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United Nations Human Rights Committee raised concerns over LGBTQ rights in US

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(Los Angeles Blade graphic)

United Nations

U.N. Human Rights Chief Volker Türk (Photo courtesy of the U.N. press office)

In its review of the U.S.’ record on civil and political rights released earlier this month, the United Nations Human Rights Committee condemned a flood of discriminatory state legislation restricting the human rights of LGBTQ

The committee’s summary was first reported on by Human Rights Watch.

“The United States ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 1992. Every four years, the HRC reviews laws and policies in countries that have ratified the treaty to evaluate where they are in compliance with the treaty and where they fall short. The review of the US was postponed during the COVID-19 pandemic, making this the first review of the US in nine years.

Among the worrying U.S. laws are those restricting access to gender-affirming care and prohibiting transgender children from participating in school sports or using bathrooms consistent with their gender identity. Also concerning are laws banning books as well as prohibiting classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity, LGBT people and their families in schools.

In its concluding observations, the committee expressed concern about laws limiting transgender people’s access to healthcare, athletics and public accommodations, and restricting discussions of race, slavery, sexual orientation and gender identity in schools. It underscored the prevalence of discrimination against LGBT people in the U.S., including in housing, employment, correctional facilities and other domains. 

The committee also condemned derogatory speech aimed at LGBT people, including from public officials, and violence against LGBT people and members of other minority groups.”

Russia

Screenshot of Seventeen’s hit song “God of Music” showing a rainbow in original video, left, and after censorship by TNT Music, which runs a Russian music chart show dedicated to South Korean pop music. (Image courtesy of HYBE LABELS)

TNT Music, which is owned by parent company Fonbet, the largest sports betting company operating in Russia and Kazakhstan, altered a video of the South Korean K-Pop boy band Seventeen’s hit song “God of Music” that showed a rainbow.

 TNT Music transformed the rainbow featured in the original video into a gray cloud. 

According to the English-language Russian news outlet the Moscow Times, TNT Music appears to have erred on the side of caution after a Moscow court fined its owner Fonbet TV 1 million rubles ($10,800) in July for violating the country’s draconian “LGBT propaganda law” when it aired Finnish singer Alma’s music video for the song “Summer Really Hurt Us.”

In a March 2019 article in British publication Gay Times, Alma confirmed she is a lesbian and in a relationship with Finnish poet and human rights activist Natalia Kallio.

The channel faces another fine of up to 16 million rubles ($174,000) on four administrative charges of spreading “LGBT propaganda” among minors, according to Russian state media. 

The Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media, abbreviated as Roskomnadzor, has been directed to ban any websites that contain information about LGBTQ identities or anything that could be construed as promoting LGBTQ related materials.

According to the Moscow Times, there was fear that the rainbow and an all-boy band would provoke Roskomnadzor into fining TNT again.

Latvia

Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa (Photo courtesy of the European Council Press Office)

In a Nov. 9 vote, Parliament voted to allow same-sex couples to establish civil unions-partnerships, which gives same-sex couples in this Baltic state legal recognition, but fewer rights than married couples.

The country’s Prime Minister, Evika Siliņa, issued a statement applauding the actions by lawmakers.

“This is a good day. Society has taken an important step in creating a modern and humane Latvia. With the Saeima supporting the introduction of registered partnerships, the state has fulfilled its legal obligations and given a clear signal that all families are important. Thanks for the intelligent vote!” the prime minister said.

The action by Latvia’s Parliament comes five months after lawmakers in Estonia approved a law that extended marriage rights to same-sex couples in that Baltic nation. However, while the new law allows hospital visiting rights, as well as some tax and social security benefits, the law falls short in other critical areas say LGBTQ rights activists.

Speaking with Reuters, Kaspars Zalitis, a gay rights activist, noted same-sex couples would still not be able to adopt children and would continue to face inheritance issues.

“This is a great beginning … Latvia is not one of the six countries in the European Union that have no recognition for same-sex couples,” he said.

European Union

European Union President von der Leyen addresses EU Parliament last month. (Screenshot courtesy of the European Council Press Office)

A new global call for civil society organizations projects with a projected total budget of 36 million euros ($38.47 million) under a expanded program on Human Rights and Democracy (part of NDICI/Neighborhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe) was announced on Nov. 7.

