Murder, Torture, Sexual Orientation and Gender in Iraq
This 67-page report documents a wide-reaching campaign of extrajudicial executions, kidnappings, and torture of gay men that began in early 2009. The killings began in the vast Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City, a stronghold of Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, and spread to many cities across Iraq. Mahdi Army spokesmen have promoted fears about the "third sex" and the "feminization" of Iraq men, and suggested that militia action was the remedy. Some people told Human Rights Watch that Iraqi security forces have colluded and joined in the killing.
- "They Want Us Exterminated"
- I. Introduction
- II. "They Are Massacring Us": Survivors' Voices
- III. Extortion and the State: Nuri's Story
- IV. Pretext and Context: Moral Panic, Political Opportunism
- V. Family, Gender, "Honor"
- VI. Past Attacks
- VII. The Situation of Refugees
- VIII. Conclusion
- Glossary of Terms