlets
outside the country, and she was taken to Branch 8 of Shahr-e Ray Prosecution Office where charges werebrought against her. […]They showed me a video related to Mahsa Amini that had been published by me. I asked, ‘Where do you
see in this video that I'm inciting violence and murder?’ They replied, ‘Just the fact that you're calling fornationwide protests is enough for that purpose.’ At that point, they told me, ‘You're not a woman; why is92

your hair so long?’ Then they sent a female police officer who pulled my hair to see if it was real or fake.”[…]
Branch 29 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court tried her on 24 June 2023, and sentenced her to a total of
two year and six months imprisonment; “I had to appear in court dressed and perceived as a man.” […]29 https://6rang.org/english/2331/.
30 https://6rang.org/english/3511/
31 https://shorturl.at/kJPW7.
32 https://shorturl.at/ikrZ5.
33 Ibid. […]59 Interview with Leni, April 2023 (his real identity is withheld for security reasons). […]64 Interview with Mahan, July 2023 (his real identity is withheld for security reasons).
65 Ibid.
66 Ibid.
67 Ibid
68 Sadeghi was released on bail on 21st of August. At the time of writing, he is awaiting his trial: https://www.hranews.org/2023/hranews/a-43026. […]69 See this: https://shorturl.at/iBQT2, this: https://shorturl.at/qtBV9, and this: https://shorturl.at/nrEFT. […]85 6Rang Interview with Sabri, July 2023 (her real identity is withheld for security reasons).
86 Ibid.
87 6Rang Interview with Leni, April 2023 (his real identity is withheld for security reasons) […]96 6Rang Interview with Dana, July 2023 (her real identity is withheld for security reasons).
97 6Rang Interview with Mahan, July 2023 (his real identity is withheld for security reasons).
98 Ibid.
99 Ibid.
100 Inhaling smoke is a way to ease the impact of tear gas. Therefore, protestors set trash cans on fire. It was also
used to prevent security forces from getting to protestors. […]102 6Rang Interview with Erfan, August 2023 (his real identity is withheld for security reasons).
103 Erfan
104 After the first interrogation, Erfan was taken to a doctor in the detention center to be generally examined while
he was blindfolded: “I remember when someone took my hand and led me to the doctor down the hallway. On theway back, they turned to me and said, 'You're not very dainty.' I didn't say anything. When they took me to thedoctor, they said, 'Yes, Doctor, this one is also quite dainty. Be careful with this one.' The doctor performed a physicalexamination. As they were taking me to the cell, they said, 'Gosh, you're not very dainty at all.' I turned and said,'Goodness, you're not very decent either.”
105 Ibid. […]209
116 https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=838481037407989.

All Human Rights for All in Iran and eight other civil society organisations stated the following in theirreport to the UN Human Rights Committee ahead of its 139th session and periodic review of Iran:“Students are reportedly physically and mentally abused by teachers and school administrators becauseof their sexual orientation and/or gender identity, pushing them in some cases to drop out fromschool”.210
209

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), War on Bodies and Minds: Gender Persecution of LGBTIQ+
Protestors in the Context of the 2022-23 Iran Uprising, September 2023, pp. 10, 17-22, 25, 27-29, and 31-32
210
All Human Rights for All in Iran, Association for Human Rights in Kurdistan – Geneva (KMMK-G), Association for
the Human Rights Of The Azerbaijani People In Iran (AHRAZ), Balochistan Human Rights Group, Iran Human Rights
Documentation Center (IHRDC), Impact Iran, Kurdpa, Rasank, and Siamak Pourzand Foundation, Alternative report93With regards to legal barriers in the media (non-explicit), the ILGA Database page for Iran reported that“In October 2022, it was reported that a Malayalam-language film from India entitled "Monster" hasbeen banned in Iran due to alleged “LGBTQ content”. The producers have since re-applied for screening
in the country after making the necessary changes to pass censorship formalities”.211
The ILGA Database page for Iran writes that “gender-diverse persons in Iran still face widespread social
stigma and government targeting, especially if they have not attained legal gender recognition or do notconform to traditional gender expressions”.212

c. Harassment and violence
For further relevant information consult also section II., b., iii. Treatment in detention facilities, section II.,b., iv. Prosecutions and convictions under laws that are deployed against the LGBTQI+ community, andsection III., c. Homophobia and transphobia in government institutions.
In June 2020, Human Rights Activists in Iran and thirty-eight other NGOs called on the UN Human Rights
Council to renew the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, stating in their
letter that: “Members of Iran’s LGBT community continue to live under the threat of a penal codecriminalizing same-sex sexual relations between consenting individuals with punishments ranging fromflogging to death, and of a stigmatizing public discourse that make them vulnerable to police
harassment, discrimination and violence”.213
An article posted by OutNews Global in September 2020 stated:
LGBTQ activist and journalist at Iran International TV, Aram Bolandpaz said: “Generally, police in Iranattack anyone whose behaviour, mannerisms, interests, appearance, or expression is slightly different to
the majority.”“LGBTQIA people naturally fall under the group which comes with different social expressions whether itis the way they dress, talk, walk, or even look. To be more precise, police like to pick on people who aresofter; police like to bully men who are not as tough; they somehow find comfort by tormenting thosepeople who do not fit the perfect picture of a powerful man or a needy woman.”
She added: “Everyday LGBTQIA Iranians live in daily fear of punishment simply for being who they are. In
Iran, I was not given a choice about my own identity. Instead I felt the need to conform to a lifestyle which214
I did not feel connected to.”to the Human Rights Committee. For the periodic review of the Islamic Republic of Iran: Discrimination andviolence based on religion or belief, ethnicity and language, sexual orientation and gender identity, Human Rights
Committee, 139th session (Geneva), 9 October – 3 November 2023, September 2023, p. 19
211
ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) Database, Jurisdiction: Iran, undated
212
ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) Database, Jurisdiction: Iran, undated
213
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), 39 Human Rights Organizations called on the UNHRC to renew
the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, 20 June 2020
214
OutNews Global, Iran: shocking persecution of LGBTQ+ people continues, 18 September 202094

6Rang’s September 2020 research report on structural and social violence against LGBTI people in Iran,based on a qualitative and quantitative online survey questionnaire shared on social media, found that:
The laws of Islamic Republic of Iran are a major source of violence against LGBTI people. 19.6 percent ofparticipants reported violence committed by officials in the police and security forces as well as the
judiciary i.e. judges and prosecutors. They consistently reported humiliating conduct or physical violenceby the ordinary police, security forces, and patrol police (moral police) for reasons such as different
gender expression, breaching binary dress-code norms, insufficient hijab (Islamic veil) or participating inhouse parties. […] 30 participants (17.3%) also gave accounts of the police or judges asking for sexual
favors as a bribe or hush money. A considerable number of participants experience physical and/or sexual
violence in the legal system. […]Narratives and personal testimonies of participants show that the real number of those who haveexperienced violence in a legal setting is probably more than what has been reported. Several participants
215
stated they are afraid of answering this question.

DW’s February 2021 article on the difficulties of being gay in Iran, referring to a report by Ahmed
Shaheed, the previous UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran, stated that “The UN
official said that by criminalizing consensual sex, the authorities in the Islamic Republic have legitimized
violence against gays by both public officials and private citizens. He said such violence includes "torture,
blows to the body, and even rape carried out by law enforcement agencies and vigilante groups."”216
In May 2021, Amnesty International wrote:
According to information received from Iranian gay men and reports by human rights groups,6 in seeking
exemption from military service on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity, gay,transgender and gender non-conforming individuals are generally forced to undergo humiliating anddegrading physical and psychological tests, including anal examinations, which amount to torture, as wellas interrogations by officials during which they are forced to answer intimate questions about theirgender and sexuality such as their preferences for sexual positions. […]6 Human Rights Watch, “We Are a Buried Generation”: Discrimination and Violence against Sexual Minorities in Iran,
December 2010, https://www.hrw.org/report/2010/12/15/we-are-buried-generation/discrimination-and-violenceagainst-sexual-minorities; 6Rang, Confessing to having same-sex relations is the new norm for military service
217
exemptions in Iran, https://6rang.org/english/2261/

215

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Hidden Wounds: A Research Report on Violence Against LGBTI
in Iran, September 2020, p. 10
216
Deutsche Welle (DW), The difficulties of being gay in Iran, 26 February 2021
217
Amnesty International, Iran: Murder of 20-year-old gay man highlights urgent need to protect LGBTI rights, 17
May 2021, p. 3

95

In January 2022, 6Rang reported on conditions for trans prisoners in Iran, stating that: “The prevalentharassment of trans prisoners by prison authorities exacerbates an already vulnerable group ofpeople”.218
In its July 2022 country update for religious freedom in Iran, USCIRF wrote that “officials have forced
women accused of being lesbian to attend “reorientation courses” where they are subjected to physicaltorture and verbal abuse”.219
A February 2023 Washington Blade article on LGBTQ voices among Iran’s protests wrote that: “Veyssi, aqueer and nonbinary “child of the diaspora” who grew up in the U.S., said they have “countless friends
who live in secrecy in Iran,” people who in some cases “have to spend every weekend in a jail” or wereforced to flee the country, often with help from groups like the International Railroad for Queer
Refugees (formerly known as the Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees.)”220
The USDOS 2022 report on human rights practices in Iran, published in March 2023, stated that:“Security forces harassed, arrested, and detained individuals they suspected or perceived as being
LGBTQI+. In some cases, security forces raided houses and monitored internet sites for information on
LGBTQI+ persons”.221 A similar statement was also found in the 2021 report, published in April 2022.222
6Rang’s September 2023 report on the gender persecution of LGBTIQ+ protestors in the context of the2022-23 Iran uprising reported on the following cases of state harassment and violence:
The case of Nika Shakarami is a profound example of how existing social constructs and criteria used todefine sexual orientation and gender identity can further isolate and marginalise LGBTIQ+ persons even in
the context of uprisings for human rights and democracy.
Nika Shakarami was 16 years old at the time of her death. She had been partaking in a protest in Tehran
when she was targeted by security forces and killed. The investigation by CNN that took place following
her death confirmed that Nika had been fleeing security forces just before her death. Video and photoevidence show her making a phone call and then hiding behind cars.34
According to eyewitnesses, Nika was forcibly taken into a van. She was forcibly disappeared for 10 days
before her family was asked to identify the body. Her family say that Nika’s nose had been obviously
broken, and that she suffered trauma to the head.
The authorities buried Nika away from the intended burial site in secret. They did not allow the family tohold a funeral. Although her death certificate confirms that her cause of death was blunt force trauma to
the head, the authorities are adamant that Nika fell off a building.
After her death, it was found that Nika had been active on social media, known as a queer person to her
followers and had a relationship with a 16-year-old girl in Germany, Nele. On 17th of November 2022, the218

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Suicide and neglect: Trans prisoners treated worse than
animals in Iran’s most notorious prison, 10 January 2022
219
US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Country Update: Iran - Religious Freedom in Iranin 2022, July 2022, p. 4
220
Washington Blade, Minority, LGBTQ voices must be centered amid Iran protests, activists say, 17 February 2023
221
US Department of State (USDOS), 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 20 March 2023
222
US Department of State (USDOS), 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 12 April 2022

96German Zeit Magazine published a detailed story about their relationship.35 It featured screenshots of
their video calls and chats, the photos they exchanged, and full details of the last days of Nika’s life andher involvement in the protests. […]Leni is a 16-year-old gay man and a high school student in Isfahan. […]Leni took part in a protest in Isfahan where he was identified and taken by plainclothes officers who beathim with batons until he fell. He was asked whether he was a boy or a girl. One of the officers attempted
to ascertain his sex by touching his genitals. Because he resisted, an officer kicked him from behind,causing him to hit his head on the ground. He experienced temporary changes to his vision.59 […]Mahan’s story shows how the authorities make an issue out of gender identity. He is a gay man from areligious city:
It was a few days after Mahsa Amini’s death. We were angry and angry and could not sit on ourhands and do nothing. Two of my friends and I decided to graffiti walls. We wrote Mahsa Amini's
name on walls all over the city; even on the walls of mosques.64
One night, when they finished work and were almost home, they were arrested by a few plainclothes
officers who attacked, handcuffed, and blindfolded them and forced them in a van with tasers andthreats.65
Although they were arrested over expressing their dissident in the form of graffities, they werequestioned about their gender due to their appearances while being handcuffed and blindfolded:
Even though I don’t appear out-of-the-ordinary, I could hear the officers say ‘these are girls. Why
have you brought them here?’ They meant me and my other friend who was a girl. One of theofficers came to me and asked if I was a girl or a boy. I answered, ‘isn’t it clear that I’m a boy?’
This made him use derogatory terms to speak to me. They insulted and cursed me, and if I
responded to their insults, they would shock me with tasers. Amid humiliation and insults, theyeven told us to take off our pants to see if we are girls or boys!66 […]Participants of this research witnessed the brutal crackdown on protests in different cities which violated
the right to freedom of assembly of countless protestors. All of those taking part in protests or evenpassing by a protest experienced security forces violence in multiple ways.
For instance, Ashkan, a 19-year-old gay man, was beaten heavily with a baton by an officer. This resulted
in heavy bruising on his back. He also lost mobility in his back for several days after the beating. He was
not involved in a protest when this happened – he was merely passing by a protest in the city ofIsfahan.81
Ali, a young gay man who took part in protests in Gorganpars Square in the city of Gorgan on 22nd of
September was sexually assaulted by a plainclothes agent who wore a black mask, dark clothes, and had abaton in hand:
A 14 or 15-year-old boy was being tortured by these people in the square. To the extent that oneof them had fallen on him and his elbow was on the boy's back... I protested because of that
painful scene. That person first started by saying sexual obscenities to me. Then his colleague
attacked me, threatened me with rape, and put his finger inside me and said, ‘this is nothing, if
you don’t leave, I'll fuck you in the ass with soda bottles’... I fled.82
Trans or non-binary individuals are more likely to be targeted in the midst of a street protest because of
their deviation from social norms of gendered appearance.
Sabri, a trans woman said, “in []83 November, I joined the crowd in Vali-Asr Street84 to express myprotests, and for freedom of expression and thoughts, not even the LGBTIQ+ rights which we are far away
from. While I had not set foot outside for four years due to health problems but [with killing Jina Mahsa
Amini, they did something that I could not be silent about].”85
Over seven security forces assaulted and arrested her:97

They beat me even harder when they realised that I’m trans and that’s the reason for my hair
being long. They insulted me, insulted my mother. They used a lighter to burn my hair. They
touched me inappropriately. After that, I was put inside a van and taken to somewhere like apolice station. We were blindfolded and didn’t know where we were being taken. They kept
kicking us while our hands were tied. Our eyes were closed, and we didn't know where we weregoing. They kept kicking us with our eyes and hands tied. They didn’t know which detention
centre to take me to, men’s or women’s. Finally, they saw that I’m registered as male on my ID.86
Leni was also sexually assaulted by the security forces during the protests.
He was at a protest in Isfahan in December 2022. He was noticed by the police and plainclothes officers
because of his voice. They started a physical altercation with him. He was beaten with batons and fell to
the ground due to pain. They dragged him to a car to harass him. An officer asked him if he is a girl or aboy. Leni answered that he is a boy. One of the officers said, "It’s one of those tranny prostitutes. It’s
probably a girl." The officers attempted to ascertain his sex by touching his genitals. He tried to resist
being touched. Another officer kicked him from the back. Leni hit his head on the ground, which caused
his vision to blur.87
Kamran, a gay man was arrested in a protest in a southern city. The moment the security forces noticed
his earrings, they began beating him, hitting him multiple times on his head and the back of his neck whilecalling him a paedophile. […]All participants of this research who were arrested while exercising their rights to freedom of expression
or freedom of assembly experienced torture and ill-treatment, often aggravated by gender-based
violence and sexual abuse. These included the use of derogatory and insulting words referring to theirgender, being threatened with rape, physical torture, and physical sexual assault.
Kamran, a gay man who was arrested at a protest in a southern city described the condition as follows:
When we were in detention, they didn't give us any food for almost 24 hours. We were sofrightened that we didn't even dare to ask for water. Until morning, they were kicking the metaldoor, there were 24 of us in a small detention centre where we couldn't even stretch our legs, andthey constantly demanded that we stand up.
After that, they transferred us from our hometown to the prison in Bushehr which was about a 3hour drive away (300 kilometres), we were in a van with metal walls and no windows in thesouthern heat. They didn't even open a ventilation duct.
Our hands were bound with plastic handcuffs, and they insulted us. The space was so small andthey intentionally wafted unpleasant smells from the handcuffs towards our faces, just to makeus lose our balance. (I can say that for the first two days in prison, my leg was so injured that I
couldn't feel it.)95
Dana, a 41-year-old trans woman who was arrested at night with about 50 other protestors in the city of
Karaj said that she was treated differently by the guards and other security forces in the detention centre.
While everyone was severely beaten, they also used vulgar terms against her such as bacheh kouni (battyboy) that referred to her gender.96
Mahan, a gay man was arrested because of spray-painting ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ on walls. He wasblindfolded and taken to several places, presumably detention centres, where he was interrogatedrepeatedly for hours. He says that as soon as interrogators became privy to his sexual orientation due tohis appearance, they neglected the reason for his arrest.97 He was kept for questioning on the basis of his
identity:
It was as if the reason for my arrest had been forgotten. The questions were only about my sexual
orientation, sex, appearance, and behaviour. They were trying to file a case against me. They kept
asking if I’m a prostitute. They asked whether this is how I got the cash that was in my wallet.

98This went on for hours. Finally, they put papers in front of me and forced me to sign. It was
written in the papers that I confirm that I am transgender and have a mental and sexual illness.
They said that my family must approve this and sign the papers, otherwise they wouldn’t let mego. They kept us all night. In the morning, they called my family, and told them to sign for me andtake me.98
He believes that interrogators target LGBTIQ+ protestors: "They constantly threatened us with thepossibility of being raped in prison because of our appearance and identities. They would tell us that we
had been caught by good people and we were safe, since they hadn’t raped us. It was as if they
themselves openly admitted that they do these things with detainees and protesters.”99
Sabri, a trans woman was arrested during a protest in Tehran and also had the same experience of being
subjected to sexual insulting words and rape threats. She was placed under pressure and death threats tofalsely confess in front of the interrogators’ camera that she had set fire to trashcans.100 She was asked
who she had been collaborating with, where she had graffitied, etc. She and a few others refused toanswer. Consequently, they were transferred from an unknown detention centre to another location thatthey called a prison. She was taken to a square in Tehran and released a few hours later after the head of
the prison realised that she was trans: “I don’t know if he felt sorry for me, or he did not want a LGBT
person in his prison”.101
Erfan, a 35-year-old gay man, was raped repeatedly in detention. He was arrested after being identified,
together with his two other friends who were also LGBTIQ+ persons, by the authorities for his
involvement in a Telegram group that was used to organise street protests in their cities. The admin of the
Telegram group was arrested and information about the group members including Erfan and his twoother friends got into the hands of the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps]. From searching his
phone, they also learned that he sent videos of protests to Vahid Online, a Telegram Channel and Twitter
account that was one of the main sources of news about the protests.102
After the 7-day interrogation process, they were transferred from the IRGC detention centre where they
were held in cells with only one inmate to a ward in the city general prison holding criminals with heavycharges. He and his friends were raped or otherwise sexually assaulted two to three times a day by theother prisoners for 20 days before being released. He believes that although those who identified andarrested him never mentioned anything about his sexual orientation, they knew about it and the guards
used it to humiliate and abuse him.103
For instance, they searched him and touched his chest and genitals every time he was being returned tohis cell after interrogation - an unusual process for a detainee returning from an interrogation room in thesame building while blindfolded.104 He also said the fact that they put him and his friend in thatparticular ward implied they knew about their sexual orientation and wanted to punish them for it.105
The impact of sexual abuse and gendered psychological abuse on LGBTIQ+ protestors after being released
is devastating. Erfan almost committed suicide twice. He said, “I attempted suicide twice after I was
released. I don’t know why but I had a lot of suicidal thoughts to the point where I was too scared tosleep. One of my friends who is a doctor told me to take a drug test, so I did. The test came back positive
for methamphetamine, amphetamine, and morphine. This was very interesting. My friend said this wasprobably why I was feeling suicidal.”106 He said it might’ve been in the tea or the food they gave us everyday. We had to drink the tea and eat the food. Whether it was in the food or the tea, I can say I had
withdrawal symptoms.”107 […]Although they were released on bail or under the Supreme Leader’s Amesty’s [sic] order,111 or a
combination of both, their activities are still being monitored and the harassment and intimidation still
continues in one way or another. They are under constant agony and distress. […]99

Some participants in this research were faced with violations of the right to life during peaceful protests.
For instance, Ashkan, a 19-year-old gay student was subjected to heavy violence in the protests. He said
he made a near escape from the police forces that were aiming to shoot at him specifically. He had apanic attacked and was hospitalised for five days as a result of the shock of being nearly shot to death.115
The views 6Rang collected from some of the members of the LGBTIQ+ community is that some of themost prominent victims (martyrs) of the protests belonged to the queer community. They back theseclaims with social media posts or interviews from partners of the victims (such as Nika Shakarami), homoerotic photos and videos with their same-sex friends (such as Mehrshad Shahidi), or rainbow flags andother signs of their belonging to the community in their blogs (such as Sarina Esmaeilzadeh). […]Raha Ajoudani, trans influencer, blogger, and civil activist was 19 years old when she was arrested byagents from the Ministry of Intelligence on 26th of October 2022 in Tehran, at the location where she was
supposed to meet someone she was in love with. […]On 26th of October 2022, 15 agents from the Ministry surrounded her, took her phone violently, andthrew her on the ground: “When I told them why are you arresting me so brutally, they said, ‘Don't
pretend to be a girl here, this isn't the place to stir our emotions with a feminine tone’. I said, ‘Why did
there have to be 15 people to arrest me? Am I a terrorist?’ […]They took her to a Ministry of Intelligence office in Baradaran Mozaffari Street and interrogated her forhours. They questioned her about the involvement of the LGBTIQ+ community in the uprising. […]On 17th of December 2022, Raha was arrested again during a raid to her home and by IRGC forces. […]They showed me a video related to Mahsa Amini that had been published by me. I asked, ‘Where do you
see in this video that I'm inciting violence and murder?’ They replied, ‘Just the fact that you're calling fornationwide protests is enough for that purpose.’ At that point, they told me, ‘You're not a woman; why is
your hair so long?’ Then they sent a female police officer who pulled my hair to see if it was real or fake.”[…]
34 https://edition.cnn.com/2022/10/27/middleeast/iran-nika-shahkarami-investigation-intl-cmd/index.html.
35 https://www.zeit.de/zeit-magazin/leben/2022-11/nika-schakarami-nele-iran-protest-loveenglish?utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2F. […]59 Interview with Leni, April 2023 (his real identity is withheld for security reasons). […]64 Interview with Mahan, July 2023 (his real identity is withheld for security reasons).
65 Ibid.
66 Ibid. […]81 6Rang Interview with Ashkan, June 2023 (his real identity is withheld for security reasons).
82 6Rang Interview with Navid, June 2023 (his real identity is withheld for security reasons).
83 The exact date is withheld by 6Rang due to security reasons.
84 This is the name of a street in the centre of Tehran.
85 6Rang Interview with Sabri, July 2023 (her real identity is withheld for security reasons).
86 Ibid.
87 6Rang Interview with Leni, April 2023 (his real identity is withheld for security reasons). […]93 https://www.npr.org/2023/02/05/1154584532/iran-acknowledges-it-has-detained-tens-of-thousands-in-recentprotests. […]96 6Rang Interview with Dana, July 2023 (her real identity is withheld for security reasons).
97 6Rang Interview with Mahan, July 2023 (his real identity is withheld for security reasons).
98 Ibid.
99 Ibid.
100 Inhaling smoke is a way to ease the impact of tear gas. Therefore, protestors set trash cans on fire. It was also
used to prevent security forces from getting to protestors.
101 6Rang Interview with Sabri, July 2023 (her real identity is withheld for security reasons).

100

102 6Rang Interview with Erfan, August 2023 (his real identity is witheld for security reasons).
103 Erfan
104 After the first interrogation, Erfan was taken to a doctor in the detention center to be generally examined while
he was blindfolded: “I remember when someone took my hand and led me to the doctor down the hallway. On theway back, they turned to me and said, 'You're not very dainty.' I didn't say anything. When they took me to thedoctor, they said, 'Yes, Doctor, this one is also quite dainty. Be careful with this one.' The doctor performed a physicalexamination. As they were taking me to the cell, they said, 'Gosh, you're not very dainty at all.' I turned and said,'Goodness, you're not very decent either.”
105 Ibid.
106 Ibid.
107 Ibid. […]111 https://apnews.com/article/iran-protests-and-demonstrations-government-ali-khamenei8560e45570321ad08ef75f1f743f9b80 [...]
223
115 6Rang Interview with Ashkan, June 2023 (his real identity is withheld for security reasons).

The UN Human Rights Committee’s November 2023 concluding observations on the fourth periodic
report of Iran and its implementation of the ICCPR stated that it is “concerned that State actors
frequently harass and detain lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals on the basis of public
decency laws and subject such persons to torture and ill-treatment while they are in detention”.224

d. Discriminationi. Access to state-owned housing
No information was found amongst the sources consulted on the LGBTIQ+ community’s access to stateowned housing.

ii. Access to and treatment in public health services
6Rang’s September 2020 research report on structural and social violence against LGBTI people in Iran,based on a qualitative and quantitative online survey questionnaire shared on social media, found thefollowing on violence within the healthcare system:
The LGBTI community in Iran experience discrimination in healthcare system because of staff
unawareness and insensitivity, homophobia and transphobia, heteronormative discourse, stigmatization,negative comments, harassment, refusal of treatment, and verbal or sexual assault. Reparative or
conversion therapy is a common practice among mental health professionals in Iran, which has also been
supported systematically by the Islamic Republic’s education system. In such conditions, widespread
mistreatment threatens the health and wellbeing of LGBTI people. […] In the current survey, 18.7 percent
of participants reported having experienced violence committed by the healthcare professionals. 66
223

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), War on Bodies and Minds: Gender Persecution of LGBTIQ+
Protestors in the Context of the 2022-23 Iran Uprising, September 2023, pp. 11, 19-21, 24, and 26-32
224
UN International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, Human Rights Committee, Concluding observations on
the fourth periodic report of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 23 November 2023, p. 3

101

percent of the participants reported they never or rarely seek help from mental health professionals in
225
case of being subjected to violence.

