(RightWing.org) – When the Taliban seized power in August, they promised this time, they wouldn’t show the same barbarity they inflicted on Afghanistan last time they ruled it. It turns out that, in one way at least, the radical Islamists are just like normal politicians – their promises mean nothing.
The Taliban has a sinister 'kill list' for Afghanistan's LGBT+ community, charity boss says https://t.co/pNkko680af
— PinkNews (@PinkNews) November 4, 2021
On November 2, Kimahli Powell, the executive director of Rainbow Railroad, a Canadian gay rights group, told journalists the Taliban returned to persecuting gay Afghans. Under the group’s extreme interpretation of Islamic law, homosexuality is a capital offense. In the 1990s, gays were regularly stoned to death or killed by using a tank to knock a wall down on them. In July, Taliban judge Gul Rahim promised this punishment would return if the insurgents took control again. In the aftermath of August’s chaotic US withdrawal, top Taliban leaders said their rule would be milder this time – but it seems they’re already taking off the mask of civility.
Powell said, “We now know for sure the Taliban has ‘kill lists’ circulating, identifying LBTQI+ persons.” He said the group could have drawn up the lists by watching who aid organizations tried to evacuate. Rainbow Railroad is now the only LGBT+ organization on the ground in Kabul, and Powell says the Taliban are impersonating its members to mount “sting” operations against suspected gays.
The country has always had strict laws against homosexuality between adults, but the presence of US troops kept it from sinking into outright barbarity. Now, abandoned by Biden, Afghanistan’s gays face a terrifying future.
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