“Gay” male model slaughtered in Baghdad

A long-haired male model and actor has been tortured and murdered in Iraq, reportedly because of his feminine appearance and his sexuality.

According to IraqiNews, the discarded and mutilated body of Karar Nushi was discovered north of Baghdad on Monday, a few hours after he was declared missing.

It’s reported that his body showed signs of “brutal torture” and several stab wounds.

Nushim, who was a student at the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad, had previously received death threats because of his tight clothes and long blond hair. It’s believed that he was set to take part in a male beauty pageant.

While it’s not been confirmed, activist Faisal Saeed Al Mutar took to Facebook to assert that Nushim had been killed “because he is gay”.

A number of LGBT people have been murdered in Iraq over the past few years, primarily by religious militant groups, such as Isis, who have conducted cold-blooded public executions of gay men.

Victims of these executions have been beheaded, thrown off the top of buildings or stoned to death. Photos of the heinous killings are often distributed on social media.

Amir Ashour, the founder of IraQueer group, told The Independent that even the suspicion of unconventional sexuality is enough for an individual to be placed on publicly circulated “killing lists” in Baghdad.

“All it takes is the perceived idea of someone’s sexuality, or the perceived idea of someone’s gender expression” for them to be murdered, he said.