The January 2021 report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iranhighlighted that: “Substantial barriers are placed on lesbians and gays in accessing the health-caresystem. […] The Government claimed that there were no restrictions on medical services and that any
treatment was administered with consent”.226
The OONI, OutRight Action International, and the Citizen Lab’s August 2021 research report on LGBTIQ
website censorship in six countries, stated on Iran that “healthcare professionals may also be
misinformed or misleading on how to appropriately care for LGBTIQ people.365”.
[…] 365 Ibid [Amin, interview].

227

Amnesty International wrote in January 2022 that: “Gender non-conforming individuals who cannot or
do not wish to change their sex assigned at birth or choose between the binary gender categories of
man and woman experience discrimination in access to education, employment, health care and public
services because the Islamic Republic system heavily enforces gender segregation across public spaces
and imposes strict dress codes”.228
In April 2022, HRANA reported on the following:
In an open letter addressing the medical community of Iran, a number of LGBTQIA activists asked forending discrimination against gender minorities for having access to medical care.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, a number of Iran’s independent
LGBTQIA activists protested against discrimination and lack of access to medical care for genderminorities.
In this letter, they asserted that everyone should be entitled to access to medical records regardless ofsexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. Nonetheless, for LGBTIA+ community, theexperience is not favorable. In the letter, twelve examples of harassment and discrimination includingharassment of male homosexuals in forensic centers were counted. The stigmatization of female
homosexuals/ bisexuals by obstetricians and gynecologists, and the harassment of transgender individuals
229
by forensic centers for receiving sex reassignment certificates were also noted.

225

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Hidden Wounds: A Research Report on Violence Against LGBTI
in Iran, September 2020, p. 14
226
UN General Assembly, Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran: Report of the Special
Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Javaid Rehman, 11 January 2021, p. 10
227Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI), OutRight Action International, and The Citizen Lab, No
Access: LGBTIQ Website Censorship in Six Countries, 8 August 2021, p. 84
228
Amnesty International, Ill-Treated Iranian LGBTI Defender At Risk, 25 January 2022
229
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Iranian LGBTQIA Activists Asked for Ending Discrimination
against Gender Minorities in Medical Centers, 1 April 2022

102

In July 2022, a letter by Amir Kabir published in the Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry on
medical professional bias against sexual minorities in Iran stated that “the country’s political authorities
generally deny the existence of a sexual minority” and that “because of this denial and neglect, very
little health-related research has been done on sexual minority. Therefore, health care providers know
little about sexual minorities and sometimes look at them in a degrading way, which can lead todiscrimination in receiving medical services”.230
The USDOS 2022 report on human rights practices in Iran, published in March 2023, wrote that:“Although the government does not collect official data on discrimination against LGBTQI+ individuals,
NGOs report members of the LGBTQI+ community experience widespread discrimination in […]healthcare”.231
All Human Rights for All in Iran and eight other civil society organisations observed the following in theirreport to the UN Human Rights Committee ahead of its 139th session and periodic review of Iran:“LGBTIQ+ individuals face barriers in accessing healthcare. Access to information about STDs/STIs andtheir appropriate targeted treatment, as well as general safe-sex advice is very limited in Iran, restricting
significantly the access to sexual health for the heterosexual cisgender population, and almost entirely
for the LGBT community”.232

Gender affirming surgery, reparative/conversion therapy, and legal gender change
For further relevant information consult also section II., a., iii. Other relevant legislation affecting
LGBTQI+ persons.
In February 2020, 6Rang noted in a response to a 2019 official report by the Dutch government on thesituation of Iranian LGBT persons that:[…] 6Rang’s research shows that the criminalisation of LGB and transgender persons on the basis of sexual
orientation and gender identity is increasingly accompanied by a range of legal and medical practices
intended to coerce LGB and transgender people into reparative or conversion therapies, hormone
treatments and sex reassignment and sterilisation surgeries.
In these cases, a free and informed consent of the individual is missing. The Iranian legal framework does
not make being a trans person a crime. However, being transsexual is recognised as a medical condition
known as Gender Identity Disorder (GID) that is curable through sex reassignment surgeries (SRS). As a
230

Amir Kabir, “Medical profession bias against sexual minorities threatens the health of Iranian sexual minorities
during the COVID-19 pandemic”, Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, Volume 56, Issue 7, July 2022
231
US Department of State (USDOS), 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 20 March 2023
232
All Human Rights for All in Iran, Association for Human Rights in Kurdistan – Geneva (KMMK-G), Association for
the Human Rights Of The Azerbaijani People In Iran (AHRAZ), Balochistan Human Rights Group, Iran Human Rights
Documentation Center (IHRDC), Impact Iran, Kurdpa, Rasank, and Siamak Pourzand Foundation, Alternative reportto the Human Rights Committee. For the periodic review of the Islamic Republic of Iran: Discrimination andviolence based on religion or belief, ethnicity and language, sexual orientation and gender identity, Human Rights
Committee, 139th session (Geneva), 9 October – 3 November 2023, September 2023, p. 19

103

result, LGBT individuals have two choices: first, to risk criminal prosecution, (state) harassment, andarbitrary arrest and detention; or second, to seek a diagnosis of GID with a view to undergo sex
reassignment surgeries, sterilisation and hormone therapies. This means that LGB people cannot choose
to be as they are and can only go through sex change in order express their identity and choose partnersof the same sex. For trans persons this means that they cannot choose whether or not to undergo medical
procedures. Additionally, medical professionals give the diagnosis of GID to LGBT individuals merely on
the account of their same-sex desires and gender non-conformity and to individuals who do not conformto culturally approved models of femininity and masculinity. Thus, LGBT individuals are coerced to either
receive reparative therapies aimed at “curing” them of homosexuality or undergo sterilisation and SRS
aimed at turning them into “normally gendered” men or women.
This situation is further complicated by the complete disregard for ethical, medical, clinical andeducational standards in the administration of these irreversible procedures. […]Additionally, contrary to the statement in the report, IRI does not reimburse the cost of sex reassignment
surgery. The welfare-based medical insurance only available to few can be used to covers only a third tohalf of the cost required for undergoing SRS when this is done at a public, government-run hospital. This isbecause the cost at these hospitals are cheaper than private hospitals. However, these hospitals, asdetailed above, fall drastically short of all standards of clinical practice, proficiency, expertise and ethicalconduct. Most cases result in bleeding, serious infections, and permanent and irreparable physicaldamage and long-lasting health complications. As such, most patients prefer to use private medical
services that may be better in quality, but the amount of reimbursed provided by the welfare-based
insurance is so little that it covers close to nothing when it comes to private care. Moreover, no additional
medical procedure such as various plastic and other reparative surgeries needed by trans person after themain operation are not covered at all.
Moreover, these individuals often take such irreversible decisions without having been given the233
opportunity to have a real-life experience of one or two years in their desired gender […].

LGBTQ Nation reported in March 2020 on forced gender-affirming surgeries in Iran, writing that:
Iranian LGBTQ activist Shadi Amin has accused Iranian authorities of forcing thousands of gay men every
year to undergo gender-affirming surgeries to switch their gender in an attempt to turn them into
heterosexuals.
After receiving these surgeries under duress, the newly transitioned men and women are often rejectedby their families and subject to social discrimination and violence.
Although Iranian law views homosexuality as an illness punishable by imprisonment, flogging, and death,it has permitted gender-affirming surgeries since the 1980s so that transgender people can enter
heterosexual relationships. The country now conducts at least 4,000 such surgeries each year, possibly far
more.
While the exact numbers are forced surgeries for gay and lesbian Iranians remains unclear, Amin says
authorities force people to have these surgeries, subsidized by the government, under the threat ofarrest, imprisonment, and possible death.
“The government believes that if you are a gay man your soul is that of a woman and you should change
your body,” she said. “We think this is a way to fight the existence of homosexual people because youchange their body and you solve the problem.”
233

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), 6Rang letter to Dutch government regarding its asylum policy
for Iranian LGBTQI, 11 February 2020

104

She added that the country is trying to “cleanse” itself of homosexuals, stating, “[The government] would
rather carry out mass surgeries than executions because they know the world is watching them.”
After completing the surgeries, Amin claims that the government offers no further social support for living
as a newly transitioned person. As a result, such people are often rejected by their families, Amin says.
Lacking familial and social support, many go into sex work and experience physical and sexual violence.
This violence can go unpunished; Iran also has no hate crime laws punishing assault against queer234
individuals.

The Iranian Studies journal’s March 2020 piece on gender transitions in Islamic law, theatre, and film in
Iran wrote that:
Despite official legal and religious recognition, trans activists are still fighting for their full needs to be
met, specifically better access to health care,8 improvement in the quality of surgery provided, andgreater public and medical education about transsexuality. […][…] Shiʿa jurisprudence in Iran does not view sexual reassignment surgery (SRS) as a manipulation of thework of God. […] Ayatollah Khomeini and other jurists in Iran have supported transsexual surgery on the
grounds that it is not explicitly banned in the Qur’an and re-gendering the body does not change the soulor transgress the work and authority of the Creator. […]Due to his judicial acceptance of transsexuality and SRS, transsexuality is openly discussed in seminaries in
Qom, the center of jurisprudential study and fatwa production in Iran. […]Though a number of Iranian religious jurists today support SRS, the general public is generally not as
tolerant or supportive of transgender and transsexual individuals; furthermore, more recent fatwas have
tried to place limits on the permissibility of transsexuality with regard to surgery. […]For decades, the Iranian government has extended financial assistance to those seeking hormonal andsurgical interventions through charity foundations and insurance companies. While the Imam Khomeini
Charity Foundation has long offered loans to help pay for SRS, the economics of transitioning are not that
simple and some transgendered Iranians have expressed concern regarding the quality of surgery
available. […]There are, of course, other legal and bureaucratic hurdles which make transitioning difficult even though
it is legally and religiously sanctioned.
While identity cards and birth certificates can be legally changed, the slow bureaucracy of doing so cancreate other related problems. […]8 Trans people are eligible for “special groups” insurance coverage (according to the law of Universal Health Services
235
in 1995) for basic medical insurance coverage.

In April 2020, DW released a piece on Iran's anti-LGBT policies putting transgender people at risk, writing
that:

234

LGBTQ Nation, Iran is forcing gay men to have gender transition surgeries to “make them straight”, 3 March
2020
235
Emily O’Dell, “Performing Trans in Post-Revolutionary Iran: Gender Transitions in Islamic Law, Theatre, andFilm”, Iranian Studies, Volume 53, Issue no. 1-2, March 2020, pp. 131 and 133-135

105

Despite repressive anti-LGBT laws, gender reassignment surgery remains legal in Iran. However, the pathto getting legal approval to transition is fraught with humiliating procedures, including virginity tests,
court trials, extensive questioning and mandatory counseling.
Even after people get through the surgery and are legally able to change their sex on their identity cards,
many are left without families, homes and work, while others face lasting physical damage from theprocedure itself. […]"Your rights will be violated before, during and after the surgery," says Shadi Amin, the director of 6rang,an organization that helps LGBT people in Iran. Approval often takes around one to two years, but cantake much longer than that in some cases. […]Others, says Amin, are subjected to virginity tests, which are, "for a lot of them, a painful procedure.""If you are not a virgin anymore and you are not married, it will be a problem." […]As sex change surgeries are often conducted by unqualified doctors, the end results can leave patients notjust with scars, but also with lifelong injuries. "They have damages because most of the doctors are notspecialists on transsexual issues. Most of the doctors are beauty surgeons," says Amin. […]"In some cases, they do the entire surgery in one day." Afterwards, many people do not have enoughmoney to pay to stay and recover in the hospital, and many do not have homes to go back to.
"That is the reason for two deaths that we could report," says Amin. "The person is there in a hostel and isdead because of the bleeding after the operation."
In addition to living with the results of botched surgeries, some people face difficulties as a result of amisuse of hormone therapy. While some patients administer their own hormones without the supervisionof a doctor, many of the surgeons are also not well versed in how to administer the therapy, according toAmin.
"A lot of people who want to do the hormone therapy, they buy it from the black market, and they use it
in overdoses because they want to have a faster change," says Amin. "A lot of them have high bloodpressure, heart problems, kidney problems, and when you see them, you can really immediately knowthat this person is not healthy anymore." […]The visual results of the surgery are also often far different from what the person may have envisioned.
[…]"The sex change process is also a way of cleansing homosexuality in Iran," says Amin. "You have to change
your sex or you have to change your sexual orientation."
Although there is no direct method of forcing homosexual people to apply for transitions, Amin says thatsocial and familial pressure, combined with a fear of death, are enough to push people to transition.
"They medicalize the transsexuality issue. They say that transsexuality can be cured by sex change
operations, but the homosexuals, they are immoral and unhuman," she says.
For many, going through the transition is the only way that they can legally live with their partner without
fearing for their lives.
"That's why when they know that they have no rights as a homosexual, and they want to live with their236
partner, the only way they have to do this is by undergoing sex change surgery."In May 2020, the UN IESOGI produced a paper on conversion therapy, writing that: “In the Islamic
Republic of Iran, individuals who inevitably fail at “converting” their sexual orientation will often bepressured to undergo gender-affirming surgery, in the belief that it will neutralize their orientation”.237
236

Deutsche Welle (DW), How Iran's anti-LGBT policies put transgender people at risk, 28 April 2020
UN Independent Expert on Protection against Violence and Discrimination based on Sexual Orientation and
Gender Identity (IESOGI), Report on Conversion Therapy, 1 May 2020, p. 2
237

106

Kayhan Life, an independent media outlet focusing on Iran, reported in June 2020 on sex reassignment
surgery in Iran, writing that:
The number of female-to-male sex reassignment surgeries (SRS) has increased in Iran, according to Dr.
Abbas Masjedi Arani, the director of the Iranian Legal Medicine Organization.
In comments reported by the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) on June 20, Dr. Arani said: “Wereviewed 580 gender dysphoria (GD) cases last year, of which 400 were women who had filed for sex
reassignment surgery. We approved 103 of those applications. We also approved 56 applications of theremaining 180 filed by men. Gender reassignment surgery (GRS) has increased among women.”
After Thailand, Iran carries out more sex change operations than any other country in the world. While
the Islamic Republic does not recognize homosexuality, it has allowed transgender persons to undergo
GRS since the mid-1980s. […]By condoning and supporting sex change operations in Iran, the regime aims to deflect that criticism. It
would not have to pass any legislation to protect the LGBT community because people who undergo a
238
GRS will be male or female and, therefore, do not require special considerations under the law.

An article posted by OutNews Global in September 2020 observed that: “Despite repressive anti-LGBT
laws, gender reassignment surgery remains legal in Iran. However, the path to getting legal approval totransition is fraught with humiliating procedures, including virginity tests, court trials, extensive
questioning and mandatory counselling”.239
In their report on the state-sanctioned killing of sexual minorities in February 2021, Mai Sato andChristopher Alexander wrote that:
One of the interviewees noted that, in Iran, the 2013 Penal Code criminalises same-sex sexual acts, rather
than same-sex love or relationships […]. Same-sex attraction, on the other hand, is pathologised, and dealt
with in the medical space:
The situation for lesbian, gay, and bisexual people in Iran is characterized by a fundamental
dichotomy between concepts of perversion and deviation (enheraf) on the one hand andpathology and disorder (ekhtelal) on the other. This dichotomy is instituted by a legal frameworkin which homosexual acts are treated as crimes, whereas homosexual desires are taken as
symptoms of a gender identity disorder in need of cure. (Bahreini and Nayyeri, 2021) […]Medicalisation of same-sex attraction manifests in the form of various conversion practices, founded
upon the misguided premise that such interventions may bring gay people into line with the strict binarymodel of human sexuality espoused by the clerics. One particularly heinous method embraced by the240state is coerced sex-reassignment surgeries […].

DW’s article in February 2021 on the difficulties of being gay in Iran stated that: “He [Patrick Dörr, acoordinator with the Queer Refugees Project in Germany] said there have often been cases of lesbian
238

Kayhan Life, More and More Iranian Women Undergo Sex Reassignment Surgery, Official Says, 27 June 2020
OutNews Global, Iran: shocking persecution of LGBTQ+ people continues, 18 September 2020
240
Mai Sato and Christopher Alexander, State-Sanctioned Killing of Sexual Minorities: Looking Beyond the Death
Penalty, February 2021, p. 39
239

107

woman and gay men being forced to have gender reassignment surgery. Gay men have also sufferedthough procedures tantamount to gender mutilation under the mistaken assumption that they wereactually women. As one can imagine, the psychological consequences of these interventions aredevastating for those affected," says Dörr”.241
IranWire published an article in March 2021 on government loans for gender reassignment surgery in
Iran. It wrote that:
It might appear at first glance that transgender people in Iran enjoy legal protection, because they canapply for a permit to undergo gender reassignment surgery. But despite the growth of social networks andgreater media attention to trans and LGBT rights, the very difficult situation of trans Iranians within theirfamilies, society, and the legal system remains: especially so in a country in which securing one’s mostbasic human rights is not an easy task.
Government spokesperson Ali Rabiei has declared that transgender people who hold the necessary
permits for surgery from the legal authorities and the court will be given a 10 million toman (US$400),
low-interest loan to subsidize their treatment.
During the negotiations over this loan, the Tolou bi-Neshanha (Rise of the Anonymous) Society, which
campaign on behalf of the socially disadvantaged and the homeless in Iran, also managed to secure
employment permits to help trans Iranians who had been evicted from their homes and were sleeping
rough. The Society says it creates job opportunities in tailoring, mask production and other trades for atleast 50 socially disadvantaged trans people.
Last year, the Iranian government had also promised to open a center for trans people. "The problem oftrans people is serious,” said Ali Rabiei at the time, “and we should not brand a group who want tochange their gender with a label and stigma. Some of these people have a disease, and we have to deal
with them through the eyes of a sick person. Our plan is to treat these people, and we have tried so far topay part of the cost of surgery and their gender reassignment."
This sounds hopeful at first glance – until we remember that trans people all experience their gender
identity differently and not all will want to undergo corrective surgery. But in Iran, in order for their legal
documents to match their gender identity, trans people first have to obtain permits from the court andlegal authorities for hormone therapy and surgery to change the outward appearance of their genitals tofemale or male, which they must then undergo.
The use of the terms "treatment" and "patient" by the government spokesperson reflects the system's
sickness-oriented view of transgender identity, which is leading to forced surgeries: so-called“unification”. […]Obtaining a permit is itself a very long and unpredictable process that has become more so in recent
years, partly due to the caprices of judges, physicians, and medical psychiatrists. Even if a trans person isable to overcome barriers such as family opposition, community stigma and the legal labyrinth in order todo this, the next challenge is to find a specialist physician and meet the high cost of surgery.
In addition to the generally low quality of these surgeries in Iran, the high costs, which vary from city tocity and doctor to doctor, also fluctuate greatly depending on whether they are performed in a private or
public hospital. Many trans people are not financially supported by their families, and it is often
impossible for them to find work. They are therefore often unable to pay for counseling sessions, let alone
the court fees, hormone therapy or surgery they need.
241

Deutsche Welle (DW), The difficulties of being gay in Iran, 26 February 2021

108

The Welfare Organization's Center for Social Crisis Intervention is officially responsible for overseeing thesituation of trans Iranians. Depending on the amount of funding it receives per year, the Organization cancover some of their procedures. But there is not enough money to go around, and trans Iranians’
experiences of services and grants from the Welfare Organization differs from province to province.
As long as the system's view of the LGBT community remains either criminal or morbid, and until thecorrect information on sexual and gender issues is provided by the media and the education system,
these individuals will find no path toward acceptance in Iran. Financial aid is only a small part of the242
problem, and cannot cure their pain.

The UN Special Rapporteur for Iran expressed in March 2021 that: “I am troubled that so-called"reparative" therapies are imposed on members of the LGBT community, especially reports ofadministration of electric shocks, hormones and strong psychoactive medications for children
experiencing gender nonconformity and same-sex attraction”.243
The USDOS 2020 report on human rights practices in Iran, published in March 2021, further stated that:NGOs reported authorities pressured LGBTI persons to undergo gender reassignment surgery. According
to a July report by 6Rang, the number of private and semigovernmental psychological and psychiatricclinics allegedly engaging in “corrective treatment” or reparative therapies of LGBTI persons continued to
grow. The NGO 6Rang reported the increased use at such clinics of electric shock therapy to the hands
and genitals of LGBTI persons, prescription of psychoactive medication, hypnosis, and coercive
masturbation to pictures of the opposite sex. According to 6Rang, one such institution is called The
244
Anonymous Sex Addicts Association of Iran, with branches in 18 provinces.

A London School of Economics (LSE) blog post in April 2021 explored state-funded subsidies for transpeople in Iran, writing that:
The disparity between gay rights, or lack thereof, and the unique policies supporting state-fundedsubsidies for trans people, is […], not an accident. This article will explore how the Iranian government has
masked their political regulation of trans bodies and gatekeeping to basic rights and freedoms as a façadeof rights and financial support, which does nothing but give themselves easier control in this system ofsuppression. […]The process of getting GCS is a long, humiliating and onerous, and those who undergo surgery do nothave the same protection and social support that is accessible to cis-gendered citizens. The requiredpresence and authorization of a governmental party acting as gatekeepers at each step of the process,politicizes the trans body in a journey that should otherwise be navigated by the person independently.
[…]
With regards to financial subsidies, the State Welfare Organization claims to provide 5
million Toomans for those seeking transition-related medical care. However, this figure has not been
242

IranWire, Government Loans for Gender Reassignment Surgery Betray Lack of Understanding, 4 March 2021
UN Human Rights Office of the High Commission (OHCHR), Statement by Javaid Rehman, Special Rapporteur on
the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, at the forty-sixth session of the Human Rights Council Item 4, 9 March 2021
244
US Department of State (USDOS), 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 30 March 2021
243

109

corroborated by the corresponding patients, and this funding has been completely suspended in someparts of the country due to an alleged lack of government funds since 2012. […][…] the 1985 decree by the supreme leader contributes to a system where heteronormativity isperpetuated as the ideal which pressures trans individuals and gay persons to undergo surgical measures245
in order to attain basic human rights and legal recognition.

In April 2021, the BMC Psychiatry journal published the results of a clinical trial in Iran on the effect ofcognitive-behavioural therapy on domestic violence and its consequences in transgender youth. The
article explained the steps for obtaining allowance for gender reassignment surgery for transgenderpeople in Iran as such:
Request to Family Court; refer the person to the Legal Medicine Organization (LMO) by the court;
evaluate hormonal and karyotype tests and at least 12 counseling sessions with an expert psychiatrist in
LMO; approve gender dysphoria diagnosis by a psychiatrist; reapproved the diagnosis in LMO commission
with attendance of an expert group, and refer the approved request in LMO commission to the court for
the final decision. Only after court approval the transgender youth can change their identity card, havethe desired sex clothes, and undergo gender reassignment surgery (although many transgender people
246
have started hormone therapy many years sooner by a private physician or my [sic] own).

In DW’s May 2021 piece on transgender people in Iran, it was written that:
Despite Iran's rigid attitudes toward sexuality, its capital, Tehran, has been dubbed one of the world's
hubs for sex-reassignment surgery. Transgender individuals live and work with no legal barriers in the
country. The government even helps with the costs of hormone medicine and gender reassignment
surgery for those who want it.
The procedure became legal following a transgender woman's campaign in the mid-1980s. […]Iran's 'solution' causes more problems
The state's authorization of sex-reassignment surgery and intolerance of homosexuality are not unrelated.
"They would rather have people go under a surgeon's knife than accepting the non-binary nature ofgender," Arastoo says. "You must either be a man or woman in your ID papers, nothing in between isrecognized."
Zara Saiedzadeh, a senior lecturer in gender studies at Sweden's Orebro University, with a focus ontransgender life in Iran. "Just because gender confirmation operation is possible, it does not mean thatthe government particularly accepts trans people," she says. "And it certainly does not mean that theirneeds and their rights are met."
Iran is one of the countries that still considers trans people as having a mental disorder – the World
Health Organization stopped classifying them as such in 2019. That approach has too many adverse
byproducts, including patients being misdiagnosed and facing intimidation from medical staff when
discussing gender identity.

245

London School of Economics (LSE), How Iran Persecutes Some LGBTQ+ Members While Subsidizing Others, 12April 2021
246
Mahdieh Damanpak-Rizi, Farnaz Farnam, and Parisa Khodakhah, “Effect of cognitive-behavioral therapy on
domestic violence and its consequences in transgender youth: a randomized clinical trial”, BMC (BioMed Central)
Psychiatry, Volume 21, April 2021, p. 2

110

Before surgery, patients must receive counseling to ensure that they have gender dysphoria and areprepared for the procedure. Arastoo believes that the process is often not properly observed. "Apsychotherapist can be incompetent, even transphobic," he says. "The counseling sessions echo the
feeling of shame and self-hate that the heteronormative society imposes on transgender people.""Even after surgery no one can expect a beautiful, heavenly life," says Saeidzadeh. "Until a trans person isrecognized by the law and families and friends and the community they have problems, and they247
encounter so many different difficulties in managing their everyday life."

