'To execute people simply because they are gay or have had gay sex just isn't acceptable in the 21st century,' he said. However, groups like Outrage, a London-based group for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people (LGBT), maintain it was a false charge designed to undermine public sympathy for the teenagers.Īctivists in Washington, New York, London, Berlin and Brussels marked the anniversary of the teenagers' execution.ĭavid Allison, an Outrage spokesman, said killing the teenagers for what they did together was “absolutely abhorrent”. Mahmoud Asgari, 16, and Ayaz Marhoni, 18, were publicly hanged on 19 July last year in Mashad, provincial capital of Iran's Khorasan province, on charges of homosexuality.Īsgari was accused of raping a 13-year-old boy. Human rights groups are calling for greater protection of gay rights in Iran as the first anniversary of the public execution of two gay teenagers in the country is marked.