The present Global Call for Proposals targets:

  • “Fair, Accountable and Inclusive Trade and Business – Flagship Action on Business and Human Rights, Forced and Child Labour and Indigenous Peoples’ Rights;”
    • Global, regional or multi-country projects targeting high-risk sectors, value or supply chains that will contribute to the accompanying measures of the upcoming Corporate Sustainable Due Diligence Directive and Forced Labor Regulation.
    • CSOs will be better equipped to monitor, report, access remedies, partner with the private sector and/or social partners and advocate for the implementation of relevant EU and international human rights principles and legislations. Projects financed will contribute to the sustainable implementation of the Global Gateway Strategy by reinforcing relevant social and environmental standards.
  • “Global actions on human dignity, non-discrimination and inclusion;”
    • Projects will promote equality, inclusion and respect for LGBTQ+ persons at global, regional or national level and more specifically in Sub-Saharan countries where consensual same-sex sexual acts between adults in private are criminalised. Priorities will include advocacy for anti-discrimination laws, support to social inclusion and empowerment of CSOs working on LGBTIQ rights.
    • Promote Freedom of Religion or Belief, and prevent and combat discrimination, intolerance and violence on grounds of religion or belief through regional projects. Under this lot, intersectionality between freedom of religion or belief and gender issues is encouraged. 

Projects will be global, multi-country or regional. The lead applicants should be international organizations given the size of the grants and geographic scope, with at least one local co-applicant and mandatory financial support to local organizations.

France

During the Sept. 24 soccer match between teams Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille, homophobic chants were audible. (Ligue 1 YouTube screenshot)

Attorneys representing Groupe des familles LGBT filed a criminal complaint against Seattle-based Amazon Prime for replay of the Sept. 24 soccer match between teams Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille, where homophobic chants were clearly audible.

According to the French English-language news outlet Le Monde, During the match between the bitter rivals, thousands of Paris Saint-Germain supporters chanted homophobic slogans referring to their opponents. An Agence France-Presse reporter covering the game said the chanting in PSG’s Parc des Princes stadium went on for around 10 minutes.

Four PSG players, including Randal Kolo Muani and Ousmane Dembélé, were given suspended one-match bans for also chanting insults directed at the Marseille players while celebrating their 4-0 thrashing of their opponents.

In the legal complaint filed, Groupe des familles LGBT noted that under the French criminal code, that while broadcasters are not responsible for offensive content that may occur during a live match they are liable for content offered on replay.

The complaint says that during the replay, “you can hear several chants from fans coming from the stands, some of which are distinctly homophobic in nature.” Two other LGBT rights groups, Mousse and Stop Homophobie, have said they will also join the complaint against Amazon for public insults and incitement to hatred or violence against people based on their sexual orientation.

An Amazon spokesperson told AFP the match was no longer available on Prime Video at the time the complaint was announced and that, as a broadcaster, it did not condone the comments or behavior of certain fans. 

“Homophobia has no place in sport or in society, and we condemn it, like all forms of discrimination, in the strongest possible terms,” the spokesperson said.

Poland

Radosław Brzózka, once a local Świdnik regional elected official and now chief of staff for Polish Education Minister Przemysław Czarnek. (Photo courtesy of the Polish government)

In March 2019, local elected officials of the Polish conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party passed a regional government resolution backed by Radosław Brzózka, who led a vocal and vitriolic anti-LGBTQ campaign. Brzózka, is now chief of staff to Education Minister Przemysław Czarnek, who labeled LGBTQ people, “deviants who do not have the same rights as normal people.”

Earlier this month after the threat of pulling 3.6 million Polish zloty ($867,955) in funding by the European Union the local council rescinded the 2019 resolution.

According to the Polish investigative journalism media outlet OKO.press, in Świdnik, Jakub Osina, a local elected official announced that the resolution has now been repealed and replaced with one that makes no mention of LGBTQ issues but pledges to protect “the moral development of the young generation and the institution of the family based on Christian values.”