The same month, Amnesty International said that:
Further serious concerns related to the human rights situation of LGBTI people in Iran include thepractices of "conversion therapy” aimed at eliminating homosexuality and gender non-conformity. These
have involved, among other abusive practices, the administration of electric shocks, hormones and strong
psychoactive medications, including against children experiencing gender non-conformity and same-sex
attraction.11 Official bans on comprehensive, accurate and age-appropriate information regarding humansexuality, coupled with the promotion of hate speech from public officials,12 has resulted in a lack ofknowledge about issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity, including among health-care
professionals, and the prevalence of “conversion therapies” in medical and counselling settings in Iran.
[…]
11 UN Human Rights Council, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran,Statement by the Special Rapporteur at the forty-sixth session of the Human Rights Council - Item 4, March 2021,
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=26869&LangID=E12
12 UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in theIslamic Republic of Iran, Statement by the Special Rapporteur at the forty-sixth session of the Human Rights Council Item 4, March 2021, https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=26869&LangID=E;
6Rang, “It's a great honor to violate homosexuals’ rights”: Official hate speech against LGBT people in Iran, December
2017, https://6rang.org/english/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Official-Hate-Speech-against-LGBT-People-in248
Iran.pdf

Amnesty International again remarked in May 2021 that: “Any gender presentation outside of what is
expected from an individual’s biological sex at birth must be accompanied by a legal sex change, or elsebe considered a criminal offence. This mandates gender reassignment surgery, sterilisation, and acomplex documentation process for all gender non-conforming individuals, and threatens all who do notcomply with criminal prosecution”.249
An article in April 2022 in The Lancet Psychiatry on conversion therapy of Iranian gay men, authored byAmir Kabir and Irwin Nazaret, wrote that:
Religious institutions are opposed to homosexuality, leading to the rejection of gay men by families andsociety, the promotion of internalised stigma, and the development of pseudoscientific therapies by247

Deutsche Welle (DW), How transgender people navigate Iran, 16 May 2021
Amnesty International, Iran: Murder of 20-year-old gay man highlights urgent need to protect LGBTI rights, 17
May 2021, p. 5
249
Amnesty International, Iran: Why Was Alireza Fazeli Monfared Murdered?, 21 May 2021
248

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health professionals. Under the control of religious institutions, the Ministry of Health and Medical
Education, the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology, and the Psychology and Counseling
Organization of Iran have condemned homosexuality. The attitude of Iranian health professionals poses athreat to the health of sexual minorities.2 Based on AK’s [Amir Kabir] clinical experiences, the coordinatedactivities of therapists, physicians, religious institutions, and parents have commonly promoted
conversion therapy to change the sexual orientation of gay men. This situation is more common inadolescents, who cannot make legal decisions independently. […][…] in Iran, therapists and religious institutions continue to believe that attraction towards the same sex isharmful and should be changed. The prevalence of the practice of conversion therapy in Iran is unknown.
AK’s clinical observations suggest that this type of therapy has reinforced the belief that sexual
orientation is changeable; therefore, gay men refusing treatment pose a threat to their own lives byresisting cure. Additionally, AK has observed that this belief is one of the main reasons why family
members kill their own gay relatives. […]2 Kabir A. Medical profession bias against sexual minorities threatens the health of Iranian sexual minorities during
the COVID-19 pandemic. Aust N Z J Psychiatry 2021; published online Nov 9.
250
https://doi.org/10.1177/00048674211057072.

In June 2022, HRANA posted an article about increased state-sponsored discrimination against Iranian
LGBTQI+ communities, writing that:
Our initial research points to the unrestricted and inappropriate use of the internet as the major cause of
the issue. In an interview with a foreign news agency, Minoo Mohraz, the head of the Iranian ResearchCenter for HIV/AIDS (IRCHA) said, “for the sake of public health protection, sex workers, addicted people,
and homosexuals have to be identified and treated.” Mohraz added, “[…] we have to treat them before
they pollute the rest of society.” […]At odds with the body of knowledge in their respective field, several psychiatrists and psychologists
employ unscientific treatment methods to change the gender identity of transgender people. Underpressure from their family, many transgender youths give in to unscientific treatment methods.
Nonetheless, the Medical Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran has remained in a conspiracy of silence
toward these unsubstantiated methods. The silent complicity in such methods is in stark contrast to theregime’s obligations under international law.
Social media has become a major channel of promotion for such treatments. In an article entitled, “Eight
Guiding Methods to Cure Homosexuality”, which was widely disseminated online, a purported specialistin psychology and hypnosis, Davood Najafi Tavana, claimed that his methods could “change an LGBT
person into a straight person.”
Tavana claimed that: “to cure homosexuality, one must see a psychiatrist as soon as possible to ensure
the normal functioning of the endocrine glands.” He continued, “One can do this by running some tests. In
this phase of treatment, with the help of medicine, your homosexuality will be cured.” He also stated that
one must also, “Purify your mind also by appealing to God and holy Imams. In this way, you can overcome
your diabolic thoughts and temptations.”
Mehr News Agency, which is affiliated with Islamic Development Organization, published an article
criticizing a psychiatrist who had described homosexuality as a natural disposition. The report claimed “so250

Amir Kabir and Irwin Nazareth, “Conversion therapy: a violation of human rights in Iranian gay men”, The Lancet
Psychiatry, Volume 9, Issue 4, April 2022

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far, no accredited laboratory has proven that homosexuality is a natural disposition. They asked, “Howcan a psychiatrist who is supposed to comply with scientific principles, expose his patients to damages ofhomosexual intercourse by saying that this is natural?” The report repeated Tavana’s claim thathomosexuality can be cured with drugs, “In Iran, many physicians have the successful treatment ofhomosexual patients in their career. Therefore, the wrong assertion that homosexuality is incurable has to251
be debunked as a trick of political advocates of homosexuality.”

Human Rights Watch noted in its 2023 annual report on Iran, covering events of 2022, that: “Although
Iran permits and subsidizes sex reassignment surgery for transgender people, no law prohibits
discrimination against them”.252 This is also noted in the previous annual reports for events of 2021253
and 2020.254
Amnesty International also wrote in their annual report on events in 2022, published in March 2023,
that, in Iran, “Hormone therapy and surgical procedures including sterilization were mandatory for legal
gender changes”.255
The USDOS 2022 report on human rights practices in Iran, published in March 2023, stated that: “Someclerics believe that LGBTQI+ persons were trapped in a body of the wrong sex, and NGOs reported that
authorities sometimes pressured LGBTQI+ persons to undergo gender reassignment surgery. Reports
indicated these procedures disregarded psychological and physical health and that some persons
recommended for surgery did not identify as transgender but were forced to comply to avoid
punishment for their LGBTQI+ identity”.256 Similar statements can also be found in the USDOS 2021
report on human rights practices in Iran, published in April 2022.257
6Rang’s May 2023 research on reparative therapy and the systematic medical abuse of Iran’s LGBTI+
people produced the following findings:
Many Iranian clinicians view non-hetero and cis-normative identities as pathological, whether due to lackof education or existing prejudice. Reparative therapy has become normalised in society due to lack of upto-date teaching at universities, lack of independent media, governmental pressure, existing societal
prejudice, the misperception of queer people being diseased. These factors have led to families sending
their queer children to conversion therapy facilities. […]105 participants, or 50%, were found to have undergone reparative therapy or were offered reparative
therapy. 39% of them were under the age of 18 at the time. […]251

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), State-Sponsored Discrimination against Iranian LGBTQI+
Communities Ramps up amidst a Growing and More Vocal Activist Community, 22 June 2022
252
Human Rights Watch, World Report 2023: Events of 2022, 12 January 2023, pp. 311-312
253
Human Rights Watch, World Report 2022: Events of 2021, 13 January 2022, pp. 340-341
254
Human Rights Watch, World Report 2021: Events of 2020, 13 January 2021, p. 342
255
Amnesty International, Amnesty International Report 2022/23: The state of the world’s human rights, 27 March
2023, p. 199
256
US Department of State (USDOS), 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 20 March 2023
257
US Department of State (USDOS), 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 12 April 2022

113

43% (45) of those who were offered reparative therapy agreed or were forced to agree, 33% of whomwere under 18. 60 participants were able to refuse reparative therapy. In fact, 61% of those who
underwent reparative therapy claimed they had no choice in the matter.
It can be deduced that reparative therapies, which are inhumane and amount to medical torture, arebeing used in a systematic way against LGBTI+ people in Iran. It also seems that adolescents are in thegreatest danger of being subjected to it. The survey results suggest that reparative therapy is suggested to
LGBTI+ people most often in their youth.
It must be noted that due to the lack of financial, social and emotional independence from parents, young
people are more susceptible to suggestions of reparative therapy. Furthermore, the effects of suchtreatments are often more pronounced and harmful on younger people and adolescents. This shows thatfamilies have a big influence on whether or not their children receive reparative therapy.
Many respondents reported being pressured to uptake reparative therapy by multiple sources and/or
institutions. The most prominent influence was that of family (57 instances), followed by healthinstitutions and services (51 instances), friends and acquaintances (37 instances), educational institutions(18 instances), religious institutions (15 instances), romantic or sexual partners (11 instances), judicial or
military institutions (10 instances), and employers or colleagues (7 instances).
The goals of these institutions in suggesting or offering reparative therapy have been to ‘convert’ LGBTI+
people into fitting the hetero and cis-normative Iranian society.
According to survey results, 59% of gay men were offered or suggested reparative therapy, and 35%
underwent one or more treatment (58% of those who were offered). Similarly, 59% of lesbian womensurveyed were offered or suggested reparative therapy, however, only 15% underwent reparative therapy(26% of those who were offered). In comparison, 31% of bisexual respondents reported having beenoffered or suggested reparative therapy, and less than 1% (4 instances) underwent at least one type oftreatment.
Out of 16 trans and non-binary respondents, 7 people (44%) were offered or suggested reparative
treatments, and 25% of trans respondents underwent at least one type of treatment.
Evidently, homosexual people (gay and lesbian) are more likely to be pressured into receiving reparative
therapy for their sexual orientation than trans people for their gender identity. […] Furthermore, gay men
are more likely to undergo treatment than lesbian women, even though they are offered reparative
treatment at the same rate.
6Rang’s previous research has found that some medical practices assign other psychiatric diagnoses topatients who deviate from heterosexual and cisgender norms, and often misdiagnose these patients. For
example, homosexuality is often diagnosed as a mood disorder and treated with anti-psychotics;
homosexuality has also been diagnosed as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and treated withmedication and behavioural therapy. These practices see transgender patients as experiencing delusions
that force them to believe they belong in the wrong body, and they are often treated withelectroconvulsive therapy or anti-psychotic drugs.
Some medical practices in Iran specialise in conversion therapy. They believe that homosexuality is due toa lack of positive experiences with the opposite sex and low self-esteem. They encourage their patients toform relationships with people of the opposite sex as a way to convert their sexuality. These practices
enforce control over sex and sexual desires, and tell their patients that they failed to respond totreatment due to a lack of discipline and willingness. Treatments at these facilities include electric shockto the hands and genitals, ingestion of emetic drugs while watching pornographic material depicting samesex intercourse, masturbation while watching pornographic material depicting heterosexual intercourse,
and other inhumane treatments.

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Another school of thought adopted by some practitioners in Iran sees homosexuality as a fault in thesubconscious due to early childhood trauma. This is often treated through hypnosis and psychoanalysis tofind the root of the trauma by exploring interactions with important figures, such as parents. These
techniques often result in high time and financial strain, and only serve to confuse patients about their
feelings.
Other facilities use the patients’ displeasure with themselves against them. They frequently use theirreligious beliefs and guilt, while stirring fear of the consequences for their families should they not choosea ‘desirable’ sexual orientation. These types of treatment include emphasis on prayer and a return fromsatanic influence. […]Talk therapy, behavioural therapy and pharmaceutical therapy were the most frequently reported
methods. 20% of respondents were subjected to electroconvulsive therapy, whilst the Islamic Republic of
Iran has condemned the use of electroconvulsive therapy or electric shock against homosexual people,
internationally.
The most common suggestions given to participants who underwent reparative therapy were having
relationships with their undesirable gender (i.e., homosexual participants were encouraged to haverelationships with people of the opposite sex), changing their way of dress, and changing their behaviours
in society. They were also encouraged to cease relationships with desired partners, marriage to people ofopposite sex, and to distance themselves from friends.
Advising patients to distance themselves from friends, to step back from their preferences, such as music,
and to consume pornographic material, are methods unfound in evidence-based practice. […]Due to the goal of reparative therapy being changing sexual orientation and gender identity, it is often atool of abuse and repression used against LGBTI+ people.
Nearly 90% of the respondents who underwent reparative therapy reported experiencing verbal andpsychological abuse during treatment, and more than 60% of them (22 people) were subjected tocoercion and control. Over a third of participants also experienced violence and physical abuse. Other
violations included disclosing clients’ sexual identity, sexual abuse, and deprivation of education.
Depression was the most commonly experienced side-effect of these treatments (82%). The otherreported adverse reactions included lethargy (62%), sleep disorders (60%), memory loss, disorderedeating, muscle weakness, and verbal stutters. One participant reported having attempted suicide as aresult of reparative therapies.
Of the 210 participants, 64% agreed that reparative and conversion therapies should be prohibited. Of the
45 participants who underwent these treatments, 84% agreed to prohibition. […]In Iran, reparative therapy is performed with the approval and support of the government in public healthcentres, while it is banned and condemned around the world. […]Over 21% of those who underwent reparative therapy were forced or pressured to do so by influential
institutions, from family to health services and educational, judicial and social institutions. A fifth of thisstudy’s participants were pathologized due to their ‘abnormal’ sexual orientations or gender identities,
and were subjected to abuse, harassment, humiliation and violence at the hands of medical
258
professionals.

In June 2023, HRANA wrote that: “Recognition of transgender identity in Iran is solely contingent uponundergoing state-supported sex reassignment surgery. Additionally, there are instances where258

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Straitjacketed Identities: Reparative Therapy in Systematic
Medical Abuse of Iran’s LGBTI+ People, May 2023, pp. 4 and 6-10115

homosexual individuals are coerced into undergoing such surgeries to alleviate legal and socialpressures”.259
In DFAT’s most recent country information report for Iran, published in July 2023, it was written that:
Gay men may be pressured to undergo sex-reassignment surgery to avoid legal and social discrimination.
[…]
Transgender, intersex and gender diverse people are considered to be mentally ill by the government.
Transgender people may be able to receive subsidised gender reassignment surgery and lesbian, gay orbisexual people who are not transgender or intersex may be required to undergo sex reassignment
surgery. Activists claim the process to be approved for surgery is invasive and does not respect the privacyof the individual. It may take several years of public court hearings, virginity tests and mandatory
counselling in which attempts may be made to ‘convert’ the patient. According to 6rang, an LGBTI rights
organisation who spoke to DW, the German state broadcaster, the procedure is often undertaken by260
underqualified doctors and the surgery is sometimes botched.

All Human Rights for All in Iran and eight other civil society organisations stated the following in theirreport to the UN Human Rights Committee ahead of its 139th session and periodic review of Iran:In 1986, then Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa (a ruling or a religious decree on a pointof Islamic law given by a recognized authority) permitting the acceptance of sex reassignment surgery fortransgender people. Sex reassignment surgery is now codified in Article 4 of the Family Law (2013), which
stipulates that those seeking medical intervention should obtain prior judicial and medical approval
officially stating that they have been diagnosed with Gender Identity Disorder. The Ministry of Health has
overall responsibility for implementation of this law, by ensuring the provision of medical care torecognized transgender people. The State Welfare Office provides social and psychological support and anumber of state institutions, such as the Ministry of Labor, are involved in supporting transgenderindividuals who pursue or have been through sex reassignment procedures. Although State recognitionand support have given transgender individuals a certain level of legal legitimization, it also has reinforced
the societal stigma due to the pathologisation of transgender identities: that trans persons suffer from a
medical condition which requires treatment. Additionally, medical assessment in the Islamic Republic of
Iran conflates a variety of sexual and gender identities with transidentity, resulting in those for whomsurgery is neither appropriate nor necessary being ‘treated’ in line with the prevailing medical opinion:that any divergence from cisgendered heterosexuality can only be due to a person’s gender dysphoria andtransidentity. Further, among these individuals, only those who are officially diagnosed with Gender
Identity Disorder and who obtained a permit to undergo sex reassignment surgery can have their gender
legally recognized by the government. Others cannot benefit from the State Welfare’s services including
sex change procedures or counselling and as a result cannot receive a state-issued identity card which
legally affirms their gender. As a result, individuals of varying sexual and gender identities who cannot or

259

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Five Transgender Individuals Arrested and Coerced into
Confession, 26 June 2023
260
Australian Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), DFAT Country Information Report: Iran, 24 July
2023, pp. 30-31

116

will not pursue medical transition are not protected from abuses, including arrest, detention and261
prosecution.

Amnesty International’s September 2023 submission to the UN Human Rights Committee 139th session
also confirmed that: “State-endorsed “conversion therapies” amounting to torture or other ill-treatment
remain prevalent, including against children”.262
The UN Human Rights Committee’s November 2023 concluding observations on the fourth periodic
report of Iran and its implementation of the ICCPR stated that it is “concerned about reports of gay andlesbian Iranians being pressured into undergoing gender reassignment surgery without their freeconsent (arts. 2, 6, 7, 9 and 26)”.263
An article published in the Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health in 2023 on Iranian trans men andtheir experiences and identity development wrote that: “Due to Ayatollah Khomeini’s fatwa in the 80s,
gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is allowed and practiced, and from Iran’s legislative perspective, beingtransgender is tolerated. However, trans people do not benefit from social or psychological support
before or after surgery. All supports are focused on obtaining a GAS approval and change of identity
cards and other certifications after surgery”.264
The ILGA Database page for Iran state that, to the best of ILGA World’s knowledge, “laws in force in Irando not regulate or restrict sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression change efforts(SOGIECE), regularly known as “conversion therapies”” and that “laws in force in Iran do not restrict
medically unnecessary interventions aimed to modify the sex characteristics of intersex minors without
their free, prior and full informed consent”.265

iii. Access to state employment (e.g. civil service, the military)261

All Human Rights for All in Iran, Association for Human Rights in Kurdistan – Geneva (KMMK-G), Association for
the Human Rights Of The Azerbaijani People In Iran (AHRAZ), Balochistan Human Rights Group, Iran Human Rights
Documentation Center (IHRDC), Impact Iran, Kurdpa, Rasank, and Sigay Pourzand Foundation, Alternative report to
the Human Rights Committee. For the periodic review of the Islamic Republic of Iran: Discrimination and violence
based on religion or belief, ethnicity and language, sexual orientation and gender identity, Human Rights
Committee, 139th session (Geneva), 9 October – 3 November 2023, September 2023, pp. 17-18
262
Amnesty International, Iran: Submission to the UN Human Rights Committee 139th Session, 9 October – 3
November 2023, 11 September 2023
263
UN International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, Human Rights Committee, Concluding observations on
the fourth periodic report of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 23 November 2023, p. 3
264
Mahsa Yaghoubirad, Parviz Azadfallah, Catherine Ann Cameron, and Hojjatollah Farahani, “Talking with Iraniantrans men: Their experiences and identity development”, Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, Volume 27, 1,
2023, pp. 86-87
265
ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) Database, Jurisdiction: Iran, undated

117

DW commented in a May 2021 article on Iran that: “In addition to gay sex being punishable by death,the government classifies men who want to have sex with other men as mentally ill and therefore
incapable of serving in the military and ineligible for a wide range of public service jobs”.266
On the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia in May 2021, HRANA wrote
an article on the ongoing discrimination and violence against the Iranian LGBTQ+ community, giving thefollowing example:
In February 2020, HRANA reported on a transgender Iranian citizen deprived of employment due to thecommon Iranian perception that considers transgender persons “sick”. An example of such action involves
a woman living in Tehran, “Delbar Ameri-Far”, who was prevented from continuing her work andrenewing her license as an expert with the Iran Food and Drugs Administration (FDA). Ameri-Far was toldthat she could try again to get her license if she could provide sufficient documentation on her “continued
treatment”. The letter from the Iranian FDA stated, “Your license renewal request will only be processed
267
upon provision of medical documents certifying ongoing treatment and proof of your full health.”

HRANA also noted in their 2021 annual report, published in December 2021, that: “Trans citizens facelegal problems in addition to cultural issues in the process of changing their identity documents or
seeking exemption from conscription. In another report, a citizen living in Tehran, after obtaining a
military exemption due to his gender identity, lost his employment and was unable to renew his license
as an expert of the Food and Drug Administration”.268

iv. Access to and treatment in public education
6Rang’s September 2020 research report on structural and social violence against LGBTI people in Iran,based on a qualitative and quantitative online survey questionnaire shared on social media, found thefollowing on violence in the education system in Iran:According to the survey results, 107 of 230 participants reported having experienced violence in theireducational environments. This means that almost half of them faced violence at school, or university. 18
percent of the participants reported having been constantly insulted and humiliated by the school
administration.
Violence in a school or university is one of the most visible types of violence against the LGBTI community.
This type of violence can take many forms ranging from physical violence to verbal, psychological, or even,sexual violence. It is often expressed through acts of bullying, intimidation, and repression by classmates,
trainers, or other school staff. […]266

Deutsche Welle (DW), How transgender people navigate Iran, 16 May 2021
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), On the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, andBiphobia HRA highlights the ongoing discrimination and violence against the Iranian LGBTQ+ community, 16 May
2021
268
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Annual Report 2021: Annual Statistical Report of Human Rights
Conditions in Iran, December 2021, p. 54
267

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At school, LGBTI children and adolescents experience homophobic and transphobic motivated bullying,
which directly impacts their ability and right to access education. Such discrimination is perpetrated byother students, teachers, and administrators and often continues at home because it makes them unableachieve higher marks or other things in education. While many of them may not even be able to finishhigh school, those who find a chance at higher education, still experience harassment, discrimination, andconstant fear of disclosure and its legal consequences at the university and workplace.
For many LGBTI youth, particularly those who are gender non-conforming, the lack of successful
education combined with societal discrimination leads to difficulties in finding and keeping
269
employment.

In April 2021, IranWire quoted Iranian LGBTQ activist Melika Zar in an article, stating that: “Incidentally,
because of censorship and a lack of proper education, LGBTQ people are excluded from family andsociety, which results in their homelessness and turning to unsafe and high-risk jobs, as well as droppingout of school”.270
Amnesty International wrote in January 2022 that: “Gender non-conforming individuals who cannot or
do not wish to change their sex assigned at birth or choose between the binary gender categories of
man and woman experience discrimination in access to education, employment, health care and public
services because the Islamic Republic system heavily enforces gender segregation across public spaces
and imposes strict dress codes”.271
The February 2022 UK Parliament research briefing on LGBT+ rights and issues in the Middle East statedthat in Iran: “Discrimination and bullying within education and in the workplace is widespread andblackmail is common”.272
The USDOS 2022 report on human rights practices in Iran, published in March 2023, wrote that:“Although the government does not collect official data on discrimination against LGBTQI+ individuals,
NGOs report members of the LGBTQI+ community experience widespread discrimination in
education”.273
Amnesty International commented in their annual report on events in 2022, published in March 2023,
that, in Iran: “Gender non-conforming individuals risked […] denial of access to education andemployment”.274

269

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Hidden Wounds: A Research Report on Violence Against LGBTI
in Iran, September 2020, pp. 13 and 21
270
IranWire, Iranian LGBTQ Community Lashes Out Against Prominent Director’s Homophobia, 7 April 2021
271
Amnesty International, Ill-Treated Iranian LGBTI Defender At Risk, 25 January 2022
272
UK Parliament, Research Briefing: LGBT+ rights and issues in the Middle East, 9 February 2022, p. 10273
US Department of State (USDOS), 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 20 March 2023
274
Amnesty International, Amnesty International Report 2022/23: The state of the world’s human rights, 27 March
2023, p. 199

119

6Rang’s September 2023 report on the gender persecution of LGBTIQ+ protestors in the context of the2022-23 Iran uprising reported on the following cases:
The story of Leni is a perfect example of how for LGBTIQ+ persons, deprivation of human rights in protests
is a continuation of what they experience in the course of their ordinary life, and the similarities of thepatterns of violations in both contexts.57
Leni is a 16-year-old gay man and a high school student in Isfahan. He described having been harassed andhumiliated by his classmates and his teachers. He said the school principal referred to him using
derogatory terms, and he was not able to report incidents of harassment to the school because of it. He
talked about an incident where he was humiliated by students belonging to the Basij, as well as sexuallyharassed.58 […]Selya is a 21-year-old non-binary university student in a city at central Iran. When the protests erupted intheir university, they joined them. They were joining their classmates by not attending classes and notwearing hijab. They were sent to the university disciplinary committee by the intelligence department andwere suspended for four weeks. The committee obtained a commitment letter from them that if they
repeated the offence, they would be expelled. However, intimidation and harassment continued: "Thehead of Herasat89 at the university once said to me because of my clothing and short hair: "You madeyourself look like a man, but you can’t be a man. You wear binders to hide your breasts, and what is
between your legs but you will have to eventually suffocate while a man is on top of you!"90 […]57 Interview with Leni, April 2023 (his real identity is withheld for security reasons).
58 Ibid. […]89 See footnote 28. [The Intelligence Ministry has set up Herasat divisions within all civil institutions and universities
across the nation, assigning them the responsibility of pinpointing potential security risks. Allegedly, Herasat
representatives engage in monitoring staff (such as overseeing their communications), serve as sources of
information, and exert control over recruitment and termination procedures. See:
https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/irans-coercive-apparatus-capacity-and-desire.]275
90 6Rang Interview with Selya, August 2023 (their real identity is withheld for security reasons).

All Human Rights for All in Iran and eight other civil society organisations stated the following in theirreport to the UN Human Rights Committee ahead of its 139th session and periodic review of Iran:“Students are reportedly physically and mentally abused by teachers and school administrators becauseof their sexual orientation and/or gender identity, pushing them in some cases to drop out fromschool”.276

275

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), War on Bodies and Minds: Gender Persecution of LGBTIQ+
Protestors in the Context of the 2022-23 Iran Uprising, September 2023, pp. 19 and 26
276
All Human Rights for All in Iran, Association for Human Rights in Kurdistan – Geneva (KMMK-G), Association for
the Human Rights Of The Azerbaijani People In Iran (AHRAZ), Balochistan Human Rights Group, Iran Human Rights
Documentation Center (IHRDC), Impact Iran, Kurdpa, Rasank, and Siamak Pourzand Foundation, Alternative reportto the Human Rights Committee. For the periodic review of the Islamic Republic of Iran: Discrimination andviolence based on religion or belief, ethnicity and language, sexual orientation and gender identity, Human Rights
Committee, 139th session (Geneva), 9 October – 3 November 2023, September 2023, p. 19

120

IV.

Societal Attitudes Towards LGBTQI+ Individuals

For further relevant information also consult section V., a. Harassment and violence and section V., b.
Discrimination.
LGBTQ Nation reported in March 2020 on forced gender transition surgeries in Iran, writing that:
Iranian LGBTQ activist Shadi Amin has accused Iranian authorities of forcing thousands of gay men every
year to undergo gender-affirming surgeries to switch their gender in an attempt to turn them into
heterosexuals.
After receiving these surgeries under duress, the newly transitioned men and women are often rejectedby their families and subject to social discrimination and violence. […]After completing the surgeries, Amin claims that the government offers no further social support for living
as a newly transitioned person. As a result, such people are often rejected by their families, Amin says.
Lacking familial and social support, many go into sex work and experience physical and sexual violence.
This violence can go unpunished; Iran also has no hate crime laws punishing assault against queer277
individuals.

