National News: State Department drops ban on HIV-positive diplomats

State Department drops ban on HIV-positive diplomats
By Matthew Lee, Associated Press February 18, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Under pressure from a lawsuit, the State Department is
changing rules that had disqualified HIV-positive people from becoming U.S.
diplomats.

Effective Friday, the department removed HIV from a list of medical
conditions that automatically prevent foreign service candidates from
meeting an employment requirement that they be able to work anywhere in the
world.

The change was made after consultation with medical experts and in response
to a lawsuit filed by an HIV-positive man who was denied entry into the
foreign service despite being otherwise qualified, the department said..

Prospective diplomats with HIV will now be considered for the foreign
service on a case-by-case basis, along with those with other designated
ailments like cancer to determine if they meet the "worldwide availability"
standard, it said.

Officials denied that the policy had ever intentionally discriminated
against HIV-positive people and noted that the policy had applied only to
incoming diplomats, not those who had contracted the virus or other
diseases while in the foreign service.

"We have a policy requiring that all foreign service officers be worldwide
available as determined by a medical examination at the time of entry into
the foreign service," said Gonzalo Gallegos, a State Department spokesman.
"That has not changed."

The department's chief medical officer had "revised its medical clearance
guidelines on HIV based on advances in HIV care and treatment and
consultations with medical experts," Gallegos said. "The new clearance
guidelines provide that HIV-positive individuals may be deemed worldwide
available if certain medical conditions are met."

The decision was hailed by Lambda Legal, a New York-based group that
advocates for the civil rights of homosexuals, bisexuals, transgender
people and those with HIV and represented the plaintiff in the lawsuit
against the State Department.

"The new guidelines mean that candidates for Foreign Service posts who have
HIV will now be assessed on a case-by-case basis, as the law requires,"
said Bebe Anderson, the organization's HIV project director. "At long last,
the State Department is taking down its sign that read, 'People with HIV
need not apply.'"

The change in policy came less than two weeks before the trial in the
lawsuit brought in 2003 by Lorenzo Taylor, a trilingual international
affairs specialist who passed the difficult foreign service application
process but was rejected after he told the department of his HIV status.

"Now people like me who apply to the Foreign Service will not have to go
through what I did," Taylor said in a statement. "They and others with HIV
will know that they do not have to surrender to stigma, ignorance, fear or
the efforts of anyone, even the federal government, to impose second-class
citizenship on them. They can fight back."

Lambda Legal said the suit had been settled "partly due to the new
guidelines," but the State Department said the policy switch was not part
of the settlement.

"The change simply reflects medical advances in the area of HIV care and
maintenance," Gallegos said.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.

Action: AI on Iran

In May 2007, two men were tried and convicted of abduction, rape and theft. They were sentenced to being “thrown at a height” or “cliff” (partab az bolandi) by a judge in Shiraz, Fars province, southern Iran. Four other men, allegedly also involved in the crimes, were ordered to endure 100 lashes each. Both of these punishments have not yet been carried out by the Iranian authorities.

On 2 January 2008, Qods, a national daily newspaper in Iran, reported that the sentences of the two men had been confirmed by the Supreme Court, and sent for implementation, and that four other men had been convicted by Branch 2 of the Fars Criminal Court to 100 lashes each, in connection with the same case. The six men were accused of having abducted two young men in the city of Arsanjan, to the east of Shiraz, whom they harassed and whose property they stole before allegedly raping them.

At a press conference on 15 January, Ali Reza Jamshidi, the Spokesman for the Judiciary in Iran, confirmed that the sentences had been upheld by the Supreme Court, but that they had not yet been carried out. His statement appeared to contradict the Qods article, as it suggested that the Head of the Judiciary may not yet have given final approval for the executions. All death sentences in Iran must be approved by the Head of the Judiciary before they can be carried out. He has the power to suspend the execution.

Iran’s Penal Code states in Article 109 that both men involved in same-sex penetrative (anal) or non-penetrative sex will be punished. Article 110 states that those convicted of engaging in anal sex will be executed and that the manner of execution is at the discretion of the judge. Article 111 states that both will be executed “provided both the active and passive parties are mature, sane and consenting”. There is no separate legislation dealing with rape. Article 14 of the Directive on Implementation Regulations for Sentences of Retribution in kind, Stoning, Murder, Crucifixion, Death Penalty and Flogging states that death may be carried out by hanging, firing squad, electrocution or another method determined by the judge issuing the verdict. If no other method is specified, the method will be hanging. The sentence passed in this case is exceptional in its apparent intent to inflict suffering.

The sentence was condemned by the Centre for Human Rights Defenders, a Tehran-based human rights NGO whose members include Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi.

In 2007, at least 312 people, including child offenders, were executed in Iran, although the true figure may be considerably higher. Amnesty International acknowledges the right and responsibility of governments to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offences but is unconditionally opposed to the use of the death penalty and opposes the use of flogging and other judicial corporal punishments which constitute torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment.

