Being Gay In Iraq: Kamal's Story

"They told me to take off my clothes to rape me or they would kill me immediately. This moment was the worst moment in my life. I was watching them taking off their clothes, preparing to rape me. I did not know what to do, so I started shouting loudly, 'Please do not do that! I will ask my family to give you whatever you want.' The other two kidnappers took off my clothes by force, and, at that time, I saw them as three dirty animals trying to tear my body apart"

A young Iraqi recounts his ordeal at the age of sixteen, when he was kidnapped and raped every day for fifteen days until his family paid a ransom.

Gays and lesbians in Iraq are threatened, tortured, raped and murdered. No doubt you'll be as shocked as I am, given the Middle East's reputation as a liberal, progressive bastion of human rights.

Check out Kamal and Rami's story over at CNN.com.

(Picture depicts men suspected of being gay who were executed by Shia fundamentalist death squads).