DW’s February 2021 article on the difficulties of being gay in Iran quoted Sahand, a gay Iranian man: “"I
too went into therapy after a sister gave me the name of a female therapist. And I was lucky. After
three, four appointments she told me that I had homosexual tendencies and that I would only be happy
if I accepted that I'm gay. And that's what I did. But it's difficult. I haven't spoken with my father since
our fight. I'm still in contact with both of my sisters and through them I have loose contact with mymom."”278
In April 2021, IranWire reported on societal responses against the homophobic remarks of a prominent
director in Iran, stating that:
An Iranian academic and prominent theater professional has provoked a backlash after he said people
from the LGBTQ community “did not observe the cultural sanctity” of an Iranian theater in the capital andcalled for it to be cordoned off.
Activists and artists soon rallied, releasing a joint statement on Petition condemning artist Ghotboddin
Sadegh’s insults, accusing him of hate speech, and urging the public to join their campaign. Seventy
activists and artists joined the initial statement, and the petition has so far been signed by 650 people.
Sadegh made the comments as part of an interview with Online Art published on March 8. He described
the area around Tehran City Theater as “very shameful” and said it had “turned into a place for thugs,
offenders, and homosexuals who do not observe the cultural sanctity of this place." He added: "the277

LGBTQ Nation, Iran is forcing gay men to have gender transition surgeries to “make them straight”, 3 March2020
278
Deutsche Welle (DW), The difficulties of being gay in Iran, 26 February 2021

121

private area of the City Theater complex must be defined; shameful things are happening around thisbuilding."
The activists’ statement read: "Ghotboddin Sadeghi's stance is a continuation of a policy that criminalizes
the life of homosexuals, treats the bisexual society as sick and targets trans people with a call tostigmatize, marginalize and even eliminate this group from society.”
It went on to describe how the perpetuation of taboos and supposed scandals “link every issue andproblem, from coronavirus to the vaccine and the insecure urban environment” to the LGBTQ community.
The 70 activists said the stigma was routinely used by people hostile to the community “whenever they
hit a deadlock” and said that “shouting and complaining in line with the government's policies implicatesthe LGBTQ community as the main cause or at least one of the causes of social problems.”
The group outlined the dangers of people in academia and the arts speaking out against the LGBTQ
community, saying that these people had influence and could shape other people’s perspectives andattitudes in turn. […]The campaign and accompanying petition were launched by Melika Zar, an LGBTQ activist and one ofthe people behind the Sheshrang [Six Colors] campaign group, painter and activist Alireza Shojaeian, social
analyst and feminist Mina Khani and researcher and artist Yasmin Fahbod.
In an interview with IranWire, Melika Zar described the aim of the statement and the need to protest
against hateful remarks. "The purpose of preparing the statement,” Zar said, “and inviting activists fromdifferent fields, including artists, experts, and other members of society to sign, is to stand against hate inan environment in which the Islamic Republic systematically suppresses and oppresses people from the
LGBTQ community.
“We have to choose whether we want to join the government in this repression or not. Ghotboddin
Sadeghi, as a university lecturer and theater director, identifies a problem, not accounting for the corrupt
system that is incapable of managing the different issues the country faces, and blames the LGBTQ
community as the cause.
“Incidentally, because of censorship and a lack of proper education, LGBTQ people are excluded
from family and society, which results in their homelessness and turning to unsafe and high-risk jobs, aswell as dropping out of school.
"With this statement, we highlight the system and the oppression that is being inflicted on LGBTQ people,
and we urge the public to take a position against hatred and hate speech against people of theJubaibiyyah (queer) community. It is necessary and important to take such actions and make a collective
call and unite against the violation of rights and dehumanization of a group of society. At this juncture, wemust clarify our stance against the violation of human rights; in this statement we protest against thehumiliation of social groups, including the less privileged social classes." […]The activists’ joint statement also pointed out that the “anti-human stance” Sadeghi took had a long
history, and that groups that had faced discrimination and marginalization would “not forget theseconspiracies and silences.”
Painter and activist Alireza Shojaeian has accused people who blame LGBTQ people for societal ills oftrying to distract and confuse the public from the real factors at play. "This is one of the most widely-usedapproaches to avoid the problem,” he said.
“Artists and intellectuals aligning with the government is not a new phenomenon. What is unfortunate is
the uncertainty that it creates in the minds of the oppressed community about the role of the intellectuals
and artists who also stand as teachers in society."122

Shojaeian also highlighted the importance of collective responses to these attitudes. He believes thesepublic campaigns serve as a warning to individuals who want to maintain their reputations as279
intellectuals.

Writing on the murder of Alireza Fazeli Monfared, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty stated in May 2021
that: “Members of Iran's gay community are forced to hide their sexual orientation, often leading
double lives due to fear of persecution by the state, which criminalizes homosexual acts, while society
views homosexuality as a disease. Many in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)
community are shunned by their families who view them as a stain on the family's honor”.280
The OONI, OutRight Action International, and The Citizen Lab’s August 2021 research report on LGBTIQ
website censorship in six countries, including Iran, stated that:
The absence of education about gender and sexuality in Iran results in a gap in people’s knowledge
regarding sexual orientation, and gender identity and expression. According to one interviewee, the lackof credible sources for researching LGBTIQ issues and the circulation of misinformation have led somepeople to think that they are transgender when they are likely to be gay.364 Additionally, families often
do not have sufficient information or resources to support their LGBTIQ loved ones, which can lead tobullying and violence, while healthcare professionals may also be misinformed or misleading on how toappropriately care for LGBTIQ people.365 […]364 Amin, interview.
281
365 Ibid.

The February 2022 UK Parliament research briefing on LGBT+ rights and issues in the Middle East statedthat in Iran: “Social acceptance of homosexuality is generally low and the attitude towards LGBT+
individuals is one of “don’t ask, don’t tell””.282
Sayeh Isfahani’s April 2022 blog post in the Atlantic Council on the potential impact of a new IranianInternet ‘Protection Bill’ on the LGBTQI community stated that:
Deprived of public spaces by the state and rampant queerphobia in society, Iran’s LGBTQI persons havefound solace in fragile pockets of expression online. […]The Internet has provided the Iranian LGBTQI community with a safer space to seek human connections
vital for support and survival. The community has also utilized social media to educate itself and wider
society about queer issues. Most importantly, online spaces have become vital for processing and healing
trauma rooted in misogyny and queerphobia. […]279

IranWire, Iranian LGBTQ Community Lashes Out Against Prominent Director’s Homophobia, 7 April 2021
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Horrific Killing Of Young Gay Man Puts Plight Of Iran's LGBT Community In
Spotlight, 11 May 2021
281
Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI), OutRight Action International, and The Citizen Lab, No
Access: LGBTIQ Website Censorship in Six Countries, 8 August 2021, p. 84282
UK Parliament, Research Briefing: LGBT+ rights and issues in the Middle East, 9 February 2022, p. 10
280

123

Beyond the state, queer individuals in Iran rely on online anonymity to evade hate crime, which in manycases, although sanctioned by the state, is perpetrated by their relatives.
A case in point is the horrendous murder of twenty-year-old Alireza Fazeli Monfared in May 2021. A queer
member of Iran’s Arab ethnic minority, Alireza was decapitated and murdered by their relatives over theirqueer identity. This heinous crime was first revealed during a conversation on Twitter and later verified by
activists. If it wasn’t for the Internet, the crime would have gone unreported or at least underreported.
[…]
Iran is a society where people not conforming to heteronormative social constructs are shunned and283
systematically deprived of basic human rights, including the right to work.

BBC News noted in September 2022 that “Over the past few years, a vibrant underground LGBT
movement has taken shape inside Iran, but this appears to have increased the authority's hostility.
Rainbow flags have been set on fire alongside the US and Israeli flags”.284
In an article on a neighbourhood in Tehran where gay men meet, LGBTQ Nation wrote in November
2020 that:
Muhammad often tells his conservative parents he’s going out to smoke and take a walk. While they are
not happy about his smoking habits, they are much more accepting of their son inhaling nicotine thanwhat he really does.
If they discovered his secret, “they would kill me by their own hands,” Muhammad told LGBTQ Nation.
Among his family members, Muhammad is mostly afraid of his father, a judge at an Islamic court.
“My father was responsible for the deaths of many who were probably gay, bisexual, or of any LGBTQ
family members. I do not wish to find out what would happen to me if he knew I was gay.”
Muhammad’s “smoke break” story is an excuse many men in Tehran use to meet up with their same-sex
partners at night. He usually goes to Al-Mahdi Park to meet up with someone he has met online. […]After installing Badoo (a widely used app among Iran’s gay community), a new world opened up to
Muhammad. It turned out that Tarasht, a backward, conservative town full of homophobes, was also
filled with gay men craving sex.
Muhammad has numerous stories of meeting up with the most unlikely people in town. “Almost every old
conservative man in Tarasht is gay,” he laughed, but only half in jest.
These men, from a very young age, were forced to marry a “good girl” with a “good family” (as Iranianfamilies put it). “They suppressed their sexual identities for years, and now they were seeking thecourtship of a young soldier who was also exploring his desires,” Muhammad said.
The notion of honor plays a massive role among Iranians. A disgrace can forever ruin one’s life. As amoral
as it may be, considering they’re cheating on their wives, it takes an unimaginable amount of courage forthese men to risk their honor to stay in touch with their sexuality. The complicated morality of thesituation is interconnected with the persecution of LGBTQ people in Iran and the complexity of the oftenoversimplified modern culture. […]283

Atlantic Council, The Internet ‘Protection Bill’ will hurt all Iranians, but the queer community will have the mostto lose, 12 April 2022
284
BBC News, 'I want to see the rainbow flag raised in Iran', 11 September 2022

124

“Pahlavi Park [now known as Daneshjoo Park] has historically been the most well-known gay area of
Tehran, but as far as I know, the police raided there once. Tarasht isn’t even on their radar.” [Musa, anolder gay man living in Tarasht]
It’s hard to get legitimate information on the park since most reports are from the conservatives who
claim that Daneshjoo Park is the source of chaos and insecurity in the area because of LGBTQ people.
Even the more seemingly progressive generation makes reaction videos to certain clips from Daneshjoo
Park in which gay people and trans people are having fun. They get views by showing how “immoral” Iran
has become. […]He [Musa] continued to say that with the widespread usage of the internet, young people find each otherusing appropriate apps and are no longer even aware of the hideouts that were famously used in the past.
These days, only older men are choosing the traditional method, and if you are interested in meetingsomeone a bit younger, you have to get used to your mobile phone.
Tarasht’s mystery as a gay neighborhood stayed concealed for years because it was hiding in plain sight,
much like Superman and his secret identity as Clark Kent. Even if someone suspected something, theywould brush it off because they would never believe a respectful religious neighborhood could be a havenfor gay sex. […]Unlike Daneshjoo Park, which has been the target of shame and reaction from the people for years,
Tarasht’s secret was never revealed. The neighborhood was so good at hiding its secret that it could havegone forever without anyone noticing.
Over the past few weeks, LGBTQ people and many others have been fighting against the Islamic Republicboth in Tarasht and Daneshjoo Park for their rights, hoping to make places like Tarasht unnecessary andthe whole country a haven for gay people.
A new tactic of combating the regime’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws is that young gay, lesbian, and bisexual Iranians
285
take pictures of themselves kissing in the public.

6Rang’s March 2023 report on official hate speech used against LGBT people in Iran as a tool of
oppression wrote that:
One of the largest minority groups that made themselves visible during the protests was the LGBTQ+
community. As such, issues related to individuals in this minority group have come to light in the face of
the Iranian general public. We have witnessed immense support, for example graffiti on university
campuses signposting it as a safe space for LGBTQ+ people. […]The courage of the community making themselves visible has led to many speaking openly about theiridentities in case their families attempted to erase them.2 There have been instances of LGBTQ+ people
holding rainbow flags, kissing each other in public and graffitiing pro-LGBTQ+ sentiments. This courage
and acts of visibility could not remain unnoticed by the Islamic Republic authorities. As this reportoutlines, the official hate speech towards LGBTQ+ community has been a response to increasing visibility.
[…]
Although strives have been made in terms of visibility for LGBTQ+ people in the recent protests, hatespeech is still rampant, especially amongst state officials who use it publicly to vilify LGBTQ+ people
further. […]An increase in hate speech has a direct, knock-on effect on the mental and physical wellbeing of LGBTQ+
people in Iran. The ostracised community experiences an exacerbation in domestic and social violence,harassment, prejudice from family members and immediate community, and abuse. […]285

LGBTQ Nation, The secret gay neighborhood inside Tehran, 30 November 2022

125

These acts were not only limited to visibility on social media and the public, but also wider protests
against the current treatment of LGBTQ+ people, internationally. In October 2022, a representative from
6Rang stood in front of over 100,000 people at the largest opposition protest, in Berlin, stating that
democracy cannot be achieved in Iran without the realisation of LGBTQ+ rights15. In November 2022,
6Rang’s director, gave a statement at the emergency session of the UN Human Rights Council about thisissue.16 The voices of the LGBTQ+ community being heard internationally and publicly, outside thecontrol of the Islamic Republic, has precipitated an onslaught of hateful propaganda.
Officials of the Islamic Republic have often used derogatory language that likens homosexuality toanimalistic behaviour and deviancy. Again, hate speech here has been directed at the protests and uses
homophobia to instil fear. […]Furthermore, officials have used the existing societal hatred and ignorance against the LGBTQ+
community to invalidate the protests. […]2 This increased after the death of Nika Shakarami, whose family attempted to erase her identity as a queer woman.
This came after Shadi Amin, a prominent LGBTQ+ activist, dedicated the Lesbian Visibility Award to her. An onslaughtof online hate against her and anybody who claimed that Nika was queer followed, claiming that her name was being‘dirtied’. https://www.washingtonblade.com/2022/11/30/even-in-death-we-fight-to-be-visible/ […]15 https://6rang.org/73353/
286
16 https://6rang.org/73518/

BBC News’s April 2023 article on the LGBT community rising up in Iran during the protests wrote that:
During the protest movement, young LGBTQ people have defied the regime's bans on public shows ofaffection and same-sex intimacy by removing their hijab and kissing each other in public.
Others have taken to streets with placards in the colours of the Pride and trans flags, reading "Woman,
Life, Freedom" - the de facto slogan of the protest movement - as well as "Queer, Life, Freedom".
Queer is an offensive word to some, but for others it is the preferred term to describe their sexual
orientation or gender identity. […]Photos have shown activists spray-painting pro-LGBTQ slogans on walls at universities and in parks,
including: "Queer, Trans, Freedom", "The LGBTQ community rises", and "This is the voice of the LGBTQ
community: liberation or setting the night on fire".
Others have handed out flyers to people on the streets that are hand-painted in the colours of the Prideflag and read: "The Iranian LGBTQ family stands by you."
Many Iranians on social media have warmly welcomed the increased visibility of the LGBTQ community.
Yet the move has triggered a backlash from others.
In addition to the outright homophobic reactions, an old question has resurfaced: "Is it the 'right time' tospeak of LGBTQ rights in Iran?" […]Recently, dozens helped a gay beauty blogger make a video collage in which each of them repeated a287
single sentence: "We are countless."

6Rang’s May 2023 report on “reparative” therapy and the systematic medical abuse of Iran’s LGBTI+
people stated that:286

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Silencing protests: Official hate speech against LGBT people asa tool of suppression, March 2023, pp. 3, 5-6, and 8-10
287
BBC News, Iran protests: LGBTQ community rises up, 19 April 2023

126

Many Iranian clinicians view non-hetero and cis-normative identities as pathological, whether due to lackof education or existing prejudice. Reparative therapy has become normalised in society due to lack of upto-date teaching at universities, lack of independent media, governmental pressure, existing societal
prejudice, the misperception of queer people being diseased. These factors have led to families sending
their queer children to conversion therapy facilities. […]It must be noted that due to the lack of financial, social and emotional independence from parents, young
people are more susceptible to suggestions of reparative therapy. Furthermore, the effects of suchtreatments are often more pronounced and harmful on younger people and adolescents. This shows thatfamilies have a big influence on whether or not their children receive reparative therapy. […]The goals of these institutions in suggesting or offering reparative therapy have been to ‘convert’ LGBTI+
people into fitting the hetero and cis-normative Iranian society. […]Evidently, homosexual people (gay and lesbian) are more likely to be pressured into receiving reparative
therapy for their sexual orientation than trans people for their gender identity. […]Other facilities use the patients’ displeasure with themselves against them. They frequently use theirreligious beliefs and guilt, while stirring fear of the consequences for their families should they not choosea ‘desirable’ sexual orientation. These types of treatment include emphasis on prayer and a return fromsatanic influence. […][…] social stigmatisation and associating homosexuality and differing gender identities with pathology anddeviance in Iran leads to the self-stigmatisation of teenagers and young adults. In the absence ofprogressive and supportive discourse, they develop their identities by exploring their surroundings andreferring to accessible sources, such as teachers, doctors, psychologists and clergy. […]Over 21% of those who underwent reparative therapy were forced or pressured to do so by influential
institutions, from family to health services and educational, judicial and social institutions. A fifth of thisstudy’s participants were pathologized due to their ‘abnormal’ sexual orientations or gender identities,
and were subjected to abuse, harassment, humiliation and violence at the hands of medical
288
professionals.

a. Transgender individuals
For further relevant information consult also section III., d., ii., Gender affirming surgery,reparative/conversion therapy, and legal gender change, section V., a. Harassment and violence, andsection V., b. Discrimination.
The Iranian Studies journal March 2020 piece on gender transitions in Islamic law, theatre, and film in
Iran wrote that:
While certified transsexuals are legally and religiously legible and legitimate in Iran, societal ignorance andintolerance remain a barrier to acceptance and understanding. […]Despite official legal and religious recognition, trans activists are still fighting for their full needs to be
met, specifically better access to health care,8 improvement in the quality of surgery provided, andgreater public and medical education about transsexuality. […]288

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Straitjacketed Identities: Reparative Therapy in Systematic
Medical Abuse of Iran’s LGBTI+ People, May 2023, pp. 4, 6-7, and 9-10127

However, to be legally recognized as transgender, one must change their birth certificate and passport.
Though a number of Iranian religious jurists today support SRS [sexual reassignment surgery], the generalpublic is generally not as tolerant or supportive of transgender and transsexual individuals; furthermore,
more recent fatwas have tried to place limits on the permissibility of transsexuality with regard to surgery.
[…]
While transsexuals are supported by state laws and religious legal discourse, such acceptance andtolerance are not generally found in society at large.
The challenges faced by trans people come primarily from social and cultural norms. Many Iranians are
ignorant of these permissive laws and fatwas, and equate transsexuality with homosexuality andbisexuality. […]8 Trans people are eligible for “special groups” insurance coverage (according to the law of Universal Health Services289
in 1995) for basic medical insurance coverage.

DW’s April 2020 piece on Iran's anti-LGBT policies putting transgender people at risk wrote that:"The sex change process is also a way of cleansing homosexuality in Iran," says Amin [Shadi Amin, directorof 6rang]. "You have to change your sex or you have to change your sexual orientation."
Although there is no direct method of forcing homosexual people to apply for transitions, Amin says thatsocial and familial pressure, combined with a fear of death, are enough to push people to transition.
"They medicalize the transsexuality issue. They say that transsexuality can be cured by sex change
operations, but the homosexuals, they are immoral and unhuman," she says.
For many, going through the transition is the only way that they can legally live with their partner without
fearing for their lives.
"That's why when they know that they have no rights as a homosexual, and they want to live with theirpartner, the only way they have to do this is by undergoing sex change surgery." […]Once the transition is made, many are forced to break ties with their families, friends, and all of thepeople who they knew before. Many move to other cities to start new lives, and are often faced withhomelessness and forced into sex work to support themselves.
Additionally, adopting the norms of their legal gender can be another major adjustment in Iran, where
men and women are separated in almost every aspect of life, including public transportation andclassrooms.
"You should imagine that [after] you change your sex, you go to another society which is totally foreignfor you, totally new for you, and you have to deal with that," says Amin. "You have lived as a woman all of
your life, and now you are a man and you have to do all the things that a man did before."
290"Even after the surgery, you must act as if you are not transgender," says Amin.

An article in IranWire in August 2020 wrote on honour killings of LGBTQ citizens in Iran. The article
reported that:
Fariman Kashani [a feminist queer activist] says trans women tend to face greater levels of violence fromtheir families than trans men do. However, trans men tend to keep silent about their ordeals. "You see,
289

Emily O’Dell, “Performing Trans in Post-Revolutionary Iran: Gender Transitions in Islamic Law, Theatre, andFilm”, Iranian Studies, Volume 53, Issue no. 1-2, March 2020, pp. 130-131, 133, and 135
290
Deutsche Welle (DW), How Iran's anti-LGBT policies put transgender people at risk, 28 April 2020128

[the damage of] patriarchy is sometimes not obvious. Many families involuntarily prefer having sons. The
fact that their son wants to have surgery and become a girl makes them angry. Transgender men are
more silent, just like men who may be subjected to domestic violence but feel they can’t talk about it
because they are men. Then there are trans people who are married to men, which is often a very painfulsituation for them. The same goes for homosexual people. There is a lot of psychological harassment too.
It is about being judged. And people feel they can ask them questions about the most private matters of
their lives." […]Like Fariman Kashani, Shaya Goldoust says LGBTQ people live with a double violence: violence enforced291
by the law and violence emanating from society itself.

The April 2021 BMC Psychiatry article with the results of a clinical trial in Iran on the effect of cognitivebehavioural therapy on domestic violence and its consequences in transgender youth explained that:“despite the legality of gender reassignment, transgender youth are still not sufficiently accepted insociety due to cultural and religious pressures; and society, family, friends, school, and co-workers
perpetrate violence against transgender people”.292
In May 2021, DW’s article on transgender people in Iran detailed that:
Despite Iran's rigid attitudes toward sexuality, its capital, Tehran, has been dubbed one of the world's
hubs for sex-reassignment surgery. Transgender individuals live and work with no legal barriers in the
country. The government even helps with the costs of hormone medicine and gender reassignment
surgery for those who want it. […]When it comes to other forms of non-heterosexual identity, the state is not so lenient: Under certain
circumstances, gay men and lesbians face the possibility of draconian penalties. The closest thing torecognition that gay men enjoy is an exemption from compulsory military service. In addition to gay sex
being punishable by death, the government classifies men who want to have sex with other men as
mentally ill and therefore incapable of serving in the military and ineligible for a wide range of public
service jobs. […]The state's authorization of sex-reassignment surgery and intolerance of homosexuality are not unrelated.
"They would rather have people go under a surgeon's knife than accepting the non-binary nature ofgender," Arastoo says. "You must either be a man or woman in your ID papers, nothing in between isrecognized."
Zara Saiedzadeh, a senior lecturer in gender studies at Sweden's Orebro University, with a focus ontransgender life in Iran. "Just because gender confirmation operation is possible, it does not mean thatthe government particularly accepts trans people," she says. "And it certainly does not mean that theirneeds and their rights are met."
Iran is one of the countries that still considers trans people as having a mental disorder – the World
Health Organization stopped classifying them as such in 2019. That approach has too many adverse
byproducts, including patients being misdiagnosed and facing intimidation from medical staff when
discussing gender identity.

291

IranWire, A Dark History: Honor Killings of Iran's LGBTQ Citizens, 2 August 2020
Mahdieh Damanpak-Rizi, Farnaz Farnam, and Parisa Khodakhah, “Effect of cognitive-behavioral therapy on
domestic violence and its consequences in transgender youth: a randomized clinical trial”, BMC (BioMed Central)
Psychiatry, Volume 21, April 2021, p. 2
292

129

Before surgery, patients must receive counseling to ensure that they have gender dysphoria and areprepared for the procedure. Arastoo believes that the process is often not properly observed. "Apsychotherapist can be incompetent, even transphobic," he says. "The counseling sessions echo the
feeling of shame and self-hate that the heteronormative society imposes on transgender people.""Even after surgery no one can expect a beautiful, heavenly life," says Saeidzadeh. "Until a trans person isrecognized by the law and families and friends and the community they have problems, and theyencounter so many different difficulties in managing their everyday life."
Iranian law does not protect trans people against stigmatization, hate crimes or domestic violence, andthe government has no concrete plan for normalizing and demarginalizing trans people. For teenagers
who come out in conservative settings, being disowned by family and struggling to find a place to live is acommon experience. […]"It's not that [trans people] are oppressed and miserable people who have no lives," says Saeidzahde.
"Despite all the difficulties, due to their own capabilities and initiatives, trans people have made their lives
livable in Iran." Throughout her research, Saiedzadeh says she has interviewed people who have learned
how to swiftly switch between identities and roles while creating and claiming their own social spaces.
"They created communities to support and protect each other," she says. Online activism, she notes, hasplayed a big role in raising awareness and building communities, with countless websites and social media
content mushrooming on the internet. Authorities monitor and block them, but ways around the bans are293
always found.

Reporting on the murder in May 2021 of Alireza Fazeli Monfared by his male relatives, Amnesty
International stated that:
According to informed sources interviewed by Amnesty International, Alireza Fazeli Monfared, who selfidentified as a non-binary gay man, had been subjected to repeated homophobic and transphobic
harassment and death threats by several of his male relatives, including his half-brothers and uncle,
because he did not conform to the binary socio-cultural gender stereotypes and “norms” in Iran andsocially constructed expectations of “masculinity”. […]Alireza Fazeli Monfared’s partner and a close friend of his separately told the organization that, on at least
one occasion, in August 2020, the authorities had arbitrarily arrested and detained him for several days inconnection with his Instagram account on which he had posted videos of himself dancing, amongst otherthings. Following his release, according to these informed sources, he was attacked in his home by a male
relative who pulled out a gun and threatened to kill him because he said that Alireza Fazeli Monfared’sarrest, and the reason for his arrest, was a source of “shame” to the family and damaged their “honour”.
Alireza Fazeli Monfared’s partner and friend told Amnesty International that in recent years, several male
relatives had attempted to physically assault him and, on at least one occasion, around two years ago,
they forcibly entered his home, but he was able to escape with the help of his mother.
Amnesty International understands from the sources interviewed that several male relatives in Alireza
Fazeli Monfared’s family often complained to his father about the way he expressed himself through his
clothes, make-up, speech and manner, including in the videos and pictures he posted on his Instagram
account.
Amnesty International has listened to several voice messages that Alireza Fazeli Monfared had sent to his
partner outside Iran in March 2021 in which he had said that he felt under pressure because he did nothave the freedom to freely express himself in Iranian society and that he was making plans to leave the293

Deutsche Welle (DW), How transgender people navigate Iran, 16 May 2021

130

country. The organization understands that he had been due to leave the country a few days after thedate he was murdered.
According to the individuals Amnesty International interviewed, including consultant psychotherapist, Dr
Morris Setudegan, whom Alireza Fazeli Monfared had consulted on LGBTI rights in European countries,
including gay marriage, he had been making plans to leave Iran as he felt constricted in the country
because he could not freely express his gender identity and sexual orientation, had faced threats from294
relatives, and was forced to live a double life, all of which caused him distress and anguish.

