Gays said tortured, slain by Iraq militias

BAGHDAD, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Gay men are being targeted for death by Iraqi militias and the country's leaders have done nothing to stop them, human rights advocates said Monday.

Human Rights Watch said in a release that the militias are spreading a campaign of torture and murder against men suspected of homosexual conduct, or of not being "manly" enough.

"Iraq's leaders are supposed to defend all Iraqis, not abandon them to armed agents of hate," said Scott Long, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Program at Human Rights Watch. "Turning a blind eye to torture and murder threatens the rights and life of every Iraqi."

Iraq's culture stigmatizes homosexuality but the government does not condone attacks on gay men, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told CNN. He said authorties are unable to provide special protection for homosexuals.

An investigation by the human rights group indicated that a wide-ranging campaign of anti-gay violence began in the Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City, a stronghold of the Mahdi Army militia, and then spread to many cities across Iraq, HRW said.

The group says Mahdi Army spokesmen have promoted fears about the "third sex" and the "feminization" of Iraqi men, and have suggested that militia action was the remedy. Some told HRW that Iraqi security forces have colluded and joined in the killing.