SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The Directorate of Asayish (security) said on Friday that a campaign to detain men perceived to be gay in Sulaimani city was to “eliminate prostitution activities” after receiving complaints by residents of a neighborhood.
In a statement, the Directorate of Asayish said its units had conducted the campaign at the request of people living in Sarchinar neighborhood and that it did not target any special groups.
“Our forces launched an operation on the night of April 1 in one of Sulaimani’s neighborhood to eliminate prostitution activities there after we had received complaints by residents of the neighborhood reporting that they have been disturbed by increasing prostitution practices in the area,” it said in response to reaction on social media from people who say it was reflective of a regressive mindset on the part of the authorities.
“Our forces launched the operation within the framework of their duty to protect public order only to eliminate prostitution activities in the neighborhood, and they had no intention to target any other groups,” it added.
The security forces in Sulaimani launched a campaign on Thursday night to detain people in Sarchinar neighborhood for “performing immoral acts” and to arrest those who “create chaos”, Director of Anti-Drug department in the Asayish directorate Pishtiwan Bahadin told Esta Media Network.
He added that more than 10 people perceived to be gay were detained during the campaign on Thursday night.
The exact number of detainees remained unclear.