The same report also noted the prior experiences of Alireza Fazeli Monfared within the military:“According to informed sources, Alireza Fazeli Monfared had served several weeks of military service
when he turned 18 before applying for an exemption card because of the abuse he received from theother conscripts in connection with his gender expression. The organization understands that he had
made complaints to officials in the army but had received no support”.295
In January 2022, 6Rang commented that: “Even though Iranian law does not criminalise transindividuals, there is still social stigma against these individuals that allows subhuman conditions like thisto persist”.296
Amnesty International wrote in January 2022 that: “Gender non-conforming individuals who cannot or
do not wish to change their sex assigned at birth or choose between the binary gender categories of
man and woman experience discrimination in access to education, employment, health care and public
services because the Islamic Republic system heavily enforces gender segregation across public spaces
and imposes strict dress codes”.297
In February 2022, HRANA detailed the following incident:
On February 7, a transgender citizen and resident of Mariwan City died by suicide after taking pills.
Reportedly, they committed suicide after a Sunni cleric disallowed their family to perform genderaffirming surgery.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, 20 year old Ribwar Ebrahimi committed
suicide and lost their life.
“His family asked a Sunni cleric about the religious authorization of a Sex Reassignment Surgery.
Confronted with this disallowance, Ribwar got upset. He/she was also under pressure not to disclose
his/her identity, which all led to committing suicide by pill,” told an informed source to HRANA.
Gender affirmation surgery has not been designated as legal or illegal under Iranian civil law. In 2013,
however, Family Protection Bill set out some rules about the sex change process. In 1982, in a Fatwa,
Ruhollah Khomeini, authorized religiously the sex-change surgery. Nonetheless, uncertainties in the law
294

Amnesty International, Iran: Murder of 20-year-old gay man highlights urgent need to protect LGBTI rights, 17
May 2021, pp. 2-3
295
Amnesty International, Iran: Murder of 20-year-old gay man highlights urgent need to protect LGBTI rights, 17
May 2021, p. 3
296
6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Suicide and neglect: Trans prisoners treated worse than
animals in Iran’s most notorious prison, 10 January 2022
297
Amnesty International, Ill-Treated Iranian LGBTI Defender At Risk, 25 January 2022

131regarding this process and official acceptance of new identity have confused many transgender citizens
298
who are afraid of being deprived of their rights by the erratic attitude of legal authorities.

In June 2023, HRANA wrote that: “Recognition of transgender identity in Iran is solely contingent uponundergoing state-supported sex reassignment surgery”.299
6Rang’s September 2023 report on the gender persecution of LGBTIQ+ protestors in the context of the2022-23 Iran uprising wrote on the story of Raha Ajoudani:
Raha Ajoudani, trans influencer, blogger, and civil activist was 19 years old when she was arrested byagents from the Ministry of Intelligence on 26th of October 2022 in Tehran, at the location where she was
supposed to meet someone she was in love with. […]She is not only under financial hardship but constant pressure:“A list of over twenty friends, who had been in contact with me during the 31 days of my detention by the
Revolutionary Guards, were summoned and interrogated. Since the time I was released, several of myfriends have told me that someone using a private number had contacted them and advised them against
maintaining contact with me.
Later when I was summoned by the Revolutionary Guards again due to my presence on social media
networks, I asked them about it. I said, ‘Is this your doing?’ They replied, ‘No, it's possible you'redelusional.’ I told them, ‘No, I've heard from multiple people using shared terminology that it's not ourdoing, it might be the work of the Ministry of Intelligence. It's their habit to turn us against each other.’Since I was released on bail, many of my close friends have severed ties with me. They justify this action
by stating that they have cut off communication due to security pressures. They create a scenario where
you're out of prison, but they construct a larger prison for you out there. To the extent that a hundred
thousand times a day, you wish they would imprison you again and return you to that solitary cell.
They pushed so much into my private life that my friends were forced to cut ties with me whichconsequently drove me further into seclusion in my personal life. They are constructing a larger prison foryou here, to the point that you say, I wish they would imprison me again in that same cell.118 […]116 https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=838481037407989.
117 6Rang Interview with Raha Ajoudani, August 2023.
300
118 Ibid.

The 2023 article in the Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health on Iranian trans men and theirexperiences and identity development wrote that:
Iran’s unique social and cultural characteristics could impact Iranian trans individuals’ lives. This includes
the dominance of patriarchy in a family structure and at different layers of society, the compulsory hijab
for women, sex segregation both in public places and schools, as well as legislative and cultural
298

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Transgender Citizen Dies By Suicide After Disallowance ofGender Affirming Surgery, 8 February 2022
299
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Five Transgender Individuals Arrested and Coerced into
Confession, 26 June 2023
300
6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), War on Bodies and Minds: Gender Persecution of LGBTIQ+
Protestors in the Context of the 2022-23 Iran Uprising, September 2023, pp. 31-32

132

restrictions on establishing a relationship with people of the opposite sex before marriage or establishingromantic relationships, as well as the criminalization of same-sex relationships. […]In Iran, “social reputation” (aberoo in Persian) unequivocally matters to the families, and they encourage
their children into accepted social norms; Hence wearing masculine clothes while traveling (when no one
knows them) might be easier for some families to tolerate, as opposed to letting their assigned female at301
birth child breaking the norms in the home neighborhood.

The ILGA Database page for Iran writes that “gender-diverse persons in Iran still face widespread social
stigma and government targeting, especially if they have not attained legal gender recognition or do notconform to traditional gender expressions”.302

b. Representation in media
In May 2020, Pink News reported that:On May 15 Shahindokht Molaverdi [former aide for women’s and family affairs in Iran] shared a poster tomark the International Day of Families on her Telegram account. Produced by the UN, the simple
illustration depicted several families, including two same-sex couples with children. […]The sentiment sparked outrage in the strictly conservative Muslim nation, which punishes homosexuality
with the death penalty.
Pro-Iranian regime social users took to Twitter to slam Molaverdi, accusing her of promoting
homosexuality by spreading “homosexual propaganda” on an official channel. […]And the hardline Iranian news outlet Mashreq News questioned the legality of Molaverdi’s post, pointing
out that under the Islamic Penal Code any action that contributes to the spread of homosexuality is
303
considered the same as encouragement to prostitution, and is punishable by up to ten years in prison.

The New Arab reported in January 2021 on BBC Persian receiving complaints due to alleged
homophobia, writing that:
The BBC said Friday it was investigating a complaint by a prominent human rights campaigner in Britain
who accuses its Iranian service of homophobia.
Peter Tatchell said he had contacted the BBC World Service after its Persian unit ran a blog that usedderogatory language in Farsi to describe the gay community. […]The blog on the BBC Persian website was updated to say that previously "a word was used to refer tohomosexual relations in the historical context of Iran that is not among the terms that BBC uses to
describe sexual orientations, and was therefore inappropriate".
But in a letter to BBC bosses, Tatchell demanded a public apology and the dismissal of BBC
Persian director Rozita Lotfi. […]301

Mahsa Yaghoubirad, Parviz Azadfallah, Catherine Ann Cameron, and Hojjatollah Farahani, “Talking with Iraniantrans men: Their experiences and identity development”, Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, Volume 27, 1,
2023, pp. 87, 95
302
ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) Database, Jurisdiction: Iran, undated
303
Pink News, Top Iranian aide apologises for ‘homosexual propaganda’ after sharing cartoon of loving lesbian andgay parents, 19 May 2020133

BBC Persian is banned in Iran and according to a report by UN experts last March, its expatriate staff have304
faced intimidation from the regime, including death threats against their Iranian-based relatives.

Speaking on the same incident, The Star Observer, an Australian magazine for the LGBTI communities,
added that:
The objectionable content appeared in a blog published on December 28, 2020. “BBC Persian published apost describing LGBT+ people as ‘hamjensbaz’, which I am told is the Persian language equivalent of theword ‘faggot’,” Tatchell said in his letter to the BBC.
According to Tatchell, it was only after protests from LGBTQI Iranians that BBC got the objectionablelanguage removed.
BBC added an editorial note to the article: “In an earlier version of this article, a word was used to refer
to homosexual relations in the historical context of Iran that is not among the terms that BBC uses to
describe sexual orientations and was therefore inappropriate. It is now corrected.”
However, Tatchell said that the objectionable word was not the only problematic aspect of the blog.
“The post went on to compare LGBT+ people to opium addicts and people who have sex with theirsiblings. Again, only after protests was this deleted but it was replaced by the equally offensive insult
305‘ghabahat‘ – which apparently means abomination.”

In June 2022, HRANA posted an article about increased state-sponsored discrimination against Iranian
LGBTQI+ communities, set out that:
The Islamic Republic has long criminalized homosexuality in its domestic legal systems while also actively
fueling propaganda campaigns in both media and educational institutions including throughdiscriminatory public media content, textbooks, and campaigns aimed at so-called “Conversion Therapy”.
Officials representing the government have gone on record with their discriminatory positions. […] Our
initial research points to the unrestricted and inappropriate use of the internet as the major cause of theissue. In an interview with a foreign news agency, Minoo Mohraz, the head of the Iranian Research Centerfor HIV/AIDS (IRCHA) said, “for the sake of public health protection, sex workers, addicted people, andhomosexuals have to be identified and treated.” Mohraz added, “[…] we have to treat them before theypollute the rest of society.” […]Mehr News Agency, which is affiliated with Islamic Development Organization, published an article
criticizing a psychiatrist who had described homosexuality as a natural disposition. The report claimed “sofar, no accredited laboratory has proven that homosexuality is a natural disposition. They asked, “Howcan a psychiatrist who is supposed to comply with scientific principles, expose his patients to damages ofhomosexual intercourse by saying that this is natural?” The report repeated Tavana’s claim thathomosexuality can be cured with drugs, “In Iran, many physicians have the successful treatment ofhomosexual patients in their career. Therefore, the wrong assertion that homosexuality is incurable has tobe debunked as a trick of political advocates of homosexuality.” […]Director and screenwriter, Behrouz Afkhami has made several homophobic statements during a TV talkshow. Answering an interview question about the conditions for awarding at Cannes Film Festival heasserted, “If a film about an LGBT person participates in this festival, they spare special points for such

304
305

The New Arab, BBC Persian under fire for alleged homophobia, 8 January 2021
The Star Observer, BBC Persian Accused of Publishing Homophobic Blog, 15 January 2021

134

film to take precedence over others in the competition.” In response, the program host agreed and went306
on to identify homosexuality as a “sexual perversion.”

In July 2022, IranWire reported on Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani (Sareh) being framed as a “trafficker” in Iran
while detained. It wrote that:
In a video report aired by the hardline Tasnim News Agency on behalf of the IRGC-IO [Intelligence
Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] on Monday, Sareh – whose name was there given
as Zahra Mansouri-Hamedani – was accused of running “one of the largest prostitution networks in Erbil”.
The report claimed she was aided by two other individuals reportedly also now in custody, Alireza FarjadiKia and a friend known only as “Kati”.
Described as an “obscene gang”, the three detainees were said to have smuggled “more than a thousand
Iranian girls” for sale in the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. The report feaured [sic] as “evidence” some blurredfootage of nightclub interiors, in which the subjects were not named or identifiable. […]In the same period, Sareh’s friends were arrested and made to give forced confessions against her, someof which then aired on state TV. Shesh-rang reports that these individuals had been promised the footage
307
would not be broadcast.

In September 2022, 6Rang’s fact sheet on the sentencing to death of Zahra Sadighi Hamedani (Sareh)
and Elham Choubdar added that:On 30 December 2021, the Intelligence Organization of the Revolutionary Guards took over Sareh’s
Telegram channel, which had about 1,200 followers. They changed the profile picture to the logo of theintelligence organization and posted a message, which stated, “Protecting family values is the red line of
the unknown soldiers of Imam Zaman [the title used for Mahdi, the 12th Shia Imam] for the Intelligence
Organization of the Revolutionary Guards.” […]In early July 2022, Tasnim, an IRGC news agency published a video accusing Sareh of of [sic] taking part insex trafficking. The video showed the interviews of two individuals who said that Sareh was involved inseducing Iranian women and girls and trafficking them to Iraqi Kurdistan to exploit them. 6Rang research
confirms that those interviews were taken from detainees under duress and in exchange for the308
authorities promises to free them.

With reference to Veyssi, a queer and non-binary Iranian “child of the diaspora” in the United States, aFebruary 2023 Washington Blade article on LGBTQ voices among Iran’s protests wrote that: “Especiallyso since so many other LGBTQ activists who share content about or are otherwise engaged on social
media with issues concerning the turmoil in Iran have experienced shadow-banning, Veyssi said,referring to the phenomenon by which a user’s posts are artificially depressed so they reach fewer
followers than they otherwise would”.309
306

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), State-Sponsored Discrimination against Iranian LGBTQI+
Communities Ramps up amidst a Growing and More Vocal Activist Community, 22 June 2022
307
IranWire, Detained LGBT+ Rights Activist Framed as "Trafficker" in Iran, 20 July 2022
308
6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Fact sheet on Zahra Sadighi Hamedani (Sareh) and Elham
Choubdar, September 2022
309
Washington Blade, Minority, LGBTQ voices must be centered amid Iran protests, activists say, 17 February 2023

135

6Rang’s March 2023 report on official hate speech used against LGBT people in Iran as a tool of
oppression observed the following:
State-affiliated medial and journalists have had a hand in spreading hate against the LGBTQ+ community.
The language often resonates with what is said by state officials. Derogatory language is also prevalent inarticles about LGBTQ+ people.
In November 2022, Hosein Shariatmandari, a fundamentalist journalist, said:“One of the main goals of this riot is to break apart and break our country into pieces… One of the hopesof this situation is to legalise and spread hamjensbazi (faggotry) in a future without the Islamic
Republic.”22
Much of the fearmongering about same-sex relationships mandated by state officials and state media liesin the concept of interrupted or broken traditional families. Heteronormative familial relationships are thepinnacle of moral goodness in the Islamic Republic framework. As such, LGBTQ+ individuals are shown tobe an interruption to normal family dynamics.
In an article by Fars News, Hasan Kouhestani wrote, “if we look back to the sexual revolution in the Westwhen men and women were freer in their relationships, we can see that men were no longer interested in
marriage.” […]22https://eslahatnews.com/‫ت ه≠ر سم یت≠ای ران≠در≠ه مج ن س بازی≠و≠ا ست≠ج ه نم≠ا س ال یم≠جم هوری≠از≠پ س≠ف ردای‬310‫م ی یا≠ب ش†گ س‬‫≠و≠ی اف‬c. Representation by influential cultural and religious figures
In March 2020, the Iranian Studies journal published a piece on gender transitions in Islamic law,theatre, and film in Iran. It wrote that:
While certified transsexuals are legally and religiously legible and legitimate in Iran, societal ignorance andintolerance remain a barrier to acceptance and understanding. […]Despite official legal and religious recognition, trans activists are still fighting for their full needs to be
met, specifically better access to health care,8 improvement in the quality of surgery provided, andgreater public and medical education about transsexuality. […][…] Shiʿa jurisprudence in Iran does not view sexual reassignment surgery (SRS) as a manipulation of thework of God. […] Ayatollah Khomeini and other jurists in Iran have supported transsexual surgery on the
grounds that it is not explicitly banned in the Qur’an and re-gendering the body does not change the soulor transgress the work and authority of the Creator. […]Due to his judicial acceptance of transsexuality and SRS, transsexuality is openly discussed in seminaries in
Qom, the center of jurisprudential study and fatwa production in Iran. […]Centered on a distinct split between the physical body and the soul, trans discourse in Iran argues thatmost people experience harmony between the two, but transgendered individuals suffer from acorrectable mismatch. Notably, one does not have to take hormones or have surgery to be certified and310

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Silencing protests: Official hate speech against LGBT people asa tool of suppression, March 2023, pp. 9-10

136

accepted as a “transsexual” in religious and legal terms in Iran. Somatic changes do not determine one’s
legal legibility or legitimacy. However, to be legally recognized as transgender, one must change theirbirth certificate and passport. Though a number of Iranian religious jurists today support SRS, the generalpublic is generally not as tolerant or supportive of transgender and transsexual individuals; furthermore,
more recent fatwas have tried to place limits on the permissibility of transsexuality with regard to surgery.
[…]
8 Trans people are eligible for “special groups” insurance coverage (according to the law of Universal Health Services
311
in 1995) for basic medical insurance coverage.

The Jerusalem Post reported in February 2021 on the following incident:
An Iranian regime cleric in the holy city of Qom on Tuesday issued a homophobic rant against people
vaccinated for COVID-19, claiming that they become gay after receiving the vaccine.
Ayatollah Abbas Tabrizian wrote on his Telegram social-media platform: “Don’t go near those who have
had the COVID vaccine. They have become homosexuals.”
The radical Islamist has nearly 210,000 followers on his Telegram account. […]According to Peter Tatchell, a LGBTQ+ and human-rights campaigner, “Ayatollah Tabrizian combines
scientific ignorance with a crude appeal to homophobia.” […]According to Peter Tatchell, a LGBTQ+ and human-rights campaigner, “Ayatollah Tabrizian combines
scientific ignorance with a crude appeal to homophobia.”“He’s demonizing both the vaccination program and LGBT+ people without a shred of evidence,” he told
the Post. “By seeking to scare the public into not getting vaccinated against COVID-19, he is fueling the
pandemic and putting lives at risk. Typical of many Iranian religious and political leaders, his bizarre,
312
irrational claims scapegoat LGBTs and put theological prejudice before scientific knowledge.”

In April 2021, IranWire reported that:
An Iranian academic and prominent theater professional has provoked a backlash after he said people
from the LGBTQ community “did not observe the cultural sanctity” of an Iranian theater in the capital andcalled for it to be cordoned off.
Activists and artists soon rallied, releasing a joint statement on Petition condemning artist Ghotboddin
Sadegh’s insults, accusing him of hate speech, and urging the public to join their campaign. Seventy
activists and artists joined the initial statement, and the petition has so far been signed by 650 people.
Sadegh made the comments as part of an interview with Online Art published on March 8. He described
the area around Tehran City Theater as “very shameful” and said it had “turned into a place for thugs,
offenders, and homosexuals who do not observe the cultural sanctity of this place." He added: "theprivate area of the City Theater complex must be defined; shameful things are happening around thisbuilding."

311

Emily O’Dell, “Performing Trans in Post-Revolutionary Iran: Gender Transitions in Islamic Law, Theatre, andFilm”, Iranian Studies, Volume 53, Issue no. 1-2, March 2020, pp. 130-133
312
The Jerusalem Post, Iran cleric: People who are vaccinated for COVID have ‘become homosexuals’, 10 February
2021

137

The activists’ statement read: "Ghotboddin Sadeghi's stance is a continuation of a policy that criminalizes
the life of homosexuals, treats the bisexual society as sick and targets trans people with a call tostigmatize, marginalize and even eliminate this group from society.” […]The group outlined the dangers of people in academia and the arts speaking out against the LGBTQ
community, saying that these people had influence and could shape other people’s perspectives andattitudes in turn.
The campaign and accompanying petition were launched by Melika Zar, an LGBTQ activist and one ofthe people behind the Sheshrang [Six Colors] campaign group, painter and activist Alireza Shojaeian, social
analyst and feminist Mina Khani and researcher and artist Yasmin Fahbod.
In an interview with IranWire, Melika Zar described the aim of the statement and the need to protest
against hateful remarks. […]“We have to choose whether we want to join the government in this repression or not. Ghotboddin
Sadeghi, as a university lecturer and theater director, identifies a problem, not accounting for the corrupt
system that is incapable of managing the different issues the country faces, and blames the LGBTQ
community as the cause. […]” […]Painter and activist Alireza Shojaeian has accused people who blame LGBTQ people for societal ills oftrying to distract and confuse the public from the real factors at play. "This is one of the most widely-usedapproaches to avoid the problem,” he said.
“Artists and intellectuals aligning with the government is not a new phenomenon. What is unfortunate is
the uncertainty that it creates in the minds of the oppressed community about the role of the intellectuals313
and artists who also stand as teachers in society."

The OONI, OutRight Action International, and the Citizen Lab’s August 2021 research report on LGBTIQ
website censorship explained that, in Iran: “A strict government-enforced system of social, religious, andlegal norms that is defined by Shi’a jurisprudence has contributed to human rights violations against
LGBTIQ individuals. Religious leaders in Iran have long demonized members of LGBTIQ communities”.314
The April 2022 Lancet Psychiatry piece on conversion therapy of Iranian gay men stated that:
Religious institutions are opposed to homosexuality, leading to the rejection of gay men by families andsociety, the promotion of internalised stigma, and the development of pseudoscientific therapies byhealth professionals. Under the control of religious institutions, the Ministry of Health and Medical
Education, the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology, and the Psychology and Counseling
Organization of Iran have condemned homosexuality. […][…] in Iran, therapists and religious institutions continue to believe that attraction towards the same sex is315
harmful and should be changed.

In June 2022, HRANA posted an article about increased state-sponsored discrimination against Iranian
LGBTQI+ communities, writing that:
313

IranWire, Iranian LGBTQ Community Lashes Out Against Prominent Director’s Homophobia, 7 April 2021
Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI), OutRight Action International, and The Citizen Lab, No
Access: LGBTIQ Website Censorship in Six Countries, 8 August 2021, p. 83
315
Amir Kabir and Irwin Nazareth, “Conversion therapy: a violation of human rights in Iranian gay men”, The Lancet
Psychiatry, Volume 9, Issue 4, April 2022
314

138

An apparent grassroots group known as ‘Halalzadeha’ has been circulating content on social media
inciting discriminatory language against sexual and gender minorities. The group is also known to holdgatherings in Tehran aimed at condemning same-sex marriage in other countries. During the last 22
Bahman March (Anniversary of the 1979 Revolution), they stepped and marched on rainbow flags
incitement hostility against members of the LGBTQI+ community. The lack of attempt by police or security
forces to interfere in the gatherings, which is a routine activity in the case of similar gatherings, indicatesthat such groups are potentially supported by the regime. […]Director and screenwriter, Behrouz Afkhami has made several homophobic statements during a TV talkshow. Answering an interview question about the conditions for awarding at Cannes Film Festival heasserted, “If a film about an LGBT person participates in this festival, they spare special points for such
film to take precedence over others in the competition.” In response, the program host agreed and went
on to identify homosexuality as a “sexual perversion.”
Director and screenwriter, Ghotbeddin Sadeghi, in a speech defended the security fencing of Tehran City
Theater premises and claimed, “Theatre premises have been occupied by thugs, criminals and queer
people who do not observe the cultural sanctity of this place.” In response to his homophobic statements,a group of artists and civil activists in the field of sexual and gender minorities published an open
316
statement and condemned these statements as hate speech.

6Rang’s March 2023 report on official hate speech used against LGBT people in Iran as a tool of
oppression wrote that:
Same sex acts have long been represented as immoral and anti-Islamic by the Islamic Republic regime.
The highest-ranking officials often take part in vilifying LGBTQ+ individuals publicly and without regard.
One of the ways in which officials have instigated hate against this minority group is by using Islam andreligion. In December 2022, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei gave a public speech in which he said:“Banning hamjensbazi [faggotry] is not only a concern of Islam, but it is forbidden in all religions.”17 […]In January 2023, Hojjatollah Masoud Ali, teacher at a seminary (hawza), said:“Reducing and making hijab optional, allowing relationships between boys and girls, accepting
homosexuality and ultimately destroying families are the goals of our enemies.”21
In the same speech, he conflates this ‘immorality’ with the protests, saying, “in the past 100 days, therioters have shown what they want!” […]More explicitly, In December 2022, Khorramabad’s Friday prayer leader, Ahmadreza Shahrokhi, said, “thedispute is not over a few strands of hair … those behind the scenes want to force homosexuality andmarriage with animals on Muslims.” […]17 https://www.ghatreh.com/news/nn66296913/‫ی ی ر ه‬-‫ان ق الب‬-‫مم نوع یت‬-‫ی ی مو ضوعا‬-‫م ثل‬-‫ه مج نس‬-‫ب ازی‬-‫ف قط‬‫م رب وط‬-‫[ ا س الم‬...]
317
21 https://www.khabaronline.ir/news/ ‫د ا س تا‬-‫حوز ه‬-‫ع لم ی ه‬-‫م ن ظور‬-‫اغ ت شا ش گ ران‬-‫از‬-‫آزاد ی‬-‫آغ وش‬-‫رای گان‬-‫و‬-‫آزا‬

316

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), State-Sponsored Discrimination against Iranian LGBTQI+
Communities Ramps up amidst a Growing and More Vocal Activist Community, 22 June 2022
317
6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Silencing protests: Official hate speech against LGBT people asa tool of suppression, March 2023, pp. 8-9

139

6Rang’s September 2023 report on the gender persecution of LGBTIQ+ protestors in the context of the2022-23 Iran uprising wrote that:
The report suggests that the rise in hate speech is a reactionary act against the increased visibility of
LGBTIQ+ persons and LGBTIQ+ issues in the protests.30 Official hate speech in Iran has a long history andis becoming more prevalent. LGBTIQ+ persons are often said to be immoral, animalistic, and a constantthreat to Islamic family values. Hate speech is used by all levels of government, including the president
and the Supreme Leader.31
In January 2023, Hojjatollah Masoud Ali, teacher at a seminary (hawza), said:“Reducing and making hijab optional, allowing relationships between boys and girls, accepting
homosexuality and ultimately destroying families are the goals of our enemies.”32 In the same speech, heconflated this ‘immorality’ with the protests, saying, “in the past 100 days, the rioters have shown what
they want!”More explicitly, in December 2022, Khorramabad’s Friday prayer leader, Ahmadreza Shahrokhi, said, “thedispute is not over a few strands of hair … those behind the scenes want to force homosexuality andmarriage with animals on Muslims.”33 […]30 https://6rang.org/english/3511/.
31 https://shorturl.at/kJPW7.
32 https://shorturl.at/ikrZ5.
318
33 Ibid.

d. Impact of societal norms on state attitudes and vice versa
In their report on the state-sanctioned killing of sexual minorities in February 2021, Mai Sato andChristopher Alexander observed that: “Our interviewees indicated that the execution of sexual
minorities is both ‘politically costly’ with regard to the international community [...] and is becoming
increasingly unpopular among the Iranian public due to growing understanding and acceptance ofhomosexuality”.319
6Rang’s March 2023 report on official hate speech used against LGBT people in Iran as a tool of
oppression described that:
The courage of the community making themselves visible has led to many speaking openly about theiridentities in case their families attempted to erase them.2 There have been instances of LGBTQ+ people
holding rainbow flags, kissing each other in public and graffitiing pro-LGBTQ+ sentiments. This courage
and acts of visibility could not remain unnoticed by the Islamic Republic authorities. As this reportoutlines, the official hate speech towards LGBTQ+ community has been a response to increasing visibility.
[…]

318

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), War on Bodies and Minds: Gender Persecution of LGBTIQ+
Protestors in the Context of the 2022-23 Iran Uprising, September 2023, p. 10319
Mai Sato and Christopher Alexander, State-Sanctioned Killing of Sexual Minorities: Looking Beyond the Death
Penalty, February 2021, p. 44

140

Although strives have been made in terms of visibility for LGBTQ+ people in the recent protests, hatespeech is still rampant, especially amongst state officials who use it publicly to vilify LGBTQ+ people
further. […]Amidst the peak of the protests in November 2022, a group of Basijis (a paramilitary group belonged to
the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)) set rainbow flags on fire in front of the British Embassy in
Tehran12. This was in direct protest of LGBTQ+ people being welcomed by protestors and being visible inprotests. Disgusted by the role of the LGBTQ+ community in the protests, this horrifying and hateful statesanctioned act was a reactionary outcry and attempt at instigating fear.13 14 […]Officials have clearly been using existing societal homophobia to incite the fear of homosexuality
spreading should the Islamic Republic fall. […]Furthermore, officials have used the existing societal hatred and ignorance against the LGBTQ+
community to invalidate the protests. […]2 This increased after the death of Nika Shakarami, whose family attempted to erase her identity as a queer woman.
This came after Shadi Amin, a prominent LGBTQ+ activist, dedicated the Lesbian Visibility Award to her. An onslaughtof online hate against her and anybody who claimed that Nika was queer followed, claiming that her name was being‘dirtied’. https://www.washingtonblade.com/2022/11/30/even-in-death-we-fight-to-be-visible/ […]12 https://www.instagram.com/p/CkOZ99BsvYM/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
13 https://www.instagram.com/p/CkstEZ3MGER/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D320
14 https://6rang.org/73692/

6Rang’s September 2023 report on the gender persecution of LGBTIQ+ protestors in the context of the2022-23 Iran uprising wrote that:
During this period, members of the LGBTIQ+ community, particularly queer youth, were extremely visible
in the protests. 6Rang’s observation and communication with its network inside Iran confirmed that
LGBTIQ+ individuals were one of the most involved groups, as they were aware that they would nevergain rights or dignity under the current government. Many have not only actively participated in street
protests but have also come forward with the struggles they have faced due to their identities. Some
showed the rainbow flag on the streets or posted photos kissing their same-sex partners. The community
witnessed unprecedented support - for example, graffiti on university campuses signposting it as a safe
space for LGBTIQ+ persons. This did not go unnoticed by the authorities. On the contrary, it was used bythem to pertain their narrative. […]Islamic Republic’s high-ranking officials used pre-existing gender social prejudices to spread the fear ofhomosexuality being forced upon Iran if the Islamic Republic were to go by using hate speech to instigate
a link between the protests and ‘immorality’. By doing that, they imposed their “accepted” forms ofgender expression and created a hostile environment against the LGBTIQ+ community and their
participation in protests. Such imposition was not only prevalent among security, judicial, and prison
321
authorities but also, at least to some extent, among opposition forces.

