Iraqis Sentenced to Death for Being LGBT?

An Iraqi LGBT group based in the United Kingdom reported that many of the over 120 individuals currently on death row in Iraq were arrested and convicted for nothing more than being LGBT. Amnesty International has called for investigations into the high rate of civilian casualties, particularly those with discriminatory motives.

During a recent visit to the European Parliament, Secretary of State Clinton stated the following in response to a question posed by a gay activist from Moldova: "Human rights is and always will be one of the pillars of our foreign policy. And in particular, the persecution and discrimination against gays and lesbians is something that we take very seriously. It is terribly unfortunate that right now in unfortunately many places in the world violence against gays and lesbians, certainly discrimination and prejudice are not just occurring but condoned and protected. And we would hope that over the next few years we could have some influence in trying to change those attitudes..."

Thanks to Michael Jones for his reporting on this issue.