Take Action Here

Action: Cameroon Action from Headquarters

Urgent Action: Call for Release of 11 Men and Decriminalization of Homosexuality in Cameroon

January 2008

Eleven men were arrested and detained in Cameroon between 19^th July and 1^st September 2007 because they were suspected of engaging in acts of homosexuality. Sexual relations between two people of the same sex are illegal in Cameroon. The 11 men were arrested in the cities of Douala and Yaoundé where they remain in custody. Amnesty International considers the detainees to be prisoners of conscience, detained solely on account of their presumed sexual orientation, and is calling for their immediate and unconditional release as well as for the decriminalization of homosexuality in Cameroon. The continued detention of the men on this basis contravenes the rights to freedom from discrimination, privacy and freedom of assembly and association, as guaranteed by the international and regional human rights treaties to which Cameroon is a party.

Between 19 and 21 July 2007, police arrested six men at various public places in the city of Douala accusing them of engaging in acts of homosexuality. The arrests followed a woman’s allegations of theft and alleged homosexual acts against her two juvenile cousins. The two were arrested, questioned and later released. After their interrogation by the police, three other men were also arrested on suspicion of having engaged in acts of homosexuality. An additional three men were also arrested for the same reasons.

On 25 July 2007, the 6 men were transferred to Douala’s central prison. In addition to charges of homosexuality men were also accused of committing “sodomy” and “corrupting youth” in violation of the provisions of sections 344, 346 and 347 of the Cameroonian Penal code. One of the detainees was also accused of committing an indecent assault with a 16-year-old boy.

On 16 August 2007, two men were arrested in Yaoundé. According to sources, it was close to 4 am when the police broke down the door of the room where the men were sleeping. The policemen asked them to remove their clothes before telling them they were being arrested because they had been caught having sex. Their case was transferred to the Attorney General on 20 August 2007. According to their lawyer, the men were subjected to anal examinations to determine if they had engaged in sexual acts.

On 30 August 2007, at around 5:45 AM, three men were arrested by a police patrol in Douala. The men were found fighting over a TV set and a DVD player. According to the police report one of the accused had solicited sex from the other two men in exchange of 25,000CFA (equivalent of US$ 50) and a fight began after a dispute over the payment. The three men were charged with same-sex sexual relations by the Attorney General at the Douala Public Prosecutor’s Department. They appeared at Douala 1st Instance Tribunal on 7 November 2007, on 2 January and on 8 January 2008 and pleaded not guilty. On 9 January 2008, the Tribunal convicted and sentenced the three men to 6 months imprisonment with hard labor and fines ranging from US $54 to US $100.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals in French, English or your own language:

• expressing concern for the eleven detainees on trial in the capital, Yaoundé, on charges of practising homosexuality;
• stating that Amnesty International believes that they are prisoners of conscience, detained solely because of their alleged sexual orientation;
• asking the authorities to order an immediate halt to the trial of these detainees on charges based on their suspected or known sexual orientation;
• urging the authorities to release the detainees immediately and unconditionally and to respect their right to freedom of association in accordance with international human rights treaties, such as the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights and under the African Convention for Human and People’s Rights, to which Cameroon is a party;
• calling on the authorities to ensure that the detainees are not subjected to anal examinations or any other form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment;
• calling on the authorities to ensure that the detainees are allowed access to their families, lawyers and any medical attention they may require.

ADDRESS APPEALS TO:

Minister of Justice

Mr Amadou Ali

Deputy Prime Minister

Minister of Justice

Yaoundé

Cameroon

Salutation: Dear vice-Prime Minister/ Monsieur

le Vice-Premier Ministre

WITH COPIES TO :

Minister of Interior

Mr Marafa Hamidou Yaya

Minister of Territorial Administration Decentralization

Ministry of Territorial Administration Decentralization

Yaoundé

Cameroon

Salutation: Dear Minister/Monsieur le Ministre

Director of Kondengi prison

Monsieur le Directeur

Prison Centrale de Kondengui,

BP 100, Yaoundé- Province Centrale.

Cameroon

…and to diplomatic representatives of Cameroon in your country.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your Amnesty International section office, if sending appeals after 31 March 2008.

News: 365.com Reporting Al Gore Voices Support for Gay Marriage

Al Gore Voices Support For Gay Marriage
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: January 23, 2008 - 5:00 pm ET

(New York City) Former Vice President Al Gore has come out in favor of
same-sex marriage.

"I don’t understand why it is considered by some people to be a threat to
heterosexual marriage to allow it by gays and lesbians," Gore said in a
posting on his person blog in the Current.com website.

"Shouldn’t we be promoting the kind of faithfulness and loyalty to one’s
partner regardless of sexual orientation?"

