International

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Neo-Nazi who called for “extermination” of queers gets outed in court

A British man accused of leading a neo-Nazi group with a rabid anti-LGBTQ stance has outed himself as bisexual amid court proceedings. Prosecutors allege that Andrew Dymock, 23, from Bath, served as a leader and mentor for the System Resistance Network (SRN), a neo-Nazi group. Lawyers in the case also claim that Dymock authored several manifestos for the group, including one titled  “Homosexuality: the Eternal Social Menace.” The article declares that queer people “are simply degenerate and must be purged from society for the greater good”. Police arrested Dymock in 2018 at Gatwick Airport as he tried to smuggle right-wing propaganda to […]

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First non-binary mayor ‘of any city, anywhere’ hailed as an ‘example to all’

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Owen J Hurcum, 22, has been elected mayor of Bangor, Wales, making them the “first ever openly non-binary mayor of any city anywhere”. Hurcum was unanimously elected as mayor, having worked as deputy mayor for the last year and a councillor for four years. They also become the youngest-ever mayor in Wales. The new mayor, who identifies as genderqueer, agender and non-binary, posted a photo to Twitter of themselves wearing traditional mayoral chains, a tricorne hat and a sheer black top. Hurcum wrote: “When I came out two years ago I was so worried I’d be ostracised by my community or worse. […]

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Gay Iranian man dead in alleged ‘honor killing,’ rights group says

Ali Fazeli Monfared, a 20-year-old gay Iranian man, was allegedly killed in an “honor killing” by some of his male family members after they found out he was gay, according to an LGBTQ rights group in Iran and Turkey. Fazeli Monfared, who was known as Alireza by friends and family, lived in a city in southwest Iran. He had applied for an exemption from compulsory military service so he could leave the country and move to Turkey to live with his close friend, Aghil Bayat, according to 6Rang, the Iranian Lesbian and Transgender Network. Though homosexual conduct is criminalized in Iran, […]

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Japan’s Ruling Party LGBT Bill Falls Short

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Over the past six years, activists in Japan have pressed the Diet, the national parliament, to introduce a nondiscrimination law that protects the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. Japan currently does not have any national legislation protecting LGBT people from discrimination, and a recent study puts Japan next to last in a ranking of laws on LGBT Inclusivenessfor developed countries. One proposed law – the LGBT Equality Act – is currently under intense negotiation between Japan’s ruling and opposition parties. In April, the conservative ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) announced it would pass an LGBT law during the current Diet session, […]

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Queen calls for conversion therapy ban in UK

Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday in a speech that marked the opening of Parliament called for a ban on so-called conversion therapy in England and Wales. “Measures will be brought forward to address racial and ethnic disparities and ban conversion therapy,” Elizabeth said.  While this announcement forecasts a step forward in LGBTQ activism and a change in the culture surrounding LGBTQ acceptance in the U.K.; the queen’s statement was met with hesitation, especially with regards to the when and how the ban will be implemented.  According to the U.K.’s public sector information website, the passing of legislation to implement the ban […]

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Polish police taught being LGBT+ is a ‘social pathology, like drug addiction’

Poland’s police commander-in-chief has been asked to explain why a new textbook for police officers lists LGBT+ people under “social pathologies”. The textbook, Social Pathologies – Selected Issues, was recently published by a police training centre in Legionowo. It describes the LGBT+ community as a form of “social pathology” alongside drug addiction and begging, highlighting trans and non-binary people as particular examples. The shocking text was raised in the Sejm on Friday (5 May) by Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, MP for the left-wing Lewica party. “I would like to emphasise that the LGBTQ community is not an ideology, nor is it a pathology – these […]

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Gay man shares harrowing experience of religious conversion therapy

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A gay man was “traumatised” and experienced relentless suicidal thoughts after enduring 18-months of religious conversion therapy. Gary, from Lurgan in Northern Ireland, told RTÉ Radio 1’s Today with Claire Byrne show that he sought conversion therapy in 2010 due to his intense feelings of shame about his sexuality. He quickly found a number of religious-based organisations on Google that claimed they could help him overcome his same-sex sexual desires. Looking back, he now feels that religious leaders tried to “brainwash” him into thinking there was something wrong with him and that he needed to be fixed. “I was there on Google, ‘Can I be gay and […]

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Blood donation rules in UK for gay men to be relaxed next month

The NHS will make the questions it asks of all blood donors gender-neutral from next month, allowing more gay and bisexual men to donate blood. The change, which will come into effect on 14 June, will allow more people from LGBT+ communities to be able to donate, the service said. Under previous NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) guidelines, male donors were asked to disclose whether they have had sex with another man. The new Donation Safety Check form will ask all donors, regardless of gender, the same questions about their recent sexual behaviour. The NHSBT said the change will mean that eligibility […]

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Gay Croatian couple’s five-year legal battle ends as judge rules can adopt

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A court in Croatia has ruled that same-sex couples should be allowed to adopt, bringing to an end a gay couple’s five-year battle for their rights. Ivo Šegota, a molecular biologist, and Mladen Kožić, a sociologist, became the first-ever same-sex foster parents in Croatia in 2020, having launched a legal battle after their fostering application was initially denied in 2017. According to Openly, on 21 April Zagreb’s administrative court ruled that same-sex couples should not be discriminated against when it comes to state adoption. The government has the right to appeal the ruling within 15 days of receiving the judgement, but this seems […]

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LGBT+ activist leaves hospital after savage beating only to be put under house arrest

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An Uzbek LGBT+ activist who was attacked with a baseball bat has finally been released from hospital, only to be placed under immediate house arrest. Miraziz Bazarov, 29, was rushed to hospital in March after masked thugs ambushed him outside his home, leaving him with a smashed femur and serious internal injuries. After leaving hospital on 29 April he was immediately taken to the Tashkent directorate of interior affairs and interrogated, according to his lawyer Sergei Mayorov. He was charged with libel and public insult before being sent home on house arrest and ordered not to communicate with anyone. Mayorov says the […]

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