Ebrahim Hamidi is the 18 year old Iranian who faces the death sentence for an alleged sexual assault against a man.
His case is under review as his alleged victim has apparently withdrawn the charge.
On September 7th, Hamidi's lawyer requested that no public action be taken as this could aggravate his case [via LGBT ASylum News].
It's quite simple - intervention by people in the West, particularly from government and state officials, will most likely make reactionaries in Iran more hostile to Hamidi.
According to Arcigay and IRQO [Iranian Queer Association], the human rights lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei lawyer and others working for Hamidi's release have stated that the case will be filed soon and "every international echo, especially if connected to movement LGBT, could harden the authorities and return to aggravate the situation." [Translated from the Italian].
Any political campaigner must remember the first line of the Hippocratic oath: First, do no harm.
So well done to newly-elected Conservative MP Mark Menzies who has tabled a question about Ebrahim Hamidi for William Hague to answer during Foreign Office Questions in the Commons today.
Question 11: "To ask the Foreign Secretary what reports he has received on the case of Ebrahim Hamidi, sentenced to death on charges of homosexuality in Iran."
Oh well, it'll make Mr Menzies look nice when the local press and gay press dutifully reprint his press release about it - and that's the main thing, eh?
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