Current is the news network founded by Gore.

"[T]he loyalty and love that two people feel for one another when they fall
in love ought to be celebrated and encouraged and shouldn’t be prevented by
any form of discrimination in the law," Gore said in the video posting.

In 2000 when he ran for president Gore said he supported civil unions or
contracts but not marriage.
His turnaround was hailed by gay Democrats.

"We applaud Vice President Gore for firmly stating his support for allowing
same-sex couples the freedom to marry. It is a position which some would
still call courageous, but which a new generation of Americans would call
common sense," said Jon Hoadley, Executive Director of National Stonewall
Democrats.

"Vice President Gore has demonstrated leadership on this subject, and we
encourage all Democratic leaders who restrain their consciences out of
political expediency to demonstrate their leadership as well."
None of the frontrunners seeking the Democratic nomination for president
supports same-sex marriage.

"Clearly, the environment is not the only thing that Al Gore is right
about," said Sean Kosofsky a spokesperson for Triangle Foundation,
Michigan's largest LGBT rights group.

In New Jersey, where gays are pressing the legislature for same-sex
marriage, Garden State Equality said Gore's remarks made him the
highest-ranking public figure in the United States to endorse marriage
equality for same-sex couples.

New Jersey allows civil unions but Garden State Equality says it has
received complaints from 512 couples since the law took effect on February
19, 2007 that employers are not respecting their civil unions because civil
unions are not marriage.

Nearly 100 civil-unioned couples and other witnesses recently testified
about the failure of the civil union law over eight hours of hearings of
the New Jersey Civil Union Review Commission, which will release its first
interim report on Tuesday, February 19, 2008, the one-year anniversary of
the law.

"Al Gore gets it in a way that the others don't," said Steven Goldstein,
chair of Garden State Equality.

"In the real world, civil unions don't give same-sex couples the rights and
benefits of marriage, because employers view civil unions as inferior. In
New Jersey, the failure of employers to recognize civil unions like
marriage has resulted in a failure rate of our civil union law of at least
1 in every 5."

Legislation to allow gays and lesbians to marry in Maryland will be
introduced on Friday.

The issue of same-sex marriage will be argued in the California Supreme
Court later this year, and in Vermont, the first state to allow civil
unions, a committee set up by lawmakers will deliver its report on whether
to convert civil unions to marriage sometime this spring.

Massachusetts is the only state where same-sex marriage is legal.

©365Gay.com 2008 [source]

News: Iranian Executed for Sodomy Committed at Age 13

Iranian Queer Organization – IRQO
Formerly Persian Gay & Lesbian Organization – PGLO
www.irqo.net

(New York, Wednesday December 5, 2007) - The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) has learned today that despite an order by the Iranian Chief Justice to nullify his death sentence, Mr. Makvan Mouloodzadeh was executed in Kermanshah Central Prison at 5 a.m. this morning, Iranian time. Neither Mr. Mouloodzadeh's family or his lawyer were told about the execution until after it occurred. IGLHRC is still investigating the facts in this case.

"This is a shameful and outrageous travesty of justice and
international human rights law," said Paula Ettelbrick, IGLHRC's executive
director. "How many more young Iranians have to die before the international community takes action?" Mr. Mouloodzadeh was a 21-year-old Iranian citizen who was accused of committing anal rape (ighab) with other young boys when he was 13 years old.

However, at Mr. Mouloodzadeh's trial, all the witnesses retracted their pre-trial testimonies, claiming to have lied to the authorities under duress. Makvan also told the court that his confession was made under coercion and pleaded not guilty.

On June 7, 2007, the Seventh District Criminal Court of Kermanshah in Western Iran found him guilty and sentenced him to death. Despite his lawyer's appeal, the Supreme Court upheld his death sentence on August 1, 2007. The case caused an international uproar, and prompted a letter writing campaign by IGLHRC and similar actions by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Outrage! and Everyone Group.

In response to mounting public pressure, and following a detailed petition submitted to the Iranian Chief Justice by Mr. Mouloodzadeh's lawyer, the Iranian Chief Justice, Ayatollah Seyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi, nullified the impending death sentence of Mr. Mouloodzadeh.

In his November 10, 2007 opinion (1/86/8607), the Iranian Chief Justice described the death sentence to be in violation of Islamic teachings, the religious decrees of high-ranking Shiite clerics, and the law of the land. In accordance with Iranian legal procedure, Mr. Mouloodzadeh's case was sent to the Special Supervision Bureau of the Iranian Justice Department, a designated group of judges who are responsible for reviewing and ordering retrials of flawed cases flagged by the Iranian Chief Justice.

However, in defiance of the Chief Justice, the judges decided to ratify the original court's ruling and ordered the local authorities to carry out the execution. Mr. Mouloodzadeh's execution came days after a panel
at the UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling for a moratorium on the death penalty.