In a shocking incident, a gay man was raped and beaten in Kabul after he was lured to come out of hiding by two Taliban fighters. The man, whose identity has been kept secret was targeted after seeking a safe route past the Islamist group’s border checkpoints. He reportedly met a man who promised to help on social media, and chatted to him for three weeks before agreeing to meet up. But when he arrived he found himself face-to-face with two Taliban fighters, who carried out the brutal attack. They then forced him to hand over his father’s number so they could out him to his family, in a country where LGBT+ people are said to face persecution from within society as well as by their new extremist rulers.
The man’s ordeal was revealed by Artemis Akbary, an Afghan LGBT+ rights activist who now lives in Turkey. He said the attack is just an early example of what life will be like for gay people under Taliban rule, as the final US troops left the country. 'They are trying to tell the world "we are changed and we don't have problems with women's rights or human rights",' Akbary said. 'They are lying. The Taliban hasn't changed, because their ideology hasn't changed. ''My friends in Afghanistan are scared, they don't know what will happen to them in the future so they're just trying to hide. 'With the American withdrawal from Afghanistan now complete, there are fears the Taliban will quickly reimpose their brutal interpretation of Islam on the country. Zabihullah Mujahid, the group's spokesman, insisted today that security forces will be 'gentle and nice' to those under their rule. The Taliban is now in almost-complete control of Afghanistan following the withdrawal of the last American troops from Kabul, which was completed overnight.