The Taliban gunmen have kidnapped, tortured and killed a gay Afghan who was a medical university student, according to a new report.
Hamed Sabouri, a student, was detained at a checkpoint in Kabul in August, and tortured for three days before he was shot, according to the British-newspaper, Guardian.
Hamed Sabouri’s family and life partner say that the Taliban sent the video of his execution to his family.
“The Taliban murdered Hamed and sent the video to his family and me,” Bahar says, Sabouri’s partner. “Hamed’s family members have fled and I have been in hiding. We were like any other couple around the world in love but the Taliban treat us like criminals. They’ve killed the love of my life and I don’t know how I’ll live without him,” added Sabouri’s life partner.
“I have many friends from the LGBTQ+ community in Afghanistan who have been kidnapped and severely tortured. I was arrested by the Taliban in August 2021 and again in May and June this year, and I was raped, beaten and tortured with electric shock”, Sabouri’s life partner says.
LGBTQ+ rights organizations in Afghanistan say that the rise in violence has led many in the LGBTQ+ community to try leaving the country and forced thousands of others into hiding.
Nemat Sadat, the founder of the Roshaniya organisation supporting LGBTQ+ rights in the country says, “The biggest fear that every LGBTQ+ person in Afghanistan has right now is that they will become the next Hamed Sabouri.”
So far, the Taliban have not yet responded to this report.
Earlier, human rights organizations shared their concerns about the situation of LGBTQ+ people in Afghanistan under the Taliban rule.
