Five cities in the US and Europe will stage protests tomorrow against the execution of two teenage boys in Iran on charges involving homosexual acts.

Dublin, San Francisco, London, Paris and Montpelier will join forces on Thursday 11 August 2005 to oppose Iran’s use of the death penalty and its persecution of lesbian, gay and bisexual people.

The protest will take place on Thursday 11 August, from 1pm to 2pm, outside the Iranian Embassy and a petition has also been set up to condemn the killings.

Mahmoud Asgari, 16, and Ayaz Marhoni, 18, were publicly hanged on 19 July in the city of Mashhad on charges of raping younger boys, an allegation gay rights groups claim were trumped-up in an attempt to undermine public sympathy for the teenagers.

Iran enforces Islamic Sharia law, which dictates the death penalty for gay sex.

Both men admitted to having gay sex but claimed in their defence that most young boys had sex with each other and that they were not aware that homosexuality was punishable by death.

Ruhollah Rezazadeh, the lawyer for the youngest boy, appealed to the court that he was too young to be executed and that the court should take into account his tender age.

However, the Supreme Court in Tehran rejected the argument and ordered him to be hanged.

Three other young gay Iranians are being hunted by the police, but they have gone into hiding and cannot be found. If caught, they will also face execution.

Outrage! say that since 1979 the Iranian government has executed an estimated 4,000 LGBT people. They are urging people to “email, phone, fax and write your protests” to the Iranian Ambassador.

You can sign the online petition at www.petitiononline.com/1021ir/petition.html.