Stoned to death-Iraq!
Youngsters in Iraq are being stoned to death for having
haircuts and wearing clothes that emulate the “emo” style popular among young
western teenagers.
The bodies of at least 14 youths have been taken to three
hospitals in the eastern Baghdad bearing signs of having been beaten to death
with rocks.
Militants in Shia neighborhoods, where the stoning took
place, circulated lists yesterday naming more youths targeted to be killed if
they do not change the way they dress.
The killings have taken place since Iraq’s interior ministry
draw attention to the “emo” subculture last month, labeling it “Satanism” and
ordering the community force to stamp it out.
Fans of the “emo” trend – short for emotional – wear tight jeans and have distinctive long and black or spike haircuts and wear studded t-shirts, belts and accessories.
Iraq’s leading Shia clerics have condemned the stoning. Iraq’s Moral Police released a statement on the interior ministry’s website condemning the “emo phenomenon” among Iraqi youth, declaring its intent to eliminate the trend.
The move is part of a wider clampdown on young people taking on what the government officials call “western appearances” in Iraq.
“The Emo Phenomenon or devil worshipping is being followed by the Moral Police who have the approval to eliminate (the phenomenon) as soon as possible since it’s detrimentally affecting the society, and becoming a danger, the statement read “They wear strange, tight clothes that have pictures on them such as skulls and use stationary that are shaped as skulls. They also wear rings on their noses and tongues, and do other strange activities.”
A group of armed men dressed in civilian clothing led dozens of teenagers to secluded areas a few weeks ago, stoned them to death, then disposed their bodies in garbage dumpsters across the capital, according to activists they told Cairo-based al-Akhbar website.
“The armed men belong to one of the most religious groups in Iraq.”
“First they throw concrete blocks at the body’s arm, then at his legs, then final blow is his head, and if he is not dead then they start all over again,” one person who managed to escape told Al-Akhbar.
Iraq’s Moral Police was granted approval by the Ministry of Education to enter schools and pinpoint students with such appearances, according to the interior ministry’s statement.
The exact death toll remains unclear, but Hana Al-Bayaty of Brussels Tribunal, an NGO dealing with Iraqi issues, said the current figure ranges “between 90-100.” What’s most disturbing about this is that they’re so young, she said.
Al-Bayaty said the killings appear to have been carried out by extremist of Shia militias in mostly poor shia neighbourhoods and said she suspected “there’s a complicity of the Ministry of Interior killings.”
Photos of the victims were released on Facebook, causing panic and fear among Iraqi students.
A young man with long hair was amongst those fearful at the government-ordained harassment of teenagers with Western appearances.
“I have long hair but that doesn’t mean I’m an “emo”. I’m no less than a man if I have long hair. Let’s not say that if I have long hair, I’m homosexual, but I have long hair because this is my style, this is me,” He told Iraq’s Al-Sharqiya television network.
News of the gruesome deaths drew a stern reaction from Iraq’s prominent cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, who criticized the stoning of the young men as “an act of terrorism”.
Iraq’s leading Shia clerics have condemned the stoning. Iraq’s Moral Police released a statement on the interior ministry’s website condemning the “emo phenomenon” among Iraqi youth, declaring its intent to eliminate the trend.
The move is part of a wider clampdown on young people taking on what the government officials call “western appearances” in Iraq.
“The Emo Phenomenon or devil worshipping is being followed by the Moral Police who have the approval to eliminate (the phenomenon) as soon as possible since it’s detrimentally affecting the society, and becoming a danger, the statement read “They wear strange, tight clothes that have pictures on them such as skulls and use stationary that are shaped as skulls. They also wear rings on their noses and tongues, and do other strange activities.”
A group of armed men dressed in civilian clothing led dozens of teenagers to secluded areas a few weeks ago, stoned them to death, then disposed their bodies in garbage dumpsters across the capital, according to activists they told Cairo-based al-Akhbar website.
“The armed men belong to one of the most religious groups in Iraq.”
“First they throw concrete blocks at the body’s arm, then at his legs, then final blow is his head, and if he is not dead then they start all over again,” one person who managed to escape told Al-Akhbar.
Iraq’s Moral Police was granted approval by the Ministry of Education to enter schools and pinpoint students with such appearances, according to the interior ministry’s statement.
The exact death toll remains unclear, but Hana Al-Bayaty of Brussels Tribunal, an NGO dealing with Iraqi issues, said the current figure ranges “between 90-100.” What’s most disturbing about this is that they’re so young, she said.
Al-Bayaty said the killings appear to have been carried out by extremist of Shia militias in mostly poor shia neighbourhoods and said she suspected “there’s a complicity of the Ministry of Interior killings.”
Photos of the victims were released on Facebook, causing panic and fear among Iraqi students.
A young man with long hair was amongst those fearful at the government-ordained harassment of teenagers with Western appearances.
“I have long hair but that doesn’t mean I’m an “emo”. I’m no less than a man if I have long hair. Let’s not say that if I have long hair, I’m homosexual, but I have long hair because this is my style, this is me,” He told Iraq’s Al-Sharqiya television network.
News of the gruesome deaths drew a stern reaction from Iraq’s prominent cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, who criticized the stoning of the young men as “an act of terrorism”.
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