Mayor Shakhtoura: Responsible for Sexual and Racial Violations in Lebanon

On April 30, Lebanese feminists and LGBT activists will speak up against the homophobic and racist Lebanese mayor Shakhtoura.

 

On Monday April 22, the Mayor Antoine Shakhtoura of the town Dekweneh raided a gay club called Ghost and arrested Syrian gay men and a transgender woman and took them to center of the municipality where they subjected to physically violence, abuse, humiliation and harassment.  Two of the captured men were forced to kiss in front of the municipal police and the transgender woman was forced to take off her clothes to check if she is a man or a woman while the municipal police took photos of her naked. This happened as a local initiative and without informing or the approval of the Ministry of Justice, which is contrary to the codes for criminal procedures in Lebanon.

 

The municipality, even though it’s not within their legal authority, did not investigate any accusation nor wrote any record of this arrest except stating that adultery and drug abuse were happening in the club, then shutting  it down and placing  the aforementioned memo along with the names of the detainees on the door of the club.

 

During an interview on LBC TV Shakhtoura stated the following: “I saw 25 men outside, or what looked like boys and men. I went inside and saw people kissing, touching each other, and a man wearing a skirt. These homosexual acts that are happening are scandalous sexual acts… Of course we made them take off their clothes. We saw a scandalous situation and we had to know what these people were. Is it a woman or a man? Turned out to be a half-man. I do not accept this in Dekweneh.” Throughout the interview the mayor used derogatory words like ‘liwat’ (faggot) and ‘noss rejel’ (half-man), although he later denied any prostitution took place, despite the original allegation.

 

In reference to the civil war when militias were fighting, Shaktoura said: “Dekwaneh has always been a fortress of fortitude. We didn’t fight for and defend this land and our honor for some people, with all due respect to them, since people might mention human rights and stuff, to practice these things in my neighborhood.”

 

What Antoine Shakhtoura and his municipality did is against Lebanese law and against the international conventions that Lebanon signed. In addition, transexuality and public same sex are not illegal in Lebanon.

It’s important to note that Antoine Shakhtoura forced a cerfew on Syrian refugees were they are not allowed to commute in Dekweneh after 7:00pm, which is also against the Lebanese law because it is racism.

 

Civil society organization and many televisions, newspapers, social media gathered in support of the detainees and decided the following main points, according to information received from Nasawiya feminist organization:   

. Reopening of Ghost club.