In September 2021, the executive branch of the EU, the European Commission, sent letters out to the governors of five of Poland’s provinces warning that pandemic relief funds totaling over 126 million euros ($150 million) will be withheld over anti-LGBTQ measures passed in their jurisdictions.

Poland has seen a resurgence in the past three years of rightwing religious ultra-conservative groups backed by nationalistic extremists in this heavily Catholic country of 38 million, which have led to passage of measures to restrict pride parades and other LGBTQ-friendly events from taking place.

Proponents of these measures claim the necessity of the provinces to be “free of LGBTQ ideology” saying this is mandated by average Poles as well as by the anti-LGBTQ views of the Catholic Church.

ILGA-Europe, a Brussels based advocacy group promoting the interests of LGBTQ and intersex people, at the European level, in a statement it sent to the Washington Blade in June 2021 after the EU letter was issued, noted that both Hungary and Poland, another EU country in which lawmakers have sought to restrict LGBTQ rights in recent years are at odds with the EU position on LGBTQ people.

“For quite some time now, we’ve been informing EU ministers about systematic breaches of EU law committed by Hungary and Poland, which impact on LGBTI rights and the lives of LGBTI people,” says ILGA-Europe.

The threat of losing funds led many Polish local authorities to begin repealing the resolutions local non-profit Polish news outlet Notes from Poland reported.

Indonesia

Coldplay, Music of The Spheres World Tour at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo on Nov. 7, 2023. (YouTube screenshot)

Roughly a hundred conservative Muslims took to the streets of the Indonesian capital city protesting the upcoming concert by British rock band Coldplay on Tuesday at Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno stadium.

The protestors are angered by the group’s support of the LGBTQ community. Coldplay’s lead singer Chris Martin has been known to wear rainbow colors and wave gay Pride flags during performances.

The Asian leg of Coldplay’s “Music Of The Spheres World Tour” has been a sell out in every major city on the tour. The AP reported that more than 70,000 tickets were scooped up in less than two hours when sales opened in May as Jakarta is one of the band’s top streaming hubs with 1.6 million fans in the city.

The Associated Press reported that demonstration was organized by Islamist group the 212 Brotherhood Alumni, whose name refers to the Dec. 2, 2016, mass protests against the polarizing Christian politician Basuki Tjahaja Purnama. The crowd chanted “God is Great” and “We reject Coldplay” as they marched to the heavily guarded British Embassy in Jakarta.

“We are here for the sake of guarding our young generation in this country from efforts that could corrupt youth,” Hery Susanto, a protester from West Java’s city of Bandung told Associated Press journalist Fadlan Syam. “As Indonesian Muslims, we have to reject the Coldplay concert.”

Novel Bamukmin, a protest coordinator, gave a speech criticizing the government for allowing the band to hold a concert in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country. He said if the concert was not canceled, thousands of protesters would confront the band on its way from the airport.

“Coldplay has long been a strong supporter of LGBT and its lead singer is an atheist,” Bamukmin said, standing on the top of a truck, “We must reject their campaign, their concert here.”

Security concerns in this deeply conservative nation have previously caused other Western musical artists who support the LGBTQ community to cancel their scheduled shows.

Lady Gaga canceled her sold-out show in Indonesia in 2012 over security concerns after Muslim hard-liners threatened violence if the pop star went ahead with her “Born This Way Ball” concert.

Additional reporting by Human Rights Watch, the Moscow Times, Agence France-Presse, Le Monde, Reuters, OKO.press, the Associated Press, and the BBC.

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Cuba

Cuban lawmakers to consider simplifying process for trans people to change IDs

National Assembly in July will reportedly debate proposal

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A transgender Pride flag flies over Mi Cayito, a beach east of Havana. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Cuban lawmakers are reportedly poised to consider a proposal that would allow transgender people to legally change the gender marker on their ID documents without surgery.

Cubadebate, a government-run website, on May 11 referenced the proposal in an article about an International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia march in Havana that the National Center for Sexual Education organized.

Mariela Castro, the daughter of former Cuban President Raúl Castro who spearheads LGBTQ issues on the island, is CENESEX’s director.

Cubadebate notes the National Assembly in July will consider an amendment to the country’s Civil Registry Law that “for the first time would allow citizens to determine the sex on their identification cards without the need for a court order or gender assignment surgery.”