320

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Silencing protests: Official hate speech against LGBT people asa tool of suppression, March 2023, pp. 5-10
321
6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), War on Bodies and Minds: Gender Persecution of LGBTIQ+
Protestors in the Context of the 2022-23 Iran Uprising, September 2023, pp. 9-10

141

The UN Human Rights Committee’s November 2023 concluding observations on the fourth periodic
report of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its implementation of the ICCPR stated that it is “concernedthat the criminalization of consensual same-sex sexual relations between adults and of gender nonconformity fosters an environment for hate speech and hate crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual andtransgender individuals”.322

V.

Treatment by Non-State Actors
a. Harassment and violence

For further relevant information consult also section IV. Societal Attitudes Towards LGBTQI+ Individuals
and section V., b. Discrimination.
6Rang’s September 2020 research report on structural and social violence against LGBTI people in Iran,based on a qualitative and quantitative online survey questionnaire shared on social media, found that:
Sexual minorities in Iran face constant threats, insults, harassments, blackmail and abuse in their daily life
by non-state actors who feel emboldened to enact violence with impunity, due to discriminatory laws thatcriminalize same-sex conduct and transgender expression. For instance, one participant reported being
surrendered to the police by her own family due to her non-binary gender expression. Also, a homosexual
couple had to resign and leave their job because their relationship was “outed” or disclosed to theircolleagues, which led to threats of them being handed over to the police by their employer. […]Violence in education system
According to the survey results, 107 of 230 participants reported having experienced violence in theireducational environments. This means that almost half of them faced violence at school, or university. 18
percent of the participants reported having been constantly insulted and humiliated by the school
administration.
Violence in a school or university is one of the most visible types of violence against the LGBTI community.
This type of violence can take many forms ranging from physical violence to verbal, psychological, or even,sexual violence. It is often expressed through acts of bullying, intimidation, and repression by classmates,
trainers, or other school staff. […]The current legal landscape of Iran that criminalizes same-sex conduct and gender-variant expression
paired with the incitement to hate speech and hatred by top-ranking Iranian officials, not only provides
the opportunity for, but also actively promotes abuse and violence against LGBTI people. This kind of
abuse also takes the form of blackmail and extortion.
A great number of participants have also reported experiencing violence in their families cause of theirsexual orientation and gender identity. Experiences of violence in the family involve beating, flogging,
psychological abuse, forced isolation from friends and society, verbal abuse, and death threats. In case of
lesbians and female-to-male transgender people, family abuse also elevated to threats to or actual
coercion to arranged marriage. There have been reports of lesbians and trans individuals who were322

UN International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, Human Rights Committee, Concluding observations on
the fourth periodic report of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 23 November 2023, p. 3

142

victims of honor-based violence. Families may kill, physically harm, or force their members into arranged
marriages with the intent to protect or defend the honor or reputation of the family and/or thecommunity. Iranian LGBTI people often have no recourse to justice for the violence and abuse they suffer
in their families. Participants have given accounts of being beaten by their families until they abandoned
their homes or were told to become “normal”. […][…] over half of participants (62.2%) reported violence from a member of their nuclear family. […]Only a quarter of participants perceived their nuclear family as supportive when they were struggling withviolent experiences, while 53 percent of them described their family as unsupportive. 26 percent ofparticipants reported constant experience of violence during their childhood. Also, 24.34% of participants
felt insecure about their family. Almost 26% of 6Rang survey participants reported forced marriage as aconcern to different extents. […]LGBTI people persons also face violence from their intimate partners. 11.20 % of participants reported
they are in a violent relationship. Examples of this type of abuse would be that an abusive partner may
manipulate and convince the victim that no one will believe the abuse is real by using society’s
heterosexist myths about aggression and violence. […] Or similarly, an abusive partner may threaten tocall the police, family, or friends and disclose the abused one’s sexuality. […]52.2% of participants reported experiencing violence in public spaces. Strangers in public
accommodations, places of business, public transport, taxis, public toilets, and restaurants are anothermain source of violence against the LGBTI community in Iran. Additionally, 24.5% of participants reported
having experienced cyber violence, which could be considered as a form of public space violence. […]These non-state actors also feel encouraged to engage in homophobic and transphobic acts because theabsence of an adequate police response to incidents of sexual assault and rape allows them to do so with
impunity. […]In the current study, 49.1 percent of participants experienced violence from their peer group including323
friends and classmates. Only 26% of them described their friend or peer group supportive.

An article in IranWire in August 2020 wrote on honour killings of LGBTQ citizens in Iran. The article
reported that:
Fariman Kashani [a feminist queer activist] says trans women tend to face greater levels of violence fromtheir families than trans men do. However, trans men tend to keep silent about their ordeals. "You see,[the damage of] patriarchy is sometimes not obvious. Many families involuntarily prefer having sons. The
fact that their son wants to have surgery and become a girl makes them angry. Transgender men are
more silent, just like men who may be subjected to domestic violence but feel they can’t talk about it
because they are men. Then there are trans people who are married to men, which is often a very painfulsituation for them. The same goes for homosexual people. There is a lot of psychological harassment too.
It is about being judged. And people feel they can ask them questions about the most private matters of
their lives." […]“Gay people in Iran are in a much worse and more horrific situation than other people in the LGBTQ
community," says Shaya Goldoust [a sexual minority rights activist]. "A gay man is not tolerated by either
the family or society. Iran is one of the few countries in the world where homosexuals are at risk of being
sentenced to death for having sex.” […]323

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Hidden Wounds: A Research Report on Violence Against LGBTI
in Iran, September 2020, pp. 11, 13, and 16-21

143

Like Fariman Kashani, Shaya Goldoust says LGBTQ people live with a double violence: violence enforced324
by the law and violence emanating from society itself.

6Rang’s September 2020 research report on structural and social violence against LGBTI people in Iranstated that:
LGBTI individuals in Iran experience violence across all parts of their lives with instances combining andintersecting to create an existence in which LGBTI people are trapped in a life cycle of violence. Starting athome, their identity, gender expression, and sexuality is severely suppressed or rejected by family
members. At school, LGBTI children and adolescents experience homophobic and transphobic motivatedbullying, which directly impacts their ability and right to access education. Such discrimination isperpetrated by other students, teachers, and administrators and often continues at home because it
makes them unable achieve higher marks or other things in education. While many of them may not evenbe able to finish high school, those who find a chance at higher education, still experience harassment,
discrimination, and constant fear of disclosure and its legal consequences at the university and workplace.
For many LGBTI youth, particularly those who are gender non-conforming, the lack of successful
education combined with societal discrimination leads to difficulties in finding and keeping employment.
Lack of a reliable job makes them financially dependent on their violent families. Financial needs also
make them more susceptible to stay in abusive intimate relationships. For those who are lucky to find a325
stable job, hostile work environment and unwanted outing put them at the risk of unemployment.

DW’s February 2021 piece on the difficulties of being gay in Iran, referring to a report by the UN Special
Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran, stated that: “The UN official said that by criminalizing
consensual sex, the authorities in the Islamic Republic have legitimized violence against gays by bothpublic officials and private citizens. He said such violence includes "torture, blows to the body, and evenrape carried out by law enforcement agencies and vigilante groups."”326
In their report on the state-sanctioned killing of sexual minorities in February 2021, Mai Sato andChristopher Alexander wrote that:
Even if one avoids contact with the Iranian criminal justice system, sexual (and gender) minorities often
face persecution in their homes. Individuals report being subjected to various forms of abuse by theirfamily members, including beatings and flogging, enforced seclusion and isolation from friends andsociety, neglect and abandonment, verbal insults and death threats (Iran Human Rights Documentation
Center, 2013a). Whereas same-sex attracted men are more punitively treated in the Penal Code,women—and in particular lesbian and trans women—are disproportionately subjected to violence in the327
domestic sphere […].

324

IranWire, A Dark History: Honor Killings of Iran's LGBTQ Citizens, 2 August 2020
6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Hidden Wounds: A Research Report on Violence Against LGBTI
in Iran, September 2020, p. 23
326
Deutsche Welle (DW), The difficulties of being gay in Iran, 26 February 2021
327
Mai Sato and Christopher Alexander, State-Sanctioned Killing of Sexual Minorities: Looking Beyond the Death
Penalty, February 2021, p. 40
325

144

At the beginning of May 2021, 6Rang gave details on the murder Ali Fazeli Monfared, a twenty-year-old
gay man in Iran, by his male relatives, publishing that:Ali Fazeli Monfared, known to family and friends as Alireza, was a twenty-year-old gay man living in theneighborhood of Mahal Tasviye Shekar (Sugar Refining Path) in Ahvaz, Iran. Alireza was kidnapped by agroup of men from his family, beheaded, and found the next day.
According to Aghil Bayat, an Arab LGBTQI activist who had been in touch with Alireza since late 2019, themurder took place following the revelation of Alireza’s sexual orientation. This event took place when his
half-brother opened an envelope containing Alireza’s military exemption card.
These exemption cards are issued through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Alireza received one byindicating that he was gay, which is permissible under Paragraph 5, Article 7 of the military exemption
laws. Unfortunately, in Alireza’s case, this selection cost him his life.
The men accused of Alireza’s murder contacted his mother on Wednesday and informed her that she
could find her son’s dead body laying at the foot of a palm tree. […]Alireza’s partner, who currently lives in Turkey, has informed 6rang that all three men associated with themurder have been arrested and charged with first degree murder.
The circumstances surrounding Alireza’s murder reaffirm our concerns regarding the potential dangers of
the sexual orientation exemption to young men in Iran. It highlights, once more, the necessity of proactive
328
legislation in this area.

Also writing on the murder of Alireza Fazeli Monfared in May 2021, Amnesty International’s publicstatement detailed that:
According to informed sources interviewed by Amnesty International, Alireza Fazeli Monfared, who selfidentified as a non-binary gay man, had been subjected to repeated homophobic and transphobic
harassment and death threats by several of his male relatives, including his half-brothers and uncle,
because he did not conform to the binary socio-cultural gender stereotypes and “norms” in Iran andsocially constructed expectations of “masculinity”. Amnesty International understands, from information
provided by his friend and partner, that he had never reported such incidents to the police out of fear of
being mocked or facing violence and prosecution at the hands of the authorities.
Alireza Fazeli Monfared’s partner and a close friend of his separately told the organization that, on at least
one occasion, in August 2020, the authorities had arbitrarily arrested and detained him for several days inconnection with his Instagram account on which he had posted videos of himself dancing, amongst otherthings. Following his release, according to these informed sources, he was attacked in his home by a male
relative who pulled out a gun and threatened to kill him because he said that Alireza Fazeli Monfared’sarrest, and the reason for his arrest, was a source of “shame” to the family and damaged their “honour”.
Alireza Fazeli Monfared’s partner and friend told Amnesty International that in recent years, several male
relatives had attempted to physically assault him and, on at least one occasion, around two years ago,
they forcibly entered his home, but he was able to escape with the help of his mother.
Amnesty International understands from the sources interviewed that several male relatives in Alireza
Fazeli Monfared’s family often complained to his father about the way he expressed himself through his

328

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Murder of a young Ahwazi gay man after the revelation of his
sexual orientation through a military exemption card, 10 May 2021

145

clothes, make-up, speech and manner, including in the videos and pictures he posted on his Instagram
account.
Amnesty International has listened to several voice messages that Alireza Fazeli Monfared had sent to his
partner outside Iran in March 2021 in which he had said that he felt under pressure because he did nothave the freedom to freely express himself in Iranian society and that he was making plans to leave thecountry. The organization understands that he had been due to leave the country a few days after thedate he was murdered.
According to the individuals Amnesty International interviewed, including consultant psychotherapist, Dr
Morris Setudegan, whom Alireza Fazeli Monfared had consulted on LGBTI rights in European countries,
including gay marriage, he had been making plans to leave Iran as he felt constricted in the country
because he could not freely express his gender identity and sexual orientation, had faced threats from329
relatives, and was forced to live a double life, all of which caused him distress and anguish.

The same statement touched on laws and provisions within the Penal Code criminalizing same-sex
sexual conduct between adults, writing that: “The laws […] foster societal violence and discrimination
against LGBTI people and create a climate of impunity for homophobic and transphobic hate crimes aswell as harassment and intimidation by family members, colleagues, schoolmates, teachers, neighbours
and members of the public”.330
In July 2021, the UN report on the situation of human rights in Iran wrote that “The Special Rapporteurcontinues to be seriously concerned at the extent of discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual andtransgender individuals, especially at reports of the alleged killing of a young man by relatives due to his
gender identity and sexual orientation,85 and urges the Government to end discrimination against thelesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community”.
[…] See www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1341292021ENGLISH.PDF.

331

The OONI, OutRight Action International, and the Citizen Lab’s August 2021 research report on LGBTIQ
website censorship explained that: “families often do not have sufficient information or resources tosupport their LGBTIQ loved ones, which can lead to bullying and violence”.332
In September 2021, IranWire published an article recounting the story of the rape of a gay Iranian man:
"I was taking driving lessons, and sometimes on the way home, I'd visited a café, sometimes with a friend.
One morning I went into this café on my own, and no one was there except one member of staff. At first, I

329

Amnesty International, Iran: Murder of 20-year-old gay man highlights urgent need to protect LGBTI rights, 17
May 2021, pp. 2-3
330
Amnesty International, Iran: Murder of 20-year-old gay man highlights urgent need to protect LGBTI rights, 17
May 2021, p. 5
331
UN General Assembly, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republicof Iran, Javaid Rehman, 16 July 2021, p. 14332
Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI), OutRight Action International, and The Citizen Lab, No
Access: LGBTIQ Website Censorship in Six Countries, 8 August 2021, p. 84

146

liked him and we enjoyed a friendly chat. I saw him a few more times there. We became more intimate.
We talked more and more... and I told him about my sexual orientation."
These are the words of Saeed, a 20-year-old gay man in Ahvaz, who has agreed to talk about the trauma
of being raped in a culture where speaking out would make it all the worse. The experience, he says, hasleft him irreparably damaged; not just his body, but also his mind and soul. "I thought he liked me," heremembers. "I later found out that he had an intimate relationship with me just to get close to the girls I
knew, the friends I usually went to the cafe with.
"A few weeks ago, it was almost midnight when I got a message from him on my phone saying that hewanted to see me late that night. Ever since, I have regretted looking at his message and messaging back.
I wish I had never done it.
“He insisted I go to him, to his friend's house. I had never had sex with him. I did not trust him. It was lateand I didn’t want to leave the house. He kept insisting, and then he started threatening me. He knew myaddress and said if I didn't go to him, he would come to my house with my friends. I was scared and didn’tknow what to do. I didn’t think he would come to the house, but if he did, I wouldn’t know what to do infront of my family.”
Saeed explains his family didn’t know he was gay. He still hasn’t really told them. In the past, people hadsuspected, and these situations had always cost him dear. Once, his mother checked his phone and readhis personal messages. She warned him that he was playing with life and death and had to stop. She
threatened to kick Saeed out of the house, saying he risked harm to her and to himself. His father does
not live with them and is based outside Iran, but when his mother told him what she had discovered, hesaid he was going to return to Iran and kill his son with his bare hands — even if it meant he would spend
the rest of his life in prison.
Talking to me today, Saeed seems to have trouble breathing. He stumbles over his words. "I had to go out,of fear and the disgrace he might cause. He attacked me; it didn’t matter to him that I was a human being.
It didn't matter to him that I was in pain. He was brutal. The worst part was when he whispered in my ear,cursing me, and my mother and my sister. I couldn't defend myself or resist."[…] Asked why he didn't inform the police, Saeed simply says that if he had, he would have beenprosecuted. And of course, his family would find out.
Saeed's rapist has since been in touch several times. Saeed does what he can to avoid him and to protect
333
himself.

The January 2022 ReportOUT piece on escalating crackdowns on LGBTQ+ people in Iran recorded thefollowing:
A new phenomenon that has recently arisen in order to extend the hate is putting the rainbow flag on the
ground of the streets during special events like the anniversary of the Revolution. The aim is to firstly raiseawareness that this is the flag of “Sodomians” and putting gay men and women in potential dangers ofgetting reported if they are in anyway using this sign for social purposes (In Iran a large number of gay
people use the flag sign in order to find each other and socialize). Secondly, for people that participate inthese events to trample on the flag is seen as a sign of disrespect. An organisation named ‘Halalzadeha’ isbehind this new movement.
Halalzadeha is supported by the state and has the authority to carry out these events. The organisation
has stated their main goal as the reconstruction of the real family values (Halalzadeha, 2017). The firsttime that this organisation took action on this was on February 12th 2020, the Revolution anniversary
333

IranWire, Iranian Gay Man: "I Couldn't Tell Police About My Rape", 24 September 2021

147

day, and was reported by 6Rang, a non-governmental organization of lesbians and transgenders of Iran
(6Rang, 2020), stating “The rainbow flag has also been added to the list of the state’s enemies." The
Islamic Republic of Iran has a history of burning, and trampling, on the the [sic] flags of opposing countries
such as USA’s flag and Israel’s flag to provoke hate and aggression in people towards these countries. Now
the rainbow flag is being targeted.
The most recent activity took place on October 16th 2021. Halalzadeha had made an official
announcement of this event taking place both on their official website and social media pages including
twitter and Telegram (Halalzadeha, 2021). It was specifically organized on the death anniversary ofprophet Lut (The story of Lut is mentioned in Quran as the prophet who fought against the act of
sodomy). This time, the families including children have participated in this event and were holding signs
such as “Two people of the same sex do not make a couple”, “We are the defenders of prophet Lut” and“homosexuality, the modern barbarism”, as well as trampling the flag (Halalzadeha, 2021). […]Some quotes from Iranian LGBT people on the new flag phenomenon shows a mix of fear yet resilience:“I remember the first time they did it (putting the flag on floor). It happened in Mosalla street where
Khamenei (The supreme leader) was making a speech… They know the meaning of the word they’re using
on the flag and they do it on purpose (The word " ‫ "ه مج ن س باز‬has been used on the flag which is theequivalent to the word faggot in levels of offensiveness). I feel sorry for these people. They’re uneducatedand naïve. From the very young age, they’ve only been taught to hate and see the world as black andwhite. The fact is, many people in Iran are still uneducated about different sexualities and identities andbefore they get a chance at learning, these people come and introduce us as the enemy. The picture thatshows a young boy with his parents hurts me deeply. They’re bringing this kid up with the wrong
information. Maybe this kid grows up to be a part of the LGBT himself and he’s going to suffer from theinternalized homophobia. Another picture shows teenagers participating in this event. They learn that
their LGBT classmates are their enemies and these teenagers are going to suffer even more than they
already are in schools.""They are going to consciously spread the hate in schools. Using the term “pervert” by this organization
indicates that gay people are just all about sex and lust and they actively compare us with paedophiles!
The government knows exactly what they’re doing. If you go ten years back in time, they tended to deny
the existence of us. Like when Ahmadinejad (former president) said “We don’t have homosexuals in Iran”
at Columbia University when asked about the LGBT rights in Iran. But today, they feel threatened by thecourageous LGBT youth who try to educate people and now they are purposefully targeting us.”
“I’m so tired… we’ve been silenced for a long time… it just makes me hate this country and these people”“I’m terrified to my core. They’re encouraging people to hate us”“The sorrow I felt seeing these photos is unreal! I have decided to come out just to show them we cannot
be silenced”“The LGBT flag is the new American flag to the Islamic Republic. They have announced a war against us. I
don’t live in Iran but I still want to be able to see and visit my family back in Iran and I feel like with thesituation that is going on at the moment, I might not be able to go back ever again. At least until thecurrent government is still ruling. Sometimes the uncertainty of the situation drives me mad. I don’t wantto think negative but this is the truth, if say for example there would be a family emergency, I would not be334
able to go back to Iran and this is absolutely heart breaking”

The February 2022 UK Parliament research briefing on LGBT+ rights and issues in the Middle East
outlined that in Iran: “Social acceptance of homosexuality is generally low and the attitude towards
334

ReportOUT, A New Crackdown? What is Currently Happening in Iran to LGBTQ+ People?, 4 January 2022

148

LGBT+ individuals is one of “don’t ask, don’t tell”. It frequently results in domestic abuse, families
shunning those suspected of being LGBT+, or forcing them into arranged marriages or gender
reassignment surgery”.335
Sayeh Isfahani’s April 2022 blog post in the Atlantic Council on the potential impact of a new IranianInternet ‘Protection Bill’ on the LGBTQI community wrote that:
Beyond the state, queer individuals in Iran rely on online anonymity to evade hate crime, which in manycases, although sanctioned by the state, is perpetrated by their relatives.
A case in point is the horrendous murder of twenty-year-old Alireza Fazeli Monfared in May 2021. A queer
member of Iran’s Arab ethnic minority, Alireza was decapitated and murdered by their relatives over theirqueer identity. This heinous crime was first revealed during a conversation on Twitter and later verified by336
activists. If it wasn’t for the Internet, the crime would have gone unreported or at least underreported.

In June 2022, HRANA posted an article about increased state-sponsored discrimination against Iranian
LGBTQI+ communities, writing that:
An apparent grassroots group known as ‘Halalzadeha’ has been circulating content on social media
inciting discriminatory language against sexual and gender minorities. The group is also known to holdgatherings in Tehran aimed at condemning same-sex marriage in other countries. During the last 22
Bahman March (Anniversary of the 1979 Revolution), they stepped and marched on rainbow flags
incitement hostility against members of the LGBTQI+ community. The lack of attempt by police or security
forces to interfere in the gatherings, which is a routine activity in the case of similar gatherings, indicates
337
that such groups are potentially supported by the regime.

