Current mood: contemplative

Hi everyone,

I just contracted with eXtasy Books to deliver a new Kimo & Lopaka book called Rent Boy. Yes, it’s a provocative title and I don’t want to give away too much since it’s another short piece for eXtasy’s Fantasy Games series. However, as I sat at my computer this weekend putting the finishing touches to my erotic tale of man-on-man love, I felt profound gratitude to live in a country where my freedom of speech to even write such a book is guaranteed.

In my America, gay love and pride are open, if not openly embraced by everybody.

Yet, in Iran, gay men are being executed at an alarming rate for sodomy, which is why I am urging everyone to please support the case of Mehdi Kazemi, who is fighting deportation from Europe back to Iran. This 19 year old teenager faces immediate execution...just for being gay.

His lover, already executed for sodomy was apparently interrogated and named Kazemi as his lover and the UK denied this poor kid asylum.

Kazedmi’s plea for asylum was denied last October and he fled to the Netherlands. He went through the process again there, and was also denied asylum. The Dutch government passed the buck by saying his case needed to be reconsidered in the UK under the "Dublin Regulation."

Under the Dublin Regulation, an application for asylum submitted in any European Union country, is supposed to be handled by that country alone. This is supposed to ensure that an asylum seeker is not redirected from nation to nation simply because none will take responsibility. Yet, this is exactly what is happening to Mehdi Kazemi, currently being held in Rotterdam, under suicide watch. 

We are so lucky in this country to have the right to sleep with who we want without fear of death. In Iran, there is increasing pressure on journalists, writers, internet bloggers...anyone supporting a manner of lifestyle not in keeping with official Islamic tradition.

No teenager, no human being like Mehdi Kazemi should be thrown to the wolves because they are gay. Please think about showing your support for him and for all victims of human rights violations in Iran by emailing the Iranian Minister of Justice at:

irjpr@iranjudiciary.com

or
info@dadgostary-tehran.ir

You can also sign a petition in support of Mehdi at :

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/UKMADHI/

Aloha oe,

A.J.