Taliban fighters. Stringer/Reuters
After luring a man through social media, the Taliban raped and beat an Afghan gay man.
According to ITV, the militants claimed that they could help the man escape Afghanistan.
Insider was told by Afghan LGBTQ activists that similar tactics were used to trap gay men in the past.
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According to ITV, the Taliban beat and raped a gay man who was tricked into meeting them.
According to the outlet, Hanan (a pseudonym to protect his identity) had spoken to a man via social media and he promised to help him find safe passage out of Afghanistan.
Many LGBTQ people are desperately trying to flee Pakistan after the Taliban tookover.
After speaking online for three weeks, Hanan decided to meet the man in Kabul. He was unaware that these were Taliban men.
Artemis Akbary, an Afghan LGBTQ rights activist, said that Hanan was raped by the men when he met them.
Akbary stated to the outlet that Taliban fighters will likely do it again.
He said, "They will create a profile account to deceive LGBT+ persons by pretending that they are a member of their community."
Insider spoke with men from Afghanistan's secret gay community who described their "nightmare" lives and the fear of what lies ahead under Taliban rule.
The militant group had previously executed gay men during their rule. Bild, a German newspaper, reported in July that a Taliban judge had vowed to sentence gay men by stoneing or being crushed under a nine-foot wall.
Insider was told by Afghan activists that gay men could be lured to death through social media, even under the previous governments.
Nemat Sadat, a LGBTQ activist, said that the government used social media to set up honey traps for gay and bisexual men.
"National security officers would create fake profiles, go on Grindr or other Facebook groups, and say "hey look! I really want to get to know you." Then they would basically take them out and kill then throw their bodies away.
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"And this was not under the Taliban. He said that this was under Ashraf Gahani and Hamid Karzai.
Hamid Zaher, a gay rights activist and author from Afghanistan, said that gay people often disappear after they meet men on social media who turn out to be government officials.
He said that the Taliban would likely use the same tactics.
He said that if the Taliban didn't shut down Facebook and other apps like Grindr they would also use them to arrest people.
Business Insider has the original article.