Argentina, Uruguay, Germany, and Malta are among the countries that allow trans people to legally change their name and gender without surgery.

Cuba’s national health care system has offered free sex-reassignment surgery since 2008, but activists who are critical of Mariela Castro and CENESEX have said access to these procedures is limited. Mariela Castro, who is also a member of the National Assembly, in 2013 voted against a measure to add sexual orientation to Cuba’s labor code because it did not include gender identity.

The Cuban constitution bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, among other factors. Authorities routinely harass and detain activists who publicly criticize the government.

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Chile

Chilean lawmakers back report that calls for suspension of program for trans children

Country’s first transgender congresswoman condemned May 15 vote

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LGBTQ activists criticized Chilean lawmakers who endorsed a report that calls for the suspension of a program for transgender and nonbinary children. (Photo courtesy of Fundación Iguales)

The Chilean Chamber of Deputies on May 15 approved a report that recommends the immediate suspension of a program that provides psychosocial support to transgender and gender non-conforming children and adolescents and their parents.

The 56-31 vote in favor of the Investigation Commission No. 57’s recommendations for the Gender Identity Support Program sparked outrage among activists in Chile and around the world. Six lawmakers abstained.

The report proposes the Health Ministry issue a resolution against puberty blockers, cross-hormonalization, and other hormonal treatments for minors, regardless of whether they have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria. The report also suggests Chilean educational institutions should not respect trans students’ chosen names.

The report, among other recommendations, calls for a review of the background of all minors who are currently receiving hormone treatments. The report also calls for the reformulation of hormone therapy guidelines and sending this background information to the comptroller general.

Report ‘sets an ominous precedent’

Frente Amplio Congresswoman Emilia Schneider, the first trans woman elected to the Chilean Congress and a member of the commission, sharply criticized her colleagues who voted for the report.

“Today in the Chamber of Deputies the report of hatred against trans people was approved; a report that seeks to roll back programs so relevant for children, for youth, such as the Gender Identity Support Program; a program that, in addition, comes from the government of (the late-President) Sebastián Piñera,” Schneider told the Washington Blade. ”This is unacceptable because the right-wing yields to the pressures of the ultra-right and leaves the trans community in a very complex position.”

Schneider noted “this report is not binding; that is, its recommendations do not necessarily have to be taken into account, but it sets an ominous precedent.” 

“We are going backwards on such basic issues as the recognition of the social name of trans students in educational establishments,” she said.

Ignacia Oyarzún, president of Organizing Trans Diversities, a Chilean trans rights group, echoed Schneider’s criticisms. commented to the Blade. 

“We regret today’s shameful action in the Chamber of Deputies, where the CEI-57 report issued by the Republican Party was approved in a context of lies, misinformation and misrepresentation of reality,” Oyarzún told the Blade. “This only promotes the regression of public policies and conquered rights that have managed to save the lives of thousands of children in the last time.” 

Oyarzún added the “slogan ‘children first’ proves to be an empty phrase without content used by those who today promote measures that push to suicide a significant number of children for the fact of being trans.”

The Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation, a Chilean LGBTQ rights group known by the acronym Movilh also condemned the approval of the report, calling it “transphobic” and accusing the commission of omitting the opinions of organizations and families that support the current policies. 

Movilh notes lawmakers approved both the Gender Identity Law and Circular 812, which promotes respect for trans students’ rights, within the framework of an agreement with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

“The text of the approved report is scandalous, because it seeks to take away the access to health to trans minors, including denying them the psychosocial accompaniment that also includes their respective families,” said María José Cumplido, executive director of Fundación Iguales, another Chilean LGBTQ advocacy group. “Likewise, it attempts against school inclusion, since it intends to eliminate something as essential as the use of the social name in educational spaces. In short, it takes away rights and freedoms to trans people, especially to minors.”

Cumplido, like Schneider, pointed out that “although its content is not binding, we will be alert to the political and legislative consequences that it may produce and we will continue working to avoid setbacks with respect to the rights of trans people.”