In its July 2022 country update for religious freedom in Iran, USCIRF commented that: “Iranian lesbians
also have little legal recourse if forced by their families into heterosexual marriages where they are
subjected to sexual relations with a man against their will”.338
Freedom House wrote in their annual 2023 Freedom in the World report for Iran, on events in 2022,
that: “Members of the LGBT+ community face harassment and discrimination, though the problem isunderreported due to the criminalized and hidden nature of these groups in Iran”.339 The samestatement was written in Freedom House’s 2022 report,340 covering events in 2021, as well the 2021
report covering events in 2020.341
335

UK Parliament, Research Briefing: LGBT+ rights and issues in the Middle East, 9 February 2022, p. 10
Atlantic Council, The Internet ‘Protection Bill’ will hurt all Iranians, but the queer community will have the mostto lose, 12 April 2022
337
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), State-Sponsored Discrimination against Iranian LGBTQI+
Communities Ramps up amidst a Growing and More Vocal Activist Community, 22 June 2022
338
US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Country Update: Iran - Religious Freedom in Iranin 2022, July 2022, p. 4
339
Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2023: Iran Country Report, March 2023
340
Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2022: Iran Country Report, February 2022
341
Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2021: Iran Country Report, March 2021
336

149

The USDOS 2022 report on human rights practices in Iran, published in March 2023, remarked that:“Although the government does not collect official data on discrimination against LGBTQI+ individuals,
NGOs report members of the LGBTQI+ community experience widespread discrimination in […] personalsafety, and within their own families”.342
6Rang’s March 2023 research on official hate speech used against LGBT people in Iran as a tool of
oppression in the period of October 2022 to February 2023 found that: “An increase in hate speech has
a direct, knock-on effect on the mental and physical wellbeing of LGBTQ+ people in Iran. The ostracisedcommunity experiences an exacerbation in domestic and social violence, harassment, prejudice fromfamily members and immediate community, and abuse”.343
The USDOS 2023 trafficking in persons report for Iran, published in June 2023, wrote that: “Iranian andsome foreign women and girls, as well as some men and LGBTQI+ persons, are highly vulnerable to sex
trafficking in Iran”.344
Global Voices published an article in June 2023 sharing the story of Ashkan Shabani, a gay Iranianphotographer now living in Turkey, who faced previous violence from within his family on account of his
sexuality:
In 2020, as the world battled to survive the COVID-19 pandemic, Ashkan Shabani faced his own battle forsurvival.
For 13 years, he concealed his true identity as a gay man, living in secrecy, with his family in Iran.
However, the delicate balance shattered when his father discovered him with his boyfriend of eight years.
What followed was a nightmare, transforming his life from unfulfilled duplicity to a desperate fight forsurvival. He was faced with two options: a mental institution or death.
“I hadn't seen my boyfriend in a long time due to the quarantine restrictions, and in a moment of
misjudgment, I made a grave mistake. I invited him over, knowing that my parents were not at home.
My father returned home earlier, catching us both off guard. Shock and panic surged through me. I
instinctively urged my boyfriend to run for his safety.
My father's fury erupted, and he beat me mercilessly. At 26 years old, I felt powerless to stop him.
Growing up with relentless beatings and constant humiliation made finding the courage to fight backincredibly challenging.
My father presented me with two choices: commit myself to a mental institution where I would be
subjected to electroconvulsive therapy to “cure” my homosexuality, or face death.
I chose to flee.” […]Same-sex relationships are widely stigmatized, and official policies severely restrict the community's
ability to live normal lives. As a result, the LGBTQ+ community in Iran faces systemic suppression,
discrimination, family rejection, and legal obstacles. […]342

US Department of State (USDOS), 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 20 March 2023
6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Silencing protests: Official hate speech against LGBT people asa tool of suppression, March 2023, p. 6344
US Department of State (USDOS), 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report: Iran, 15 June 2023
343

150

After fleeing from home at the age of 26, Shabani lived a nomadic existence, constantly on the move fromone city to another. He resorted to sleeping in parks and public spaces, always trying to stay one stepahead. However, his well-connected father seemed to have an uncanny ability to track him down, sending
him menacing threats of finding, raping, and killing him with the help of his uncles. It was a perpetual345
cycle of fear and desperation.

6Rang’s September 2023 report on the gender persecution of LGBTIQ+ protestors in the context of the2022-23 Iran uprising recounted that:
Nika Shakarami was 16 years old at the time of her death. She had been partaking in a protest in Tehran
when she was targeted by security forces and killed. […]After her death, it was found that Nika had been active on social media, known as a queer person to her
followers and had a relationship with a 16-year-old girl in Germany, Nele. [ …]On 18th of November 2022, Shadi Amin, 6Rang Executive Director, dedicated her International Lesbian
Visibility Award to LGBTI+ youth who lost their lives in the protests and named Nika Shakarami as one ofthese martyrs.36
She was heavily attacked on Twitter and Instagram for stating that Nika had been part of the LGBTIQ+
community, regardless of evidence that proved this.37 The situation escalated to rape and death threats
when Nika’s aunt, under dubious circumstances, posted a conflicting statement on Instagram saying that
Nika was certainly heterosexual. She also alleged that Shadi Amin received $10,000 for dedicating theaward to Nika, even though the award had not included a monetary prize. Thousands others attacked
Amin for ‘dirtying’ their hero and making a fortune from her death. Amin has been placed under German
police protection ever since.
In the wake of this smear campaign, not only was Nika’s identity erased, but the focus on the news of theaward was dampened. Moreover, it reflected the government’s success in conflating homosexuality andimmorality - the general public did not want to admit that one of the faces of the protests was queer.
The 2022-23 uprising was not an isolated event. It was only one event in the long history of the Iranianpeople’s struggle for rights and dignity, especially that of women and marginalised groups, such as
LGBTIQ+ persons. It, however, highlighted the institutionalised and systematic discrimination on the
grounds of gender imposed by ideology, laws, and policies of the Islamic Republic. […]36 https://6rang.org/english/3410.
346
37 https://www.washingtonblade.com/2022/11/30/even-in-death-we-fight-to-be-visible.

The same report also described the following accounts:
The story of Leni is a perfect example of how for LGBTIQ+ persons, deprivation of human rights in protests
is a continuation of what they experience in the course of their ordinary life, and the similarities of thepatterns of violations in both contexts.57
Leni is a 16-year-old gay man and a high school student in Isfahan. He described having been harassed andhumiliated by his classmates and his teachers. He said the school principal referred to him using
derogatory terms, and he was not able to report incidents of harassment to the school because of it. He
345

Global Voices, A gay Iranian photographer's journey of survival, 16 June 2023
6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), War on Bodies and Minds: Gender Persecution of LGBTIQ+
Protestors in the Context of the 2022-23 Iran Uprising, September 2023, pp. 11-12
346

151

talked about an incident where he was humiliated by students belonging to the Basij, as well as sexuallyharassed.58 […]Selya is a 21-year-old non-binary university student in a city at central Iran. When the protests erupted intheir university, they joined them. They were joining their classmates by not attending classes and notwearing hijab. They were sent to the university disciplinary committee by the intelligence department andwere suspended for four weeks. The committee obtained a commitment letter from them that if they
repeated the offence, they would be expelled. However, intimidation and harassment continued: "Thehead of Herasat89 at the university once said to me because of my clothing and short hair: "You madeyourself look like a man, but you can’t be a man. You wear binders to hide your breasts, and what is
between your legs but you will have to eventually suffocate while a man is on top of you!"90 […][…] Azarmitash, a 32-year-old non-binary trans participated in a protest in the city of Sari alongside afriend who was also trans.91 They were chanting ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ when they were verbally
insulted by an old shopkeeper and when Azarmitash replied, the shopkeeper attempted to physicallyattack them. While other shopkeepers were trying to end the conflict, some agents of the municipality
who were passing-by intervened and threatened them to leave immediately otherwise they would call thepolice and the police would detain them because of the way they dressed and their appearance.92 […]57 Interview with Leni, April 2023 (his real identity is withheld for security reasons).
58 Ibid. […]89 See footnote 28. [The Intelligence Ministry has set up Herasat divisions within all civil institutions and universities
across the nation, assigning them the responsibility of pinpointing potential security risks. Allegedly, Herasat
representatives engage in monitoring staff (such as overseeing their communications), serve as sources of
information, and exert control over recruitment and termination procedures. See:
https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/irans-coercive-apparatus-capacity-and-desire.]
90 6Rang Interview with Selya, August 2023 (their real identity is withheld for security reasons).
91 The exact name of the city and other details are withheld due to the security reasons.
347
92 6Rang Interview with Azarmitash, August 2023 (their real identity is withheld for security reasons).

ILGA World, in their November 2023 report on the enforcement of laws criminalising consensual samesex acts and diverse gender expressions, wrote on Iran that:
In August 2020 a self-described non-binary gay man by the name of Alireza Fazeli Monfared, from
Khuzestan province, was arbitrarily arrested by police and detained for several days in connection tosocial media posts made by Monfared in which they were seen dancing and expressing themselves in a
way likely not in line with a masculine gender expression. Upon release they were attacked by a male
relative for bringing “shame” to the family”. In 2021 Monfared was granted an exemption from military
conscription because of their sexual orientation and gender expression. Iran’s military regulations
stipulate that individuals with “perversions that are contrary to social and military values” can receive a
temporary or permanent deferral, and this is often used by queer individuals to escape the widelyreported homophobic violence of the armed forces, even if it means formally submitting to the State’s
definition of their identities as “mental illness”. However, it appears the exemption letter was seen byrelatives, as on 4 May 2021 Alireza Fazeli Monfared’s throat was slit in an apparent honour-killing. No
suspects were arrested by Iranian authorities.285 […]347

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), War on Bodies and Minds: Gender Persecution of LGBTIQ+
Protestors in the Context of the 2022-23 Iran Uprising, September 2023, pp. 19 and 26152

285 “Iran: Murder of 20-year-old gay man highlights urgent need to protect LGBTI rights”, Amnesty International, 17348
May 2021.

b. Discrimination
For further relevant information consult also section V., a. Harassment and violence.
The January 2021 report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran stated
that: “Ongoing discrimination against ethnic, religious and sexual minorities remains a serious concern”
and that “The Special Rapporteur regrets that individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual andtransgender experience human rights violations and widespread discrimination”.349
The USDOS 2020 report on human rights practices in Iran, published in March 2021, stated that:“Despite government programs to treat and provide financial and other assistance to persons with
HIV/AIDS, international news sources and organizations reported that individuals known to be infectedwith HIV/AIDS faced widespread societal discrimination. Individuals with HIV or AIDS, for example,
continued to be denied employment as teachers”.350
Amnesty International wrote in a public statement in May 2021 on laws and provisions within the Penal
Code criminalizing same-sex sexual conduct between adults, stating that: “The laws […] foster societal
violence and discrimination against LGBTI people and create a climate of impunity for homophobic andtransphobic hate crimes as well as harassment and intimidation by family members, colleagues,
schoolmates, teachers, neighbours and members of the public”.351
Freedom House wrote in their annual Freedom in the World report for Iran, published March 2023 on
events in 2022, that “Members of the LGBT+ community face harassment and discrimination, though
the problem is underreported due to the criminalized and hidden nature of these groups in Iran”.352 Thesame statement was written in Freedom House’s 2022 report,353 covering events in 2021, as well the2021 report covering events in 2020.354

348

ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) World, Our Identities Under Arrest: A
global review on the enforcement of laws criminalising consensual same-sex acts and diverse gender expressions,
30 November 2023, pp. 175-176
349
UN General Assembly, Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran: Report of the Special
Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Javaid Rehman, 11 January 2021, pp. 2
and 22350
US Department of State (USDOS), 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 30 March 2021
351
Amnesty International, Iran: Murder of 20-year-old gay man highlights urgent need to protect LGBTI rights, 17
May 2021, p. 5
352
Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2023: Iran Country Report, March 2023
353
Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2022: Iran Country Report, February 2022
354
Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2021: Iran Country Report, March 2021

153

The USDOS 2022 report on human rights practices in Iran, published in March 2023, stated that
“Although the government does not collect official data on discrimination against LGBTQI+ individuals,
NGOs report members of the LGBTQI+ community experience widespread discrimination in education,
employment, healthcare, personal safety, and within their own families”.355

i. Access to housing
DW’s April 2020 piece on Iran's anti-LGBT policies putting transgender people at risk wrote that: “Formany, going through the transition is the only way that they can legally live with their partner without
fearing for their lives. "That's why when they know that they have no rights as a homosexual, and theywant to live with their partner, the only way they have to do this is by undergoing sex change surgery."[Shadi Amin, the director of 6Rang ]”.356
The following year, DW’s May 2021 article on transgender people in Iran also stated that: “For teenagers
who come out in conservative settings, being disowned by family and struggling to find a place to live is
a common experience”.357

ii. Access to and treatment in work
The Iranian Studies journal piece in March 2020 on gender transitions in Islamic law, theatre, and film in
Iran outlined that: “when a man applies for a job in Iran, he has to show that he completed his
mandatory military service or produce official documents proving an exemption; this requirement often
creates problems for transmen”.358
6Rang’s September 2020 research report on structural and social violence against LGBTI people in Iran,based on a qualitative and quantitative online survey questionnaire shared on social media, found that:[…] a homosexual couple had to resign and leave their job because their relationship was “outed” ordisclosed to their colleagues, which led to threats of them being handed over to the police by theiremployer. […]LGBTI individuals in Iran experience violence across all parts of their lives with instances combining andintersecting to create an existence in which LGBTI people are trapped in a life cycle of violence. […] While
many of them may not even be able to finish high school, those who find a chance at higher education,
still experience harassment, discrimination, and constant fear of disclosure and its legal consequences at
the university and workplace.
For many LGBTI youth, particularly those who are gender non-conforming, the lack of successful
education combined with societal discrimination leads to difficulties in finding and keeping employment.
355

US Department of State (USDOS), 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 20 March 2023
Deutsche Welle (DW), How Iran's anti-LGBT policies put transgender people at risk, 28 April 2020
357
Deutsche Welle (DW), How transgender people navigate Iran, 16 May 2021
358
Emily O’Dell, “Performing Trans in Post-Revolutionary Iran: Gender Transitions in Islamic Law, Theatre, andFilm”, Iranian Studies, Volume 53, Issue no. 1-2, March 2020, p. 135
356

154

Lack of a reliable job makes them financially dependent on their violent families. Financial needs also
make them more susceptible to stay in abusive intimate relationships. For those who are lucky to find a359
stable job, hostile work environment and unwanted outing put them at the risk of unemployment.

The USDOS 2020 report on human rights practices in Iran, published in March 2021, stated that:“Despite government programs to treat and provide financial and other assistance to persons with
HIV/AIDS, international news sources and organizations reported that individuals known to be infectedwith HIV/AIDS faced widespread societal discrimination. Individuals with HIV or AIDS, for example,
continued to be denied employment as teachers”.360
On the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia in May 2021, HRANA
published an article on the ongoing discrimination and violence against the Iranian LGBTQ+ community,
writing that:
Although the National Statistics Center has never measured or published statistics on the unemploymentof the transgender community, unemployment and job loss is a common concern among the transgendercommunity living in Iran. Some transgender persons lose job opportunities because of their sexual
identity and or refusal to undergo the suggested sex reassignment surgery. Several transgender persons
try to hide their sexual identity from employers and colleagues even after sex reassignment surgery forjob security.
In February 2020, HRANA reported on a transgender Iranian citizen deprived of employment due to thecommon Iranian perception that considers transgender persons “sick”. An example of such action involves
a woman living in Tehran, “Delbar Ameri-Far”, who was prevented from continuing her work andrenewing her license as an expert with the Iran Food and Drugs Administration (FDA). Ameri-Far was toldthat she could try again to get her license if she could provide sufficient documentation on her “continued
treatment”. The letter from the Iranian FDA stated, “Your license renewal request will only be processed
361
upon provision of medical documents certifying ongoing treatment and proof of your full health.”

The February 2022 UK Parliament research briefing on LGBT+ rights and issues in the Middle East statedthat in Iran: “Social acceptance of homosexuality is generally low and the attitude towards LGBT+
individuals is one of “don’t ask, don’t tell”. […] Discrimination and bullying within education and in theworkplace is widespread and blackmail is common”.362
Sayeh Isfahani’s April 2022 Atlantic Council blog post on the potential impact of a new Iranian Internet‘Protection Bill’ on the LGBTQI community wrote that: “Iran is a society where people not conforming to359

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Hidden Wounds: A Research Report on Violence Against LGBTI
in Iran, September 2020, pp. 11 and 23
360
US Department of State (USDOS), 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 30 March 2021
361
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), On the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, andBiphobia HRA highlights the ongoing discrimination and violence against the Iranian LGBTQ+ community, 16 May
2021
362
UK Parliament, Research Briefing: LGBT+ rights and issues in the Middle East, 9 February 2022, p. 10

155heteronormative social constructs are shunned and systematically deprived of basic human rights,
including the right to work”.363
The USDOS 2022 report on human rights practices in Iran, published in March 2023, noted that:“Although the government does not collect official data on discrimination against LGBTQI+ individuals,
NGOs report members of the LGBTQI+ community experience widespread discrimination in […]employment”.364
Amnesty International wrote in their annual report on events in 2022, published in March 2023, that, in
Iran: “Gender non-conforming individuals risked criminalization and denial of access to education andemployment”.365

VI.

Treatment of LGBTQI+ Organizations and Human Rights Defenders
a. Government recognition of LGBTQI+ NGOs

6Rang’s September 2020 research report on structural and social violence against LGBTI people in Iranstated that officials “continue to suppress any form of civil activism and defense of human rights that isconcerned with gender identity and sexual orientation”.366
The USDOS 2020 report on human rights practices in Iran, published in March 2021, indicated that
“There were active, unregistered LGBTI NGOs and activists in the country”,367 similarly reported in the2021 report, published in April 2022.368
Writing on the murder of Alireza Fazeli Monfared, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty stated in May 2021
that:
Both Kermanshahi [Berlin-based human rights activist Kaveh Kermanshahi] and Parsi [Arsham Parsi, aToronto-based, Iranian gay-rights activist and head of the International Railroad for Queer Refugees]
believe that a large number of killings in Iran due to someone's sexual orientation go unreported.
"Queers who have been in contact with these people fear reporting or investigating the cases because
they can be outed in the society therefore these cases often happen in silence," Kermanshahi said.

363

Atlantic Council, The Internet ‘Protection Bill’ will hurt all Iranians, but the queer community will have the mostto lose, 12 April 2022
364
US Department of State (USDOS), 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 20 March 2023
365
Amnesty International, Amnesty International Report 2022/23: The state of the world’s human rights, 27 March
2023, p. 199
366
6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Hidden Wounds: A Research Report on Violence Against LGBTI
in Iran, September 2020, p. 12367
US Department of State (USDOS), 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 30 March 2021
368
US Department of State (USDOS), 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 12 April 2022

156

"When it comes to uxoricide, we have women's rights activists who highlight these cases," he said. "But in
Iran we don't have the possibility of queer activists working actively therefore it is possible that other369
cases -- like [Fazeli Monfared's] murder and [gay suicides] -- are not being reported."

The OONI, OutRight Action International, and the Citizen Lab’s August 2021 research report on LGBTIQ
website censorship in six countries, including Iran, stated that: “Shadi Amin [an Iranian writer, activist,and director of 6Rang], explained that LGBTIQ-related censorship is often justified on the grounds ofsafeguarding morality.391 This pervasive censorship of local and international websites has particularly
damaged the ability of LGBTIQ people in Iran to organize domestic and transnational advocacy
initiatives.392”.
[…] 391 Amin, interview.
370
392 Ibid.

Freedom House noted in their annual Freedom in the World report for Iran, published in March 2023
and focusing on events in 2022, that: “Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that seek to addresshuman rights violations are generally suppressed by the state”.371
In Outright International’s September 2023 report on the global state of LGBTIQ organising, Iran iscategorised as one of the countries where “LGBTIQ CSOs [civil society organisations] exist, butregistration as openly LGBTIQ is prohibited or generally impossible”.372
The UN Human Rights Committee’s November 2023 concluding observations on the fourth periodic
report of Iran and its implementation of the ICCPR stated that:
The Committee remains concerned about acts that serve to restrict the freedom of association, such as
preventing meetings from taking place and arbitrarily arresting members of civic associations and tradeunions, including members of the Iranian Teachers Trade Association and the Free Union of IranianWorkers. The Committee remains concerned by the involuntary closing of Iman Ali’s Popular Student
Relief Society, the Imam Ali Charitable Society and Khaneh Khorshid. The committee is also concerned by
the denials of registration of civil society organizations and the requirement to comply with the373“principles of Islam” for the establishment of associations (art. 22)”.

369

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Horrific Killing Of Young Gay Man Puts Plight Of Iran's LGBT Community In
Spotlight, 11 May 2021
370
Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI), OutRight Action International, and The Citizen Lab, No
Access: LGBTIQ Website Censorship in Six Countries, 8 August 2021, p. 87
371
Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2023: Iran Country Report, March 2023
372
Outright International, The Global State of LGBTIQ Organizing: The Right to Register and the Freedom toOperate 2023, 14 September 2023, p. 74
373
UN International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, Human Rights Committee, Concluding observations on
the fourth periodic report of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 23 November 2023, p. 12

157

b. State treatment of LGBTQI+ activists or those supporting their case or thoseperceived as such
For further relevant information consult also section II., b., i. Arrests and section II., b., iv. Prosecutions
and convictions under laws that are deployed against the LGBTQI+ community.
In December 2020, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported on the sentencing of British-Iraniananthropologist Kameel Ahmady: “Tasnim reported Ahmady was charged with cooperation with
European embassies to promote homosexuality, visiting Israel, cooperation and communication withhostile media, and providing false reports to the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights in Iran”.374
In their report on the state-sanctioned killing of sexual minorities in February 2021, Mai Sato andChristopher Alexander wrote that:
When prosecuted for same-sex sexual conduct, defendants often struggle to find a lawyer:
One of our biggest challenges in Iran is to find a legal representative . . . No one would like to doit. We had just a couple of lawyers who take LGBT case several years ago, and they had to escape
Iran and claim asylum . . . And the reason is that homosexuality is punishable by death in Iranaccording to Islamic punishment code. If anyone wants to challenge that rule, [they are deemed
to be] against this rule, therefore you are against Islamic rule, therefore you are against Islam,and therefore you are against God. That person [the lawyer] can be executed or killed for being
immoral or infidel . . . A lot of lawyers are reluctant to take those cases because they don’t want
to lose their license, they don’t want to be accused that they’re supporting LGBT causes. […]34[…]
34 A human rights lawyer who used to practice in Iran spoke about how the Iranian authorities were not happy withhim defending death penalty cases including sexual minorities, children, and women, which led to his eventual
375
departure from Iran […].

In January 2022, 6Rang reported, referring to the imprisoned LGBTI rights activist Zahra SedighiHamadani (Sareh), that:
IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] intelligence agents recently hacked the Telegram account of an
imprisoned Iranian LGBTI rights activist, replacing her profile picture with propaganda messages.
The IRGC often hacks the social media accounts of LGBTI activists, in order to spread fear amongst the
Iranian LGBTI community and limit activists’ ability to interact on social media. The fact that the IRGC
agents gained access to Sareh’s account indicates that, if it wasn’t hacked, the agents may have obtained376
her Telegram login info from her via torture.
374

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Iran Sentences British-Iranian Academic To Eight Years In Prison, 14 December
2020
375
Mai Sato and Christopher Alexander, State-Sanctioned Killing of Sexual Minorities: Looking Beyond the Death
Penalty, February 2021, pp. 39-40
376
6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), IRGC intelligence agents hack an LGBTI activist’s Telegram
account, 12 January 2022

158

In July 2022, IranWire reported on Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani (Sareh), a detained LGBT+ rights activist,
being framed as a “trafficker” in Iran. It stated that:
In a video report aired by the hardline Tasnim News Agency on behalf of the IRGC-IO [Intelligence
Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] on Monday, Sareh – whose name was there given
as Zahra Mansouri-Hamedani – was accused of running “one of the largest prostitution networks in Erbil”.
The report claimed she was aided by two other individuals reportedly also now in custody, Alireza FarjadiKia and a friend known only as “Kati”.
Described as an “obscene gang”, the three detainees were said to have smuggled “more than a thousand
Iranian girls” for sale in the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. The report feaured as “evidence” some blurredfootage of nightclub interiors, in which the subjects were not named or identifiable. […]In the same period, Sareh’s friends were arrested and made to give forced confessions against her, someof which then aired on state TV. Shesh-rang reports that these individuals had been promised the footage
377
would not be broadcast.

FIDH also reported in September 2022 on the death sentences given to Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani (Sareh)
and Elham Choubdar for speaking in support of LGBTQI+ rights. It stated that:
On August 10, 2022, the Islamic Revolution Court of Urmia, West Azerbaijan Province, tried LGBTQI+
rights defender Ms. Zahra (aka Sareh) Sedighi Hamedani and Ms. Elham Chubdar, another woman active
on LGBTQI+ matters online and associated with Ms. Sedighi Hamedani. The two were found guilty of"spreading corruption on earth" (Article 286 of the Islamic Penal Code) through "being members of gangs
smuggling young women and girls, promoting homosexuality, proselytising Christianity, and contacts with
opposition media". They were sentenced to death, following a grossly unfair trial. While the date of theirconviction is unknown, the two women learned of their sentences on September 1, 2022, in the women’s
wing of Urmia jail, where they have been arbitrarily detained since late 2021. Their sentences have been
appealed to the Supreme Court, which will examine their cases in the coming months.
Zahra Sedighi Hamedani is an Iranian LGBTQI+ activist. She operated a Telegram channel for LBGTQI+
people, was active on Instagram, and gave interviews on abuses against sexual minorities.
Ms. Sedighi Hamedani was arrested by the Iranian security forces on October 27, 2021, while she
attempted to cross the Iran-Turkey border to seek asylum in Turkey. The charges against her stemmed
from her public defence of the human rights of the LGBTQI+ community on social media and an
appearance in a BBC documentary aired in May 2021 about the abuses that members of this community
suffer in the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq (KRG), where she had lived for some time. Ms. Sedighi
Hamedani returned to Iran after she was arbitrarily detained in solitary confinement for 21 days andtortured by Iraqi Kurdistan’s security and intelligence agents in October 2021, because of her appearance
in the above-mentioned BBC documentary. Following her arrest, Ms. Sedighi Hamedani was held insolitary confinement for 53 days, during which she was subjected to abusive interrogations, homophobic
insults, threats of losing custody of her children and death threats made by the Revolution Guards. Ms.
378
Elham Chubdar was arrested about a month after Ms. Sedighi Hamedani.

377

IranWire, Detained LGBT+ Rights Activist Framed as "Trafficker" in Iran, 20 July 2022
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and League for the Defense of Human Rights in Iran (LDDHI),
Iran: Death sentence against two women for speaking out in support of LGBTQI+ rights, 22 September 2022
378

159

A week later, UN experts called against the planned executions of the two women in Iran relation totheir support for the human rights of LGBT people. The press release stated that:
Iranian judicial authorities prosecuted human rights defender Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani and Elham
Choubdar in August 2022 and notified them on 1 September 2022 that they had been convicted andsentenced to death by the Islamic Revolution Court of Urumieh.
They were convicted on charges of “corruption on earth” and “trafficking”.
“We strongly condemn the sentencing of Ms. Sedighi-Hamadani and Ms. Choubdar to death and call on
authorities to stay their executions and annul their sentences as soon as possible,” the experts said.
“Authorities must ensure the health and well-being of both women, and promptly release them fromdetention.” […]While the judicial decision and sentencing order are not public, the experts were informed that the
charges concerned speech and actions in support of the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transand other gender-diverse (LGBT) persons who face discrimination in Iran based on their sexual orientationand gender identity. The experts also received reports that the trafficking charges against the women
were related to their efforts to assist persons at risk to leave Iranian territory.
The experts have expressed concerns to the Government of Iran that the two women may have been
arbitrarily detained, ill-treated, and prosecuted on the discriminatory basis of sexual orientation or gender
identity, including criminalisation of LGBT people whose human rights they were supporting throughspeech and peaceful action. To date, no response has been received.
Sedighi-Hamedani was arrested on 27 October 2021 by Islamic Revolutionary Guards near the Iranianborder with Türkiye. Choubdar was arrested on an unknown date afterwards. Sedighi-Hamedani wasreportedly forcibly disappeared for 53 days following her arrest and subjected to abuse anddiscriminatory insults in a detention centre in Urumieh, where she was held from October to December
379
2021.

