Human Rights Watch attacks Iran over treatment of gays

Human Rights Watch has attacked Iran for punishing gays and lesbians with the death penalty.

The New York-based group said it found evidence of homosexuals being tortured and being denied due legal process.

Researchers interviewed 125 Iranian gays for the report. The interviews were conducted by email or in person with Iranian refugees.

“Unfortunately the problems that homosexuals face in Iran, we witness across the whole region but the laws and regulations in Iran are much more strict,” said Human Rights Watch researcher Faraz Sanei.

Under Iranian law, same-sex intercourse between two males is punishable by death.

For women, the penalty is 100 lashes for the first three offenses and the death penalty for the fourth.

Thousands of homosexuals are believed to have been executed since the Islamic revolution in 1979.

Human Rights Watch says the convictions are often based on forced confessions.

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