CAT/C/64/D/783/2016
The complainant states that at the age of 15 he had sexual relations with some of his male
classmates and later with older men.
2.2
At the age of 19, in 1997, the complainant’s father sent him, against his will, to a
military camp to perform his compulsory military service. He alleges that he was raped
there several times by various sergeants. 2 In this connection, he claims that he became the
sex slave of one of the sergeants who caught him with another man and raped him regularly
thereafter.3 He claims that he eventually left the military camp with permission and did not
return. He alleges that he lived for six months on the street, where he was abused and raped
by older men. At that time, he had suicidal thoughts.
2.3
Later on, the complainant tried to escape the country on a plane to the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland but was caught. 4 Having no other choice,
the complainant went back to his family’s home. Eventually he attempted to commit
suicide, and was hospitalized. After that, his father reported his absconding from military
service, to the police. The complainant adds that he was sentenced by a military court to
one month’s imprisonment and was forced to resume his military service. 5 He also claims
that he was gang-raped in prison.6
2.4
After serving his sentence, he was sent to the same military camp and was again
abused by two sergeants there. He asked for permission to visit his brother and did not
return to the military camp. The complainant submits that he then lived again on the street,
and was detained again after being caught stealing.
2.5
Once released, the complainant found refuge at his uncle’s home, in the north of the
country. He decided to “purify his soul” by avoiding food and sex. After two years there he
went back to his family, in 2002. His parents convinced him to get married to a woman.
The complainant claims that he married his wife in 2001 7 and was divorced from her in
2003.
2.6
The complainant states that his family and his new fiancée forced him to go back to
the army. He alleges that, at the military camp, he was threatened with a gun by a
commander, as the complainant had discovered that the commander was corrupt. The
complainant states that he was consequently arrested and sent to prison for three months. 8
2.7
The complainant later tried to flee the country several times, but without success.
During that time, he continued to have sexual relations with men. Between 2004 and 2009,
he worked as a private English teacher and translated students’ essays from Farsi to English.
With this regular income, he was able to rent an office in Sari, and opened an English
conversation club where young students could exchange ideas about current issues in
English. The complainant wanted to share his ideas about a secular State and to speak about
his reflections on religion, while gathering a group of activists wanting to change traditional
Iranian society. He engaged in this activity for only a few months as it was dangerous and
also difficult to attract new followers since the group feared oppression from the Iranian
authorities.
2.8
Around 2009, the complainant moved to Karaj with his mother. He studied there as
an interpreter from 2010 to 2014. The complainant alleges that he had rejected Islam since
the age of 15. His opposition to Islamic traditional law was further influenced by the
sentencing of his brother to the death penalty in 1999 and his brother’s subsequent
execution.9
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
2
The complainant does not provide information about whether he was raped because he was
homosexual.
The rapes reportedly continued during 1997 and 1998.
There is no information on the precise date of this event.
The complainant does not provide a copy of the sentence or indicate its dates or other circumstances.
The complainant does not specify whether he was raped by prisoners or guards.
There is an inconsistency as the complainant previously stated that he went back to his family in 2002.
The complainant does not attach a copy of any decision.
The complainant explains that his brother killed someone in a fight and was consequently detained in
Ghasr Prison in Tehran and was later executed there.