A 20-year-old boy was murdered and beheaded by his family for being gay in Iran

Alireza Fazeli-Monfared, 20, was reportedly murdered by his brother and cousins on Tuesday (4 May) after they discovered the Iranian military exempted him from service because of “sexual depravities”.

Gay men are exempted from military service in Iran under Paragraph 7 of Section 5 of the military’s Draft Bylaws, and as such, any reference to this paragraph on an exemption card indicates the holder is homosexual.

Shortly after receiving Alirez’s military service exemption card, his half-brother came to him and on the pretext that their father wanted to see him, got him into the car and drove him outside the city.

Alireza was taken to the village of Borumi, near the capital of Ahvaz, where his brother and cousins murdered and beheaded him, before dumping his body by a tree.

Alireza had been planning to flee Iran and join his boyfriend as a refugee in Turkey before his death. His partner, activist Aghil Bayat, told Iranian LGBT+ network 6rang that the killers called Alireza’s mother directly after the murder and told her where to find his body.

Alireza’s mother was “hospitalized with shock” following the news, Bayat said. He later told Radio Zamaneh that Alireza’s killers have been arrested.

6Rang (Six Colours) report states that after Alireza’s body was found under the trees, three suspects were arrested and a case against them was opened in court. The fact that his sexual orientation could be inferred from his exemption card, the organization said, should serve as a stark warning that it can endanger any and all gay men who apply for the draft exemption.

Alireza’a offence was that his sexual orientation or sexual identity was different from the supposed norm, in a society that strives to annihilate whatever does not conform to its so-called ideals.

There are many more like Alireza whose stories never see the light and slowly die with them.

News Source: Iran wire

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