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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — LGBT+ activists have slammed an “immoral” lawsuit filed against a Sulaimani based LGBT+ organization by a member of the Kurdistan Parliament.
Omar Gulpi, an MP for the Kurdistan Justice Group (Komal) filed a lawsuit against Rasan Organization, a non-profit advocating for LGBT+ rights in the Kurdistan Region, on February 15.
Speaking to Rudaw’s Rozhan Abubakir on Monday, Gulpi described homosexuality as a “violation” of public rights and morals after being asked about the lawsuit filed against Rasan, which “strives to improve the lives of women, youth and LGBT+ in Iraq,” according to its website.
“If this person is familiar with science he would know that homosexuality is a natural thing and even the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared it as such,” Sweden-based LGBT+ rights activist and founder of IraQueer Amir Ashour told Rudaw English on Monday.
“I believe that his lawsuit is immoral. Why would he get to decide what is moral or not?” Ashour added.
“What this man is saying is very wrong and does not comply with facts and science at all..homosexuality is not a choice...people are born that way,” LGBT+ activist Zhyar Ali told Abubakir.
LGBT+ individuals have previously spoken to Rudaw of the discrimination and violence they face in both Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, from being made homeless to facing death.
According to data provided by Ashour to Rudaw English, out of more than 250 LGBT+ people interviewed in 2018 who had faced harassment or violence, 32 percent were in the Kurdistan Region.
“In 2017, we reported 220 LGBT+ killings in Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region,” Ashour added.
Gulpi’s views are commonly used to bring legal action against LGBT+ organizations, a lawyer has told Rudaw.
“The Iraqi penal code does not specifically forbid same sex intercourse, except in the case of rape,” Sulaimani based lawyer Ali Ahmed told Rudaw English. “However, people often make a case claiming that LGBT+ people are disrupting societal morals.”
According to Ali, LGBT+ people are often arrested as per article 393 of the Iraqi penal code, designated for sexual assault and rape, because there is no law explicitly outlawing homosexuality.
Updated 6:35pm
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