"A mislead gay and lesbian movement mobilizes against Iran at the height of conflict between the West and the Teheran regime."

In mid-July of this year a news item was circulated on the internet about two minors who were hanged in the Iranian city of Mashhad for having had homosexual relations. When, after some weeks, a more reliable version of the events was available demonstrating that Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni, both above the age of 18, had been sentenced for the rape of a boy younger than themselves, many demonstrations had already been called for at Iranian embassies in various cities, and the Islamophobic ire of certain gay and lesbian groups had already been let loose.

[The original Spanish version of this article has appeared in the leftist newspaper Diagonal (Madrid), and was later published in several LGTB Latin American media, such as Notigay (Mexico) and Sentido G (Argentina). In order to counteract the false information which has been widely diffused about this case, the article was circulated in internet before its publication. The reproduction of the article in any other media, including webpages, is subject to a Creative Commons license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd-nc/1.0/) as specified at the end of the text.]

The email which detonated the international reaction against Iran cited an Iranian student association as its source, another version cited a Teheran newspaper. In both cases, the news was dated July 19th and included images of the two boys as they walked to the gallows and as the noose was placed over their heads. At this time the election of the new anti-Western Iranian president was very recent, and the crisis between Teheran and various Western capitals (Washington, London, Paris and Berlin) over the Islamic Republic’s uranium enrichment plans was just about to reach its peak. The British association Outrage, known both for its continuous struggle for the rights of gays and lesbians as well as for its enthusiasm in denouncing any Muslim government, translated the news item and promoted its diffusion by internet. The item had zero echo in the mainstream press, which unfortunately was no surprise to gays and lesbians who almost never win the attention of the international news agencies, regardless of how bloody the cases of State homophobia may be in many countries.

This first version, which was rapidly propagated through the web, affirmed that the boys were under age and that they had been executed for “the mere fact of being gay.