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All three were under the age of 18 when they allegedly committed 'Lavat'
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Three men charged with homosexual conduct to be executed in Iran
Three men are on death row in Iran under charges of homosexual conduct. No date has been set for their execution yet, but according to Human Rights Watch, the lawyer representing two of the men fears that it could happen any day.
The men, named as Mehdi P, Moshen G and Nemat Safavi, were accused in separate cases of committing Lavat, consummated gay sexual activity between males, whether penetrative or not, which is punishable by death "so long as both the active and passive partners are mature, of sound mind, and have acted of free will", according to Iranian law.
According to Human Rights Watch, all of the men were under the age of 18 when they allegedly committed the offence. Mehdi P and Moshen G denied the charges, and no witnesses testified against them, but they were sentenced to death despite the provision in Iran's shari'a-based criminal code that sexual offences require a confession repeated four times or the testimony of four male witnesses. However, the code allows judges to use their discretionary "knowledge" in determining guilt where no such evidence is available.
No information is available on the type of evidence against Safavi, who was arrested at the age of 16, and tried by a court in Ardebil, where he is being held, but his case has been monitored by Amnesty International since last September.
Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch, said: "Killing people for what they did as children is wrong and repellent. The Iranian government has flouted its most basic human rights obligations in allowing these cruel death sentences."