The report’s approval reflects a global trend that has seen neighboring Argentina, the U.S., and other countries reserve policies for trans and nonbinary young people. The Peruvian Health Ministry recently classified gender identity as a mental illness, and lawmakers have passed a law that prevents trans people from using public restrooms based on their identity.

Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires, Argentina, last month. Argentina is among the countries that have curtailed the rights of transgender and nonbinary children. (Washington Blade
photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Experts and human rights activists warn the suspension of Chile’s Gender Identity Support Program and other programs could adversely impact the mental health of trans and nonbinary children who already face high levels of discrimination and are at heightened risk to die by suicide.

“We will defend the Gender Identity Support Program and the right to exist of trans children and youth across the country,” said Schneider. “I want to reassure the trans families of our country that we will not rest until our rights are respected and that we can continue advancing because there is still much to be conquered.”

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Iran

Underground queer network challenges Iranian regime

Homosexuality remains punishable by death in country

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(Image by Micha Klootwijk/Bigstock)

While global powers negotiate with Iran’s regime under Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to curb its advancing nuclear program, the oppressed LGBTQ community is building and operating a secret underground network to resist state-coerced sex reassignment surgeries. 

These surgeries, mandated for gay and lesbian people as a state-sanctioned alternative to execution for homosexuality, are part of Iran’s penal code that criminalizes consensual same-sex sexual relations. The network provides safe houses, forged identification documents, and covert communication channels to protect members from government raids and imprisonment.

Precise data on LGBTQ people prosecuted in Iran for resisting state-coerced sex reassignment surgeries over the past decade remains elusive, as the regime’s opaque judicial system obscures such cases under vague charges like “corruption on earth” or “sodomy.” NGOs, including 6Rang, report that thousands of gay and lesbian Iranians face pressure to undergo surgeries to avoid execution for same-sex conduct, with resistance often leading to arrests or harassment for violating gender norms.

Zahra Seddiqi Hamedani and Elham Choubdar, two prominent activists, in 2022 were sentenced to death for their social media advocacy, charged with “corruption” and “human trafficking,” though their convictions were overturned in 2023. Similarly, Rezvaneh Mohammadi in 2019 received a five-year sentence for promoting “homosexual relations,” a charge hinting at resistance to the regime’s heteronormative mandates.

Arsham Parsi in 2003 escalated his clandestine fight for Iran’s LGBTQ community by launching Voice Celebration, a secret Yahoo chat group where 50 queer Iranians, using aliases, exchanged coded messages to evade the regime’s surveillance. Operating like operatives in a shadow network, participants shared text messages about human rights and survival tactics, knowing a single breach could lead to torture or execution. Parsi, then 23, orchestrated the group’s encrypted communications, building a virtual lifeline that connected isolated individuals across the country until his cover was nearly blown, forcing a desperate escape in early 2005.

Parsi in an exchange with the Washington Blade revealed a defiant undercurrent in Iran, a movement too elusive to be called traditional resistance yet pulsing with covert rebellion against the regime. 

The state’s relentless push to force gay men into coerced surgeries — marketed as a “solution” to their sexuality — seeks to erase their identities through enforced conformity. Parsi, steering the International Railroad for Queer Refugees, disclosed how queer Iranians fight back with clandestine measures: Underground education to counter state propaganda, discreet psychological support to fortify resilience, and encrypted networks to forge secret alliances. These efforts, veiled to evade regime detection, dismantle the state’s narrative with every hidden signal and guarded connection.

“We are working to create a true grassroots resistance by empowering people to understand their identity, seek safe alternatives, and reclaim their agency despite the oppressive context,” said Parsi. “The Iranian regime’s policies are built on denial of sexual orientation and a forced alignment with a binary gender model.” 

“Rather than recognizing gay, lesbian, or bisexual individuals, the system pressures them — particularly gay men — to undergo irreversible surgeries in order to be legally tolerated,” he added. “This systemic violence creates deep psychological harm and compels many to resist, even quietly, to protect their truth. The lack of legal recognition and the threat of arrest, harassment, or blackmail fuels the underground defiance we see today. It’s not only resistance for survival — it’s a rejection of state-imposed identity suppression.”

IRQR, guided by Parsi, for nearly two decades has operated as a lifeline, orchestrating daring escapes and running a covert network for Iran’s hunted queer community. 