In September 2022, 6Rang’s fact sheet on Zahra Sadighi Hamedani (Sareh) and Elham Choubdar gave thefollowing further information:
On 27 October 2021, she [Sareh] was arrested by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces in
the province of West Azerbaijan. Following her arrest, she was forcibly disappeared for 53 days. It
subsequently transpired that the Revolutionary Guards held her in solitary confinement in a detention
centre in Urumieh. During this period, she says a Revolutionary Guard agent subjected her to intenseinterrogations, accompanied by verbal abuse and insults directed at her identity and appearance,
threatened to execute or otherwise harm her, and threatened to have her two children removed from hercustody. These acts violate the absolute prohibition on torture and other ill-treatment. The interrogators
used torture and ill-treatment to force Sareh to confess that she was involved in trafficking Iranian
women to Iraqi Kurdistan for prostitution. Despite enormous pressure, she refused to provide them withfalse confessions.
On 30 December 2021, the Intelligence Organization of the Revolutionary Guards took over Sareh’s
Telegram channel, which had about 1,200 followers. They changed the profile picture to the logo of the379

UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR), Iran: UN experts demand stay of execution for two
women, including LGBT activist, 28 September 2022

160

intelligence organization and posted a message, which stated, “Protecting family values is the red line of
the unknown soldiers of Imam Zaman [the title used for Mahdi, the 12th Shia Imam] for the Intelligence
Organization of the Revolutionary Guards.”
On 16 January, 2022, Sareh was brought before the lead investigator of Branch 6 of the Office of the
Revolutionary and Public Prosecutor in Urumieh, who informed her that she was accused of “Corruption
on Earth” including through “promoting homosexuality”, “communication with anti-Islamic Republic
media channels” and “promoting Christianity”. The first two accusations stem from her public defence of
LGBTIQ rights, including on her social media platforms and in an appearance on a BBC documentary airedin May 2021 about the abuses that LGBTI people suffer in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. […] Her case hassince been referred to the head of the Office of the Revolutionary and Public Prosecutor in Urumieh toissue a formal indictment.
In early July 2022, Tasnim, an IRGC news agency published a video accusing Sareh of of [sic] taking part insex trafficking. The video showed the interviews of two individuals who said that Sareh was involved inseducing Iranian women and girls and trafficking them to Iraqi Kurdistan to exploit them. 6Rang research
confirms that those interviews were taken from detainees under duress and in exchange for theauthorities promises to free them.
In July 2022, Branch 111 of the Urumieh Criminal Court made a decision on Sareh’s charges of illegal entry
to Iran, encouraging corruption and prostitution. Elham Choubdar was also tried in the same case forencouraging corruption and prostitution. The judge fined Sareh 53,000,000 rials ($200) for illegallycrossing borders. As for the other charges of encouraging corruption and prostitution, of both Sareh andElham, the judgement stated that the court will not assess these charges. This is because the case, withsimilar charges and evidence had been referred to the Revolutionary Court and the jurisdiction on
assessing cases with hodud charges (which Corruption on Earth falls under) lies exclusively with the
Revolutionary Court. Under Islamic law, hudud crimes (Apostasy, Corruption on Earth, Revolt against theRuler, Theft, Highway Robbery, Adultery, Slander, and drinking alcohol) carry penalties that include theamputation of hands and feet, flogging, and death.
On 10 August 2022, the Urumieh Revolutionary Court held a session. Based on evidence, 6Rang believes
that in addition to the content of Sareh’s online activities and interviews, the forced confessions of otherdetainees against her were used as evidence against her.
On 1 September 2022, Sareh received the news that the Urumieh Revolutionary Court that sentenced her
to death for Corruption on Earth. Sareh and her lawyer can appeal the case within 20 days and a branch at
380
Iran’s Supreme Court will review the case.

Similarly, Freedom House wrote in their annual Freedom in the World report for Iran, published March2023 on events in 2022, that “In September 2022, a rights group reported that two LGBT+ activists had
been sentenced to death for supposedly promoting homosexuality. The judiciary confirmed thesentence but said the case was connected to human trafficking”.381
On 18 March 2023, 6Rang gave the following update:
6Rang is pleased to announce that Zahra Sedighi Hamedani, better known as Sareh, was released from
Urmia Prison this morning.
380

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Fact sheet on Zahra Sadighi Hamedani (Sareh) and Elham
Choubdar, September 2022
381
Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2023: Iran Country Report, March 2023

161

Sareh, an LGBTQ+ rights activist, was arrested in the West Azerbaijan province on 27th of October 2021
by the IRGC. She was later sentenced to death. […]Zahra Sedighi Hamedani, also known as Sareh, was convicted of corruption on earth for promoting
homosexuality. She was sentenced to death by the Islamic Revolutionary Court on September 1st, 2022.
Her sentence was dropped on December 28th, 2022, and she was freed today after the payment of her
382
bail.

In September 2023, The Guardian reported on the Iran government “orchestrating a Europe-wide
campaign of harassment, surveillance, kidnap plots and death threats targeting political activists whoare protesting against the regime”. 383 It stated that:
Shadi Amin, an Iranian LGBTQ+ activist in Germany, was warned by the security services there that she
was under threat from Iranian hackers and agents. The police came to her house to check the locks andbolts on the door, and spent weeks inspecting her digital devices, which she was later advised not to use
due to the threat from Iran’s hackers. […]Despite efforts to protect her, Amin still feels unsafe. “I cannot trust anybody – the situation for me is thesame as the 1980s in Iran. I cannot have friends over or give anybody my address. The German
government is not in a position to give us the safety that we expected,” she said.
Another LGBTQ+ activist in Germany, Mina Khani, was provided with bodyguards by the state and warned
by the German security services that her personal details were being circulated on Iranian hacker
384
forums.

In October 2023, Freedom House reported in its Freedom on the Net report for Iran that “A surge in
online campaigning for LGBT+ rights was also seen.171 These campaigns and online mobilization efforts
often resulted in heavy-handed retaliation from authorities”.
[…] 171 Khosro Kalbasi Isfahani, “Iran protests: LGBTQ community rises up,” BBC News, April 19, 2023,
385
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-64864132

The UN Human Rights Committee’s November 2023 concluding observations on the fourth periodic
report of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its implementation of the ICCPR stated that it is “concerned by
the prosecution of human rights defenders who advocate on behalf of sexual or gender minorities, andthat some defenders, such as Zahra (Sareh) Sedighi Hamadani and Elham Chobdar, had been sentenced
to death”.386

382

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Zahra (Sareh) Sedighi Hamedani to be released from Urmia
Prison after the payment of her $45,000 bail, 18 March 2023
383
The Guardian, Iranian activists across Europe are targets of threats and harassment, 22 September 2023
384
The Guardian, Iranian activists across Europe are targets of threats and harassment, 22 September 2023
385
Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2023: Iran, 4 October 2023
386
UN International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, Human Rights Committee, Concluding observations on
the fourth periodic report of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 23 November 2023, p. 3

162

VII.

Availability of State Protection
a. Investigation and prosecution of crimes against LGBTQI+ individuals

For further relevant information consult also section II., a., iii. Other relevant legislation affecting
LGBTQI+ persons.
LGBTQ Nation wrote in March 2020 on forced gender transition surgeries in Iran, reporting on the
Iranian LGBTQ activist Shadi Amin accusing the Iranian authorities of “forcing thousands of gay men
every year to undergo gender-affirming surgeries to switch their gender in an attempt to turn them into
heterosexuals”.387 The article also wrote that, after transitioning, “Lacking familial and social support,
many go into sex work and experience physical and sexual violence. This violence can go unpunished;
Iran also has no hate crime laws punishing assault against queer individuals”.388
6Rang’s September 2020 research on structural and social violence against LGBTI people in Iran found
that: “68 percent of the participants reported they never or rarely took legal action when they faced
violence, which possibly reflects their distrust in, and the unreliability of, the judiciary system” and that
“non-state actors also feel encouraged to engage in homophobic and transphobic acts because theabsence of an adequate police response to incidents of sexual assault and rape allows them to do sowith impunity”.389 The report further revealed that “only 15 % of participants rely on legal support
regularly”.390
In their report on the state-sanctioned killing of sexual minorities in February 2021, Mai Sato andChristopher Alexander explained that: “As same-sex intimacy is criminalised in Iran, the victims of samesex rape, as well as persons blackmailed on the basis of their sexual orientation, have little means ofrecourse—whether to the police, the Pasdaran (the ‘Revolutionary Guards’, a branch of the Iranian
Armed Forces), or the Basij, a paramilitary volunteer militia acting as a ‘morality police’”.391
In March 2021, the meeting summary for a UN Human Rights Council interactive dialogue with Javaid
Rehman, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, wrote that: “Multiple speakers
brought up the mistreatment of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex community
and the importance of protecting these individuals. […] A culture of endemic impunity existed in Iran387

LGBTQ Nation, Iran is forcing gay men to have gender transition surgeries to “make them straight”, 3 March
2020
388
LGBTQ Nation, Iran is forcing gay men to have gender transition surgeries to “make them straight”, 3 March
2020
389
6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Hidden Wounds: A Research Report on Violence Against LGBTI
in Iran, September 2020, pp. 10 and 21
390
6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Hidden Wounds: A Research Report on Violence Against LGBTI
in Iran, September 2020, p. 24
391
Mai Sato and Christopher Alexander, State-Sanctioned Killing of Sexual Minorities: Looking Beyond the Death
Penalty, February 2021, p. 39

163

with regards to State violence, including against women, human rights defenders, political protesters
and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex children”.392
In reference to Iran’s laws criminalising forms of gender and sexual expression of the LGBTQI
community, ARTICLE19 noted in May 2021 that: “Such laws along with pervasive impunity for police andother state actors for their abuse and discrimination against marginalised groups and dissenting voices,
provide for a limited space for protection for the LGBTQI community, and perpetuates a culture ofhomophobia and transphobia and impunity for discrimination and abuse against LGBTQI people”.393
DW’s May 2021 article on transgender people in Iran wrote that: “Iranian law does not protect transpeople against stigmatization, hate crimes or domestic violence, and the government has no concrete
plan for normalizing and demarginalizing trans people”.394
The same month, Amnesty International wrote that it was:[…] renewing its calls on the Iranian authorities to repeal laws which criminalize consensual same-sex
relations in Iran, including through the application of the death penalty and flogging, and which ban
clothing, hairstyles, and other forms of gender expression that do not conform to strict binary gender“norms” enforced by the establishment. Amnesty International reiterates its serious concerns that theselaws legitimize and act as official incitement to or justification for systematic discrimination and violenceagainst lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) individuals in Iran, including in statecustody, on the street, at school and workplace or in the home. They also result in impunity for arbitraryarrest and detention, torture and other serious human rights violations by state actors on the basis ofperceived or real sexual orientation and gender identity. Such laws further foster an environment whereserious injury of LGBTI individuals at the hands of non-state actors are tolerated and carried out with
395
impunity.

Writing further on the murder of Alireza Fazeli Monfared, the same Amnesty International publicstatement noted that: “As of 17 May 2021, Amnesty International understands that the authorities had
not yet arrested any of the perpetrators, even though the identities of those reasonably suspected ofhaving carried out his abduction and murder are known to the authorities. Given the state sanctioned
discrimination and violence against LGBTI people in Iran and the prevailing climate of impunity for suchhuman rights violations, there are concerns that Alireza Fazeli Monfared’s murder may go
unpunished”.396

392

UN Press Centre, AFTERNOON - Special Rapporteur on Iran: Sanctions and the Government’s “Inadequate andOpaque” Response Have Exacerbated COVID-19’s Impact in Iran, 9 March 2021
393
ARTICLE19, Iran: Horrific killing of Alireza Fazeli-Monfared shines light on brutal repression of LGBTQ people, 12
May 2021
394
Deutsche Welle (DW), How transgender people navigate Iran, 16 May 2021
395
Amnesty International, Iran: Murder of 20-year-old gay man highlights urgent need to protect LGBTI rights, 17
May 2021, p. 1
396
Amnesty International, Iran: Murder of 20-year-old gay man highlights urgent need to protect LGBTI rights, 17
May 2021, p. 2

164

6Rang, however, did report the same month that: “Alireza’s partner, who currently lives in Turkey, has
informed 6rang that all three men associated with the murder have been arrested and charged with first
degree murder”.397
The aforementioned Amnesty International statement also noted the prior experiences of Alireza Fazeli
Monfared within the military: “According to informed sources, Alireza Fazeli Monfared had served
several weeks of military service when he turned 18 before applying for an exemption card because of
the abuse he received from the other conscripts in connection with his gender expression. The
organization understands that he had made complaints to officials in the army but had received no
support”.398
The statement also indicated that laws and provisions within the Penal Code criminalizing same-sex
sexual conduct between adults “foster societal violence and discrimination against LGBTI people andcreate a climate of impunity for homophobic and transphobic hate crimes as well as harassment andintimidation by family members, colleagues, schoolmates, teachers, neighbours and members of the
public. LGBTI people are deprived of access to justice and reparations for such crimes and abuses
because under Iran’s system offers them no protection and criminalizes them instead”.399
Mai Sato and Christopher Alexander’s June 2021 piece on state persecution of sexual minorities wrote
the following:
In Iran, the criminal code distinguishes between murder and “honour” killings. This allows the offender toreceive a lesser punishment compared to a punishment for murder conviction, or escape punishment
completely. In these cases, the murder is committed by individuals, but the state is essentially sending themessage to its citizens that it is acceptable to kill people based on their sexual orientation. The Iranianpenal code provides that if the father carries out the honour killing, he can avoid
punishment (qisas). Similarly, if the killing was a reaction to the victim committing a capital offence, theoffender only needs to pay compensation (divat). […]As described by one person we interviewed, “The Iranian regime supports these causes and don’t give
those people a hard time even if they kill their family member, as long as they say that the person did
something wrong to us, for example, ‘she was homosexual’, or ‘I killed her in order to keep my name or
400
save the name of Islam’.”

The OONI, OutRight Action International, and the Citizen Lab’s August 2021 research report on LGBTIQ
website censorship in six countries, including Iran, stated that: “For the moment, there is little recourse
397

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian & Transgender Network), Murder of a young Ahwazi gay man after the revelation of his
sexual orientation through a military exemption card, 10 May 2021
398
Amnesty International, Iran: Murder of 20-year-old gay man highlights urgent need to protect LGBTI rights, 17
May 2021, p. 3
399
Amnesty International, Iran: Murder of 20-year-old gay man highlights urgent need to protect LGBTI rights, 17
May 2021, p. 5
400
Mai Sato and Christopher Alexander, When the State Kills: Persecution of Sexual Minorities, Australian Outlook,
17 June 2021

165

for LGBTIQ Iranians. There is no national law or institution protecting human rights and digital freedom
in the country, nor is there a regional mechanism for the Middle East and North Africa to which those
suffering from human rights violations can appeal.385”.
[…] 385 Interview with digital protection expert in the region, October 27, 2020.

401

In its annual report covering 2021 and published in April 2022, USCIRF confirmed that: “The Iranian
government also targets and fails to protect members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transexual, andintersex (LGBTI) community. […] In May, authorities failed to fully prosecute the honor killing of a 20
year-old gay nonbinary person”.402
In June 2022, HRANA posted an article about increased state-sponsored discrimination against Iranian
LGBTQI+ communities, writing that:
An apparent grassroots group known as ‘Halalzadeha’ has been circulating content on social media
inciting discriminatory language against sexual and gender minorities. The group is also known to holdgatherings in Tehran aimed at condemning same-sex marriage in other countries. During the last 22
Bahman March (Anniversary of the 1979 Revolution), they stepped and marched on rainbow flags
incitement hostility against members of the LGBTQI+ community. The lack of attempt by police or security
forces to interfere in the gatherings, which is a routine activity in the case of similar gatherings, indicates
403
that such groups are potentially supported by the regime.

In August 2022, HRANA recounted the following incident:
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting BBC Persian, a transgender
Individual who was assaulted by two was denied justice by the police.
A video published by BBC Persian showed a transgender being assaulted and scolded by a woman at a
shopping mall in Tehran. Then, a man assaulted her and crashed her phone.
Despite abundant pieces of evidence, the police refused to file her complaint.
404
In Iran, transgender individuals are subject to daily discrimination, harassment and violations.

Human Rights Watch wrote in its 2023 annual report on Iran, covering events of 2022, that: “Although
Iran permits and subsidizes sex reassignment surgery for transgender people, no law prohibits
discrimination against them”.405 This is also noted in the previous annual reports for events of 2021406
and 2020.407401Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI), OutRight Action International, and The Citizen Lab, No
Access: LGBTIQ Website Censorship in Six Countries, 8 August 2021, p. 86402
US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), 2022 Annual Report - Iran Chapter: Key Findings,
April 2022, p. 23
403
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), State-Sponsored Discrimination against Iranian LGBTQI+
Communities Ramps up amidst a Growing and More Vocal Activist Community, 22 June 2022
404
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Police Refuse to Record Transgender Individual’s Complaint, 31
August 2022
405
Human Rights Watch, World Report 2023: Events of 2022, 12 January 2023, pp. 311-312

166

The USDOS 2022 report on human rights practices in Iran, published in March 2023, remarked that:“Hate-crime laws or other criminal justice mechanisms do not exist to aid in the prosecution of biasmotivated crimes”.408 The same statement can be found in the 2021 report, published in April 2022,409
and the 2020 report, published in March 2021”.410
The Advocates for Human Rights, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, Iran Human Rights,
Impact Iran, and ECPM stated in their joint September 2023 submission for the 139th session of the UN
Human Rights Committee that: “Iranian authorities do not protect LGBTIQ+ individuals from violence orabuse, and domestic legislation fosters impunity for perpetrators. Further, there is an absence ofremedies for victims of violence. Violence against LGBTIQ+ individuals is considered a mahdoorddam
offense (offenses in which the victim is “deserving of death”).21 The Islamic Criminal Code also provides
minor sentences for individuals who kill LGBTIQ+ people.”[…] 21 Testimony on file with the author.

411

The UN Human Rights Committee’s concluding observations on the fourth periodic report of the Islamic
Republic of Iran and its implementation of the ICCPR stated that:
While in its Constitution the State party proclaims the enjoyment of equal rights and equal protection
before the law, the Committee is concerned that the legal framework does not afford comprehensive andeffective protection against discrimination on all the grounds covered by the Covenant, including gender,
religion, political or other opinion, sexual orientation and gender identity. The Committee notes that theCharter of Citizenship Rights prohibits the spread of hatred; however, it is concerned by reports of a highprevalence of hate crimes and allegations that hate crimes are not investigated and perpetrators go
412
unpunished.

The ILGA Database page for Iran summarised that, to the best of their knowledge, “laws in force in Irando not offer protection against discrimination based on “sexual orientation”, “gender identity”, “gender
expression” or “sex characteristics”” in the provision of goods and services, in healthcare, in education,in employment, or in housing. The page also states that, to the best of ILGA World’s knowledge, “laws inforce in Iran neither aggravate penalties for crimes committed on the basis of “sexual orientation”,“gender identity”, “gender expression” or “sex characteristics” nor do they explicitly consider such
406

Human Rights Watch, World Report 2022: Events of 2021, 13 January 2022, pp. 340-341
Human Rights Watch, World Report 2021: Events of 2020, 13 January 2021, p. 342
408
US Department of State (USDOS), 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 20 March 2023
409
US Department of State (USDOS), 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 12 April 2022
410
US Department of State (USDOS), 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, 30 March 2021
411
The Advocates for Human Rights, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, Iran Human Rights, Impact
Iran, and Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM), Islamic Republic of Iran’s Compliance with International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Treaty, 139th Session of the Human Rights Committee, 9 October–3
November 2023, 12 September 2023, p. 5
412
UN International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, Human Rights Committee, Concluding observations on
the fourth periodic report of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 23 November 2023, p. 3
407

167

crimes as “hate crimes””; and that “laws in force in Iran do not prohibit incitement to hatred, violence or
discrimination on the basis of “sexual orientation”, “gender identity”, “gender expression” or “sexcharacteristics””.413

b. Fear of reporting to authorities
For further relevant information consult also section II., a., ii. Criminal code and section II., a., iii. Other
relevant legislation affecting LGBTQI+ persons.
The January 2021 report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran statedthat forms of violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people “remain
largely underreported due to the victims’ fear of persecution”.414
Writing on the murder of Alireza Fazeli Monfared, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty stated in May 2021
that:
Both Kermanshahi [Berlin-based human rights activist Kaveh Kermanshahi] and Parsi [Arsham Parsi, aToronto-based, Iranian gay-rights activist and head of the International Railroad for Queer Refugees]
believe that a large number of killings in Iran due to someone's sexual orientation go unreported.
"Queers who have been in contact with these people fear reporting or investigating the cases because
they can be outed in the society therefore these cases often happen in silence," Kermanshahi said.
"When it comes to uxoricide, we have women's rights activists who highlight these cases," he said. "But in
Iran we don't have the possibility of queer activists working actively therefore it is possible that other415
cases -- like [Fazeli Monfared's] murder and [gay suicides] -- are not being reported."

Also reporting on the murder of Alireza Fazeli Monfared in May 2021, Amnesty International stated that:
According to informed sources interviewed by Amnesty International, Alireza Fazeli Monfared, who selfidentified as a non-binary gay man, had been subjected to repeated homophobic and transphobic
harassment and death threats by several of his male relatives, including his half-brothers and uncle,
because he did not conform to the binary socio-cultural gender stereotypes and “norms” in Iran andsocially constructed expectations of “masculinity”. Amnesty International understands, from information
provided by his friend and partner, that he had never reported such incidents to the police out of fear of416
being mocked or facing violence and prosecution at the hands of the authorities.

413

ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) Database, Jurisdiction: Iran, undated
UN General Assembly, Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran: Report of the Special
Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Javaid Rehman, 11 January 2021, p. 10415Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Horrific Killing Of Young Gay Man Puts Plight Of Iran's LGBT Community In
Spotlight, 11 May 2021
416
Amnesty International, Iran: Murder of 20-year-old gay man highlights urgent need to protect LGBTI rights, 17
May 2021, p. 2
414

168

An August 2021 fact sheet produced by the Center for Human Rights in Iran on LGBTQ rights in Iranobserved that: “LGBTQ individuals cannot seek legal remedy for injuries or rights violations through thepolice or courts without often risking prosecution themselves”.417
In September 2021, IranWire published an article on a gay Iranian man who had been raped but wasafraid of reporting the crime to the police. The article wrote:"I was taking driving lessons, and sometimes on the way home, I'd visited a café, sometimes with a friend.
One morning I went into this café on my own, and no one was there except one member of staff. At first, I
liked him and we enjoyed a friendly chat. I saw him a few more times there. We became more intimate.
We talked more and more... and I told him about my sexual orientation."
These are the words of Saeed, a 20-year-old gay man in Ahvaz, who has agreed to talk about the trauma
of being raped in a culture where speaking out would make it all the worse. […]"A few weeks ago, it was almost midnight when I got a message from him on my phone saying that hewanted to see me late that night. Ever since, I have regretted looking at his message and messaging back.
I wish I had never done it.
“He insisted I go to him, to his friend's house. I had never had sex with him. I did not trust him. It was lateand I didn’t want to leave the house. He kept insisting, and then he started threatening me. He knew myaddress and said if I didn't go to him, he would come to my house with my friends. I was scared and didn’tknow what to do. I didn’t think he would come to the house, but if he did, I wouldn’t know what to do infront of my family.”
Saeed explains his family didn’t know he was gay. He still hasn’t really told them. In the past, people hadsuspected, and these situations had always cost him dear. Once, his mother checked his phone and readhis personal messages. She warned him that he was playing with life and death and had to stop. She
threatened to kick Saeed out of the house, saying he risked harm to her and to himself. His father does
not live with them and is based outside Iran, but when his mother told him what she had discovered, hesaid he was going to return to Iran and kill his son with his bare hands — even if it meant he would spend
the rest of his life in prison.
Talking to me today, Saeed seems to have trouble breathing. He stumbles over his words. "I had to go out,of fear and the disgrace he might cause. He attacked me; it didn’t matter to him that I was a human being.
It didn't matter to him that I was in pain. He was brutal. The worst part was when he whispered in my ear,cursing me, and my mother and my sister. I couldn't defend myself or resist."
Numb with shock, Saeed went on Twitter, hoping to get support. He was lucky: his followers and people
he turned to listened to him, helped him, and eased his pain somewhat. Asked why he didn't inform thepolice, Saeed simply says that if he had, he would have been prosecuted. And of course, his family wouldfind out.
Saeed's rapist has since been in touch several times. Saeed does what he can to avoid him and to protect
418
himself.

The February 2022 UK Parliament research briefing on LGBT+ rights and issues in the Middle East statedthat in Iran:

417
418

Center for Human Rights in Iran, Fact Sheet: LGBTQ Rights in Iran, August 2021
IranWire, Iranian Gay Man: "I Couldn't Tell Police About My Rape", 24 September 2021

169

Social acceptance of homosexuality is generally low and the attitude towards LGBT+ individuals is one of“don’t ask, don’t tell”. It frequently results in domestic abuse, families shunning those suspected of being
LGBT+, or forcing them into arranged marriages or gender reassignment surgery. Discrimination andbullying within education and in the workplace is widespread and blackmail is common. […]These acts are, however, considered to be massively underreported for fear of persecution by the419
authorities.

Freedom House wrote in their annual Freedom in the World report for Iran, published in March 2023 on
events in 2022, that: “Members of the LGBT+ community face harassment and discrimination, though
the problem is underreported due to the criminalized and hidden nature of these groups in Iran”.420 The
same statement was written in Freedom House’s 2022 report,421 covering events in 2021, as well the2021 report covering events in 2020.422

419

UK Parliament, Research Briefing: LGBT+ rights and issues in the Middle East, 9 February 2022, p. 10
Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2023: Iran Country Report, March 2023
421
Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2022: Iran Country Report, February 2022
422
Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2021: Iran Country Report, March 2021
420

170