Shabtabnews In this dark night, I have lost my way – Arise from a corner, oh you the star of guidance.
RFL/RE – An Iranian man is being held for allegedly murdering his 17-year-old son over what he called the teenager’s “feminine” behavior and makeup, in a case that has put the plight of the Islamic nation’s LGBT community in the spotlight once again.
According to the Rokna news agency, the father, distressed by his son’s conduct in the northwestern city of Tabriz, confessed to the crime after contacting the police, citing his “disgrace” as the motive.
In an interview with the agency, the father mentioned his inability to face family and friends due to the behavior of his son, who was identified only as Parsa. The father said he felt publicly shamed and claimed, “everyone pointed fingers at us.”
Violence against sexual minorities by family members is not uncommon in the Islamic republic, where senior officials often address them with derogatory terms, such as “inhuman” or “sick,” fanning homophobic sentiment.
According to a 2020 poll published by the 6rang advocacy group, 62 percent of LGBT members surveyed in Iran had said that they had experienced one or more forms of violence by their immediate family. Nearly 30 percent of them complained of sexual violence, while 77 percent said they had been subjected to physical violence.
The pressure and persecution force many members of Iran’s LGBT community to flee the country, while many others undergo sex-reassignment surgery (SRS). Iran is the only Islamic country where SRS is recognized.
In a report to the UN Human Rights Council, Javid Rahman, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, criticized the use of “conversion therapy” for sexual minorities as torture.
The report expressed concern about practices like “electroshock therapy” and “forced hormone injections or administration of strong medications” to homosexual, bisexual, and transgender children in Iran.
Parsa, who’s sexual orientation remains unclear, was sent to “psychotherapy” and was hospitalized, his father said, claiming that living with the teenager was beyond his and his family’s endurance.
In a similar case in 2021 that gained international headlines, Alireza Fazeli Monfared was murdered by family members over his sexual orientation before he could flee to Turkey.
