Rights group denounces violence against LGBT people in Iraq

By MARIAM FAM and SAMYA KULLAB
Associated Press

BAGHDAD (AP) — A report by Human Rights Watch, in collaboration with an Iraqi LGBT rights organization, accuses armed groups in Iraq of abducting, raping, torturing, and killing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people with impunity. It says the Iraqi government has failed to hold perpetrators accountable. The report also accuses police of arresting and carrying out violence against LGBT individuals. It paints a picture of LGBT people besieged from multiple directions. It says these include “extreme violence” by family members; harassment in the streets; and digital targeting and harassment on social media and same-sex dating applications by armed groups.