Life for the LGBT + community in Afghanistan has never been a smooth river.

Love between two people of the same sex has always been a taboo subject in this conservative Muslim-majority country.

Even under the previous Western-backed government, same-sex relationships were punishable by law and could lead to two years in prison.

But since the Taliban took the reins of power after the US withdrawal, the situation has deteriorated rapidly.

While Afghanistan's new rulers have not officially disclosed their policy against homosexuals, it is increasingly clear that they are following a strict interpretation of Sharia, Islamic law, according to which relations not heterosexuals are punishable by death.

"We are living in terrifying times," Kimahli Powell, director of Rainbow Railroad, the only pro-LGBT international organization still on the ground in Afghanistan, told France 24.

"Now we know for sure that the Taliban have a list of targets to kill among LGBT + people," he explains.

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According to Kimahli Powell, the Taliban took advantage of the power vacuum in the days and weeks leading up to the US withdrawal to establish this blacklist.

In particular, they would have recorded the names of people that human rights associations wanted to evacuate.

"After the fall of Kabul, there was a lot of information sharing," said the director of Rainbow Railroad, according to whom the Afghans who failed to flee the country found themselves vulnerable and their identities exposed publicly.

The Taliban are said to have used this list to carry out an active crackdown, organizing ambushes or profiting from the digital data leak.

"Some people contacted us to tell us that they had received a mysterious e-mail from an individual who claimed to know our association and asked them for personal information and their passport. We then understood that there was had a leak, ”reports the human rights defender.

Calls for help multiply

Founded in 2006, the NGO Rainbow Railroad aims to help LGBT + victims of violence and persecution to leave their country.

In 2017, the organization gained worldwide notoriety by allowing a hundred homosexual people to escape a murderous purge in Chechnya.

For several months, the NGO has focused its efforts on Afghanistan.

Its mission is to find a safe place of residence for threatened members of the LGBT + community, and then organize their escape "by land or air" to a permanent place of refuge in a foreign country.

"I can assure you that the number of requests for assistance is going to peak this year," predicts Kimahli Powell.

In Afghanistan alone, the NGO claims to have already received 700 requests and at least 200 additional people "are in need of immediate evacuation".

Typically, Rainbow Railroad receives approximately 4,000 requests for protection each year from around the world.

In August, on the eve of the departure of American troops, the NGO came to the aid of dozens of LGBT + Afghans particularly exposed by orchestrating their evacuation by military plane.

Last Friday, 29 people threatened with death were also able to reach Great Britain thanks to the association.

"Some Afghan citizens were happy to give us their support," said the activist.

"But since all pro-LGBT organizations have had to pack their bags, there is really only us here. This has led us to collaborate with other NGOs who have no ties to the LGBT + cause but who are themselves. also helped get people out. "

Denounced by his own family

Kimahli Powell particularly remembers a recent file he was working on.

While seeking to secure a member of the LGBT + community, that person's home was targeted by a Taliban raid.

“They came in, without a uniform, and ransacked the house. They found information that led them to suspect him of belonging to the LGBT + community. They inspected his phone to confirm their suspicions, then they did. humiliated and physically assaulted him. Then they found his passport and burned him. "

"This person is still in Afghanistan but our work in sheltering is now much more complicated," he laments.

According to Kimahli Powell, Afghanistan looks more and more like a "lawless zone".

Uncertainty reigns over the new rules that the unpredictable Taliban could impose on the population.

In this climate of fear, Afghan families do not hesitate to denounce members of their own families for their supposed membership of the LGBT + community.

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“Like I said, these are really a terrifying time and some people are trying to get the good graces of the Taliban. I think everyone is trying to tackle in this new environment and when the Taliban identifies a person LGBT + as a target, this constitutes an incentive to denounce it, ”explains the director of Rainbow Railroad.

Without the support and protection of loved ones, LGBT + people find themselves more isolated and vulnerable than ever.

Until then, they have no choice but to go into hiding and go underground.

"This is the most complicated mission we have had to carry out. And it is still the case today", concludes Kimahli Powell.

This article was adapted from English by Grégoire Sauvage.

The original can be read here.

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