Two LGBTQ+ women are said to be in “grave danger” after they were arrested by the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Maryam Ravish, 19, and Maeve Alcina Pieescu, 23, reportedly had plans to leave Kabul on a Mahan Airlines flight to Iran, with Maryam’s girlfriend Parwen Hussaini.
The bookings had been arranged with the help of Roshaniya, an Afghan LGBTQ+ network. But before they had the chance to escape, Ravish and Pieescu were arrested by Taliban authorities.
According to the Peter Tatchell Foundation, which is working with Roshaniya to publicise the case, the lives of the LGBTQ+ activists are in “grave danger”.
‘They are expected to be tortured’
Roshaniya chief executive Nemat Sadat said: “When Maryam and Maeve went to board the plane, they were detained by the Taliban’s intelligence unit who searched their phones and discovered LGBT+ content.
“Maeve and Maryam were beaten by the Taliban. They are expected to be tortured to reveal the names of other LGBTs and sentenced to a long jail term or possibly executed.”
Hussaini, who made it to Iran, said: “Maeve and Maryam are being held in Taliban captivity and they have been beaten and battered very badly. Maeve’s family hasn’t gotten in touch with us and they have not gone to try to get Maeve released…they have dismissed our request to work with them.”
Pleading for help from human rights organisations to “save our loved ones from harm’s way”, she claimed the pair could be stoned to death.
The Taliban announced last year that public flogging and stoning of women for adultery would be reintroduced.
Sharia law allows the death penalty
“The source of this problem is rooted in the Taliban’s interpretation of Sharia law, which deems homosexuality forbidden and a woman’s place to be in the home, which is why Afghan women are required to have a male chaperone if they wish to leave the house,” Hussaini added.
Pieescu’s sister, Susan Battaglia, who lives in the US, said she was distraught at the news of the arrests.
“My family in Afghanistan is very anxious about Maeve being tortured and killed. During the Taliban’s interrogation, Maeve confessed that she is not a Muslim and doesn’t believe in Islam. This is scary for our family since the penalty for apostasy, under Sharia law, is death.
“We ask world governments to demand that that Maeve be released from prison and [allowed to] safely leave the country.”
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