UN officials demand stay of execution for two LGBTQ+ rights activists in Iran
UN representatives have called for Iran to cancel its planned execution of two women LGBTQ+ rights activists. On 4 September, Hengaw Organisation for Human Rights reported that Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani and Elham Choubdar were found guilty of “spreading corruption on earth” by a court in Urmia.
The horrifying verdict, which was reached in August, stemmed from the Urmia Public Prosecutor’s accusing the two women of “promoting homosexuality and Christianity” and “communicating with the media opposing the Islamic Republic” in January.
Sedighi-Hamadani and Choubdaral were also convicted on “trafficking” charges due to them assisting at-risk individuals with leaving the conservative country.
In response to the court’s decision, UN experts have demanded that Iran authorities release the two activists and renounce their archaic sentence. “We strongly condemn the sentencing of Ms.
