ISIS allegedly stoned to death two men in Syria because they were gay.
The first of the two was killed in the town of Mayadeen, in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor. The victim was approximately 20 years old.
According to the Great Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights as reported by Al Arabiya, ISIS said it found videos on the victim’s mobile phone showing him “practicing indecent acts with males.”
A second victim, an 18 year-old male, was stoned to death in the same province by ISIS which claimed this victim also was gay.
However, activists on social media said that the two men were simply opponents of ISIS. The terrorist group claimed the two victims were gay as a pretext for the murders.
Death by stoning is usually a practice reserved for acts believed by the militant Islamists to be ones of moral laxity, such as adultery.
These two stoning deaths are the first executions by ISIS for homosexuality. Syria classifies homosexuality as a crime, but it is not one that carries a death sentence.
The SOHR also reported that ISIS is forcing hostages to donate blood for use by wounded ISIS fighters.
