LGBTQ Afghans land in Britain as Taliban official says no space for gay rights

LONDON — A radical of LGBTQ Afghans who fled their location state person arrived successful Britain, the archetypal successful a question that London says it volition evacuate, arsenic advocates pass they person received calls from hundreds much radical who fearfulness Taliban persecution.

The 29 people, including students and activists who spoke retired astir their rights successful Afghanistan, are the archetypal of galore much susceptible LGBTQ Afghans who volition get “in the coming months,” the Foreign Office said Saturday. It did not item however they managed to leave.

The refugees landed Friday, conscionable arsenic a Taliban ministry official, appealing for the merchandise of billions of dollars of cardinal slope reserves, emphasized that the militants did not admit cheery rights.

A spokesperson for the Finance Ministry told Reuters that the Taliban would respect quality rights and let women to get an acquisition wrong its mentation of Islamic law, but added: “LGBT … That’s against our sharia law.”

Afghanistan’s caller leaders, who seized power successful August, privation overseas governments to “just springiness america our ain money,” helium said arsenic the state grapples with a battered system and rising hunger.

The United States and European nations person frozen cardinal sources of funding, wary of Taliban promises that it has changed its harsh ways. During its erstwhile epoch successful power, from 1996 until 2001, those who broke the rules, not slightest women and cheery men, could look execution.

In a monolithic subject cognition — marked by violence and harrowing images — U.S. troops, British forces and their allies airlifted much than 100,000 radical by precocious August, and person since helped others leave, though they admit that galore did not marque it out.

Afghans disquieted astir reprisal for moving with Western forces oregon for their quality rights enactment scrambled to fly as the evacuation ended with the withdrawal of U.S. forces aft 20 years of war. Those who remained see people who place arsenic LGBTQ who fearfulness punishment for their intersexual predisposition oregon sex individuality successful a state wherever immoderate had already felt unwelcome.

Rainbow Railroad, a Canadian LGBTQ foundation that helped Friday’s caller evacuees flight on with British rights radical Stonewall, said it had fielded much than 700 requests for assistance and identified astatine slightest 200 radical who request contiguous rescue from Afghanistan. It besides called connected the Canadian and U.S. governments to measurement successful to assistance get much radical out.

“These 29 radical faced sedate and contiguous threats to their lives due to the fact that they are LGBTQI+. … They volition statesman to resettle and rebuild their lives successful the country,” it said. “However, it is lone the beginning.”