Paris Protest Over Saudi Executions
365Gay.com
Newscenter in London, January 12, 2002
By Jon ben Asher
Paris—A dozen protestors have sprinkled a red
liquid, signifying blood, on the steps of the Saudi Embassy.
Police forced the demonstrators from the front of the building before they
could get inside.
The demonstrators, from Act Up-Paris were protesting the beheading of three
gay Saudis, found guilty in a religious court of committing homosexual acts.
Protestors equated the executions with the repressive rule of the Taliban
in Afghanistan, and condemned Egypt for the imprisonment of more than 20 men
for gay sex.
The demonstrators said the extremism in the sentences shows that
intolerance is not limited to the Taliban.
They criticized western countries for not condemning the harsh sentences
and called on the US to force its major allies in the Arab world to observe
basic human rights.
In a statement released following the protest, Act Up said: "The
Silence and indifference of Western countries is equivalent to a death
sentence for all the oppressed minorities."
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