Two lesbian and LGBTQ activists accused of promoting homosexuality have been sentenced to death in Iran, activists reported on Monday, September 5, urging the international community to prevent their execution.
Elham Chubdar, 24, and Zahra Sedighi Hamedani, 31, two Iranian lesbians, were sentenced to death by a court in the city of Urmiah, the Kurdish human rights organization Hengaw reported on Monday. They are accused of “corruption on earth”, the most serious charge in the penal code.
According to the NGO, the two young women have also been accused of promoting the Christian religion and of communicating with a media outlet opposed to the Iranian regime.
Another woman, Soheila Ashrafi, 52, from Urmia, who was also charged, was also arrested. She is waiting for her verdict.
International pressure
Zahra Sedighi Hamedani, nicknamed “Sareh” on the Internet, is a well-known activist in the gay community. She is currently in prison. She was detained in October 2021 by Iranian security forces as she tried to flee to neighboring Turkey. Amnesty International has followed her case and is now reacting to her death sentence.
“We have been working on the case of Sareh for several months, who was arrested, detained and tortured when she tried to flee and was stopped at the border because she wanted to flee Iran to seek asylum,” explains Sébastien Tüller, head of the LGBTI + Commission of Amnesty France.
Other Iranian associations ask Western governments to press for her release.