Parsi said his work relies on secret, encrypted channels — meticulously managed to avoid detection — to funnel at-risk individuals to safety, smuggle life-saving information, secure hidden safe houses, and deliver emotional support. Every operation faces threats not only from the regime’s security forces but also from Basij militia operatives who masquerade as queer individuals to infiltrate networks, heightening the peril for those marked by their identities.

Black-clad Basij militia members respond at the first signs of defiance; tearing through crowds on motorcycles with batons and guns at the ready, poised to crush any challenge to Iran’s regime. These paramilitary volunteers, bound by fierce loyalty to the Islamic Republic, serve as the state’s enforcers, their plainclothes operatives slipping into dissident networks to root out the defiant. 

The Basij fill queer Iranians with dread; their so-called morality patrols and digital traps stalking those who dare to exist outside the regime’s rigid norms.

“Their goal is not only to gather intelligence but to undermine, divide, and cancel the work of activists and organizations like ours,” said Parsi. “This divide-and-conquer strategy is designed to break solidarity and generate mistrust.” 

“We have seen numerous cases where trusted circles were compromised by these informants, and it has made our work — and survival — even more complex,” he further noted. “Despite this, we persist. Through our underground connections, we have helped thousands of queer Iranians seek safety, community, and ultimately, freedom.”

Parsi told the Blade that international support — through funding, advocacy, policy pressure, or amplifying his stories — can significantly strengthen his work to protect Iran’s persecuted queer community. He emphasized IRQR operates with limited resources, making global solidarity essential to improve outreach, enhance safety measures, and respond swiftly to those in need. Parsi underscored such support brings visibility to the crisis in Iran, reminding those at risk they are not forgotten while exerting pressure on a regime that thrives on silence and fear.

Arsham Parsi (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

One of the things that Parsi’s underground network offers is online workshops that educate queer Iranians about how they can remain beyond the regime’s reach. 

He said these sessions, designed for safety and accessibility, encompass peer support, mental health education, digital security training, and guidance on refugee pathways. Parsi explained the workshops give vulnerable Iranians the tools to navigate persecution, defy state surveillance, and pursue escape, exposing the resilience of a community under relentless scrutiny.

“Due to the high risk of persecution in Iran, traditional protests are not feasible,” said Parsi. “Instead, acts of resistance take quieter forms — like anonymous storytelling which are just as powerful in building awareness and connection within the community. While discreet, these activities help create a sense of solidarity and empowerment among queer Iranians.”

Parsi, undeterred by Iran’s unyielding regime, asserted with measured confidence that while underground acts of defiance — living authentically, supporting one another, resisting forced medicalisation — may not shift policy overnight, they are already improving lives. He stressed these quiet rebellions that queer Iranians stage challenge the regime’s narrative of shame and invisibility, forging a resilient foundation for future change. Each act, Parsi emphasized, dismantles the regime’s grip, offering hope to those navigating a landscape of relentless oppression.

“At IRQR, we view each life saved, each network built, and each truth spoken as a small but powerful act of resistance,” said Parsi. “These are the seeds of future liberation. Over time, as they multiply and gain visibility — locally and internationally — they will help reshape the landscape for queer Iranians.”

ILGA Asia Executive Director Henry Koh said queer Iranians’ underground resistance is a powerful assertion of bodily autonomy and self-determination. He described it as a deeply courageous act in a regime where visibility invites immense personal risk, from arrest to execution. 

When asked by the Blade if the Iranian regime’s punitive measures against openly queer people fuel underground resistance, Koh responded unequivocally. 

“Absolutely,” he said. “The climate of criminalization and repression leaves little safe space for queer people to live openly. This forces many into secrecy or underground networks as a means of survival, resistance, and mutual support. Such conditions are not only unjust but also profoundly harmful to the well-being of LGBTIQ+ individuals.”

“It is important to distinguish between affirming gender-affirming care and any form of coercive medical intervention,” he added. “When states or authorities mandate medical procedures as a condition for recognition or safety, it constitutes a grave violation of human rights. Gender identity is deeply personal, and no institution should override an individual’s self-defined identity.”

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