LGBT People in Iraq Come Under Attack Daily - HRW

BAGHDAD — (03-24-22) — LGBT Iraqi citizens are coming under daily attack by armed groups, police and one of the country’s most powerful militia, the umbrella organization, daily for simply being gay. According to Human Rights Watch and IraQueer, cases include abductions, torture, rape and murder. HRW said the Iraqi government has refused to hold perpetrators accountable.

Iraq’s interior ministry has denied any such attacks by its security forces take place. The 86-page report released by HRW includes interviews with 54 LGBT Iraqis carried out between June and November last year.

Those interviewed in the report described being arbitrarily arrested by Iraqi security officials and subjected to physical and verbal abuse. The report further states that when in detention, gay men were denied food, water and medical treatment. They were also not allowed to contact a lawyer or family members during their incarceration.

Several victims in the report said police forced them to sign statements saying they had not been mistreated.

Some of the extreme cases involved groups belonging to the umbrella organization Popular Mobilization (PM), a powerful Shia-led paramilitary unit which officially became part of the Iraqi armed forces back in 2018.

HRW’s LGBT rights researcher Rasha Younes said in a statement in conjunction with the study released said…”LGBT Iraqis live in constant fear of being hunted down and killed by armed groups with impunity, as well as arrest and violence by Iraqi police, making their lives unliveable. The Iraqi government has done nothing to stop the violence or hold the abusers accountable,” said Younes.

The Iraqi interior ministry denied their forces had been involved in the abuses of its LGBT citizens but Ms Younes wasn’t having it.

“Iraqi authorities should start by publicly condemning violence against LGBT people and safeguarding their right to access protection in their own country.” said Younes.