UNCLASSIFIED ae
Kondos, Jason C : Nv, /
From: Fintor, Louls J (Baghdad) RELEASED IN PART
Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2007 7:00 AM
T Warrick, Thomas $ (NEAVI); Reffett, Larilyn (Baghdad)
Ge: Baghdad POL; Sreebny, Daniel X (Baghdad); All, Faiza J
‘Subject: RE: Media Inquiry on Homosexuals in Iraq,
Tom:
This is the second time this issue has come up since August; the first was with WashPost Baghdad
Bureau reporter Amit Paley. At that time, Larilyn was preparing this section of the Human Right Country
Report that addressed this issue. Paley stopped pursuing the story and it dropped. Since there, there
was a lengthy article in Gentleman's Quarterly on gays in Iraq that appeared a month or so ag0. DoS
and the Embassy were not mentioned. | imagine that Price has seen the article as well as Victor's letter
(Paley had a copy). Below are some press fines | prepared (though these have not been cleared) for
Paley but never had to use them. I'm also attaching some traffic between Larilyn and { during the Paley
saga (Victor's letter and a story on a lragi gay who was killed after allegedly being refused admittance
to the iz).
Hope this:helps —
Regards,
Lou
From: Reffett, Larilyn (Baghdad)
Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2006 6:26 PM
To: Fintor, Louis J (Baghdad)
Gc: Clay, Noel C (Baghdad); Scobey, Margaret M (Baghdad)
Subject: RE: Media Inquiry on Embassy Assistance to Sexval Minorities
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Hi LouREVIEW AUTHORITY: CHARLES L DARIS
DATE/CASE ID: 20 MAY 2009 200705268
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BSUNCLASSIFIED Page 2 of 7
Unfortunately | do not have a copy of the press guidance. However | believe itis likely available via an archive
search on cable express. AS for the letter, it was sent on the high side, but | will re-type here:
“Dear Ms. Ettelbrick:
‘Thank you for your etter of April 20, 2006 regarding the reported violence against gays and lesbians in
Iraq. The Secretary has asked that I respond to your cnocems.
The indiscriminate nature ofthe violence in iraq affects al Iraqis and only serves to undermine the
political, economio, and security efforts made toward a democratic and peaceful aq, Unfortunately, vulnerable
Populations are sometimes vietins of abhorrent acts of violence committed by terrorists‘and insurgents. We are
‘ary troubied by these reported incidents of threas, vielence, execution, and other violations of hurnanitarian law
against members of the day and lesbian community in iraq,
We continue to work with Iraqi government, religious, and civil society leaders to underscore the
importance of human rights and basic freedoms and we believe that the Iraqi constitution lays a strong foundation
for the protection of thsee rights,
Our Embassy in Baghdad is interested in further diatogue on this issue with NGOs in Iraq, and in particular
with Mustafa Salim or others ofthe Rainbow for Life organization. Please contact Larlyn Retfett at
reffeti@'state ao for futher correspondence.
Sincerely, Vicor Hurtado”
‘iter this, no one contacted me. | searched Iraqi blogs arid found'a gay blogger. { vrote hin and 2eKéd ite
‘would be wiling to talk with me. He apparently forwarded my message to his organization's home office in
London, and I got the following response: “We cannot meet any officals in iraq, simply because we do not trust
‘any sides that might expose obr idenity fo the rest of the Iraq government and their ministry of interior. You can
‘contact our head ofice in London they are authorized to negotiate and speak and do all the press and news
releases on behalf ofall the IRAQI LGBT worldwide.” We continue to reach out to LGBT groups, but have been
able fo get any postive reponses.
Hope this helps!
Lariyn
‘WORLD NEWS | washingtonblade.com .
State Dept. ‘troubled’ over anti-gay violence in Iraq
US. embassy in Baghdad willing to meet with gay groups
By LOU CHIBBARO JR
May. 25, 2006
‘The USS. State Department said itis “troubled” by reports of increased violence against -
gays in Iraq and said the U.S. embassy in Baghdad is interested in meeting with gay rights
groups to address the problem.
‘The Bush administration announcement came in response to a request by the U.S. based
International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission that Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice condemn a rash of anti-gay killings in Iraq and to “askshat U.S. military
and civilian personnel in Iraq call these abuses to the attention of Iraqi authorities.”
In an April 20 letter to Rice, Paula Ettelbrick, IGLHRC executive director, urged Rice to
“demand a response” from the Iraqi authorities over the anti-gay killings.
Ina May 11 reply to Ettelbrick’s letter, L. Victor Hurtado, acting director of the State
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Department's Office of Iraq Affairs, said the U.S. is working with the Iraqi government to
promote the protection of human rights.
“We are very troubled by these reported incidents.of threats, violence, executions, and
other violations of humanitarian law against members of the gay and lesbian community
in Iraq,” Hurtado said in his letter.
Hurtado said the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad “is interested in further dialogue on this issue”
with non-governmental groups, including the Iraq-based group Rainbow for Life, which
monitors human rights abuses against gays.
Lt, Col. Barry Venable, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Defense, told the Bladé
last week that reports of killings of Iraqi gays come at a time when other Iraqi groups are
being targeted for assassinations and kidnappings. Among them, he said, are college
professors, doctors and owners of liquor stores.
“We try to stop Killings and assassinations regardless of the motive,” Venable said.
“Violence is violence. We want to see it reduced and eliminated.”
Asspokesperson for the Iraqi Embassy to the United States in Washington did not respond
toa request for comment.
Violence linked to fatwa
A London-based group of exiled gay Iraqis took credit last week for pressuring a powerful
Islamic leader into removing from his website a fatwa calling for the killing of gays in
Iraq.
“They didn't expect a gay rights group could challenge their religious authority, and we
succeeded in doing that,” Ali Hili, founder and spokesperson for LGBT Iraqis U.K, said in
telephone interview from London.
But Hill's group quickly discovered that Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, while removing
the announcement of the fatwa from his website, did not revoke the death order itself.
Sistani also chose to leave on the site a clause in the fatwa that targets lesbians.
“Conditions are still very bad for gays and lesbians in my country,” Hii said.
Hili’s claims about the removal of the fatwa and his organization's role in that decision
could not be independently confirmed. :
‘The fatwa - which Sistani issued last October - declared that all people “involved” in
homosexuality “should be killed in the worst, most severe way of killing,”
Hili said it was too soon to determine whether Sistani’s decision to remove the fatwa
announcement from Sistani’s widely read, Arabic language website would curtail a rash of
death threats, kidnappings and assassinations of gay Iraqis. The killings increased sharply
toward the end of last year, he claimed. .
Death squads formed by Shiite Islamic militias have used Internet chat rooms established
by gay Iraqis to arrange to meet gays in Baghdad and other cities, Hill said. In some cases
the unsuspecting gays ensnared by this tactic bave been abducted and shot to death, he
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