Iranian Morality Watch Dogs Allegedly Caught In Leaked Tapes
On July 19, a senior official in the Iranian government was suspended after a leaked video allegedly shows him engaging in sexual intercourse with another man. This official is thought to be Reza Tsaghati, the Director-General of the Culture And Islamic Guidance department.
Following the alleged leak of Tsaghati, more videos have been released showing other government officials engaging in supposed same-sex exchanges, drug use and other prohibited activities, reports The Messenger.
The hypocrisy is jaw-dropping
The state of LGBTQIA+ rights in Iran are abysmal with homosexuality still labelled a crime punishable by death. Notable cases are reported worldwide such as the execution of two activists, Zahra Seddiqi Hamedani and Elham Choubdar, who were found guilty of “corruption on Earth”.
Another case that sparked global outrage was the execution of two gay men named Mehrdad Karimpour and Farid Mohammadi. They were arrested for the crime of sodomy and placed on death row for six years before execution in 2022.
Before the tape was leaked, Mr Tsaghati was responsible for “promoting Islamic values” and often expressed anti-LGBTQIA+ messages to the public. Others exposed in the subsequent leaks include a Municipal Council official smoking opium on camera and a former deputy of the Office For The Propagation Of Virtue And The Prevention Of Vice. The latter is allegedly shown naked on a video call with his brother-in-law exchanging in sexually explicit banter which references previous sexual encounters together, reports Q News.
Considering the immensity of anti-queer propaganda that Iran’s government disseminates, the natural expectation would be that they rebuke these officials’ actions and act in accordance with previous punishments. Instead, the response has been to avoid the allegations and blame the leaks, which activists are calling hypocrisy.
On Wednesday, August 2, Iran’s deputy speaker raged against the people who leaked the sextapes. “The crime of those who released these videos of fornication is greater than that of the fornicators,” he says.
