Iran's head of culture and Islamic guidance in the Gilan province, Reza Tsaghati, was suspended after a video posted online allegedly showed him having sexual relations with another man, violating the country's ban on homosexuality.
According to the BBC, the identity of the individuals in the video as well as its authenticity has not been verified. Iran's cultural minister Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili said they didn't have any reports about Tsaghati's behavior prior to the release of the video.
The cultural and Islamic guidance department of Gilan issued a statement about the incident on July 22, stating the case was "referred for careful consideration to the judicial authorities." The group warned against any use of the clip that may "weaken the honorable cultural front of the Islamic Revolution."
Under Iran's sharia-based laws, homosexuality can carry a death sentence. Some have said that Tsaghati's treatment by officials shows a difference in how senior officials in the regime are treated when accused of a crime and how everyday LGBT citizens and women are treated when accused of a crime.
Two LGBT activists were sentenced to death last fall after they were accused of promoting homosexuality and Christianity, in addition to communicating with media opposed to the Islamic Republic, the BBC reported.
Near the end of last year, a protest broke out in Iran after a 22-year-old Kurdish woman was arrested by the country's "morality police" for wearing an "improper" hijab during a visit to Tehran. She was beaten and later died from the injuries that the police inflicted on her.
Over 15,000 protestors took to the street, with women burning hijabs and cutting their hair in defiance of the regime's strict laws. Lawmakers called for strict punishments of those who took part in the protest, saying it "would serve as a good lesson in the shortest possible time."
Karim Sadjadpour tweeted at the time, "In the last 8 weeks Iran's regime has killed over 300 protestors, imprisoned nearly 15,000, and threatened to execute hundreds more, yet Iran's women persist. Today female university students removed their forced hejab and chanted, 'I am a free woman.'"
