Subject: Gay Life After Saddam - BBC Radio 5Live

Harrowing Made in Manchester documentary

finds life was much easier for gay iraqis under
Saddam Hussein

Radio production company Made in Manchester has won its first major
commission for BBC Radio 5Live with a harrowing documentary about the
persecution of gay people in Iraq.
In Gay Life After Saddam, presenter Aasmah Mir finds out how life for the
country’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community (LGBT), has got
much worse since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Human rights campaigners claim hundreds of LGBT people have been killed or
tortured while others have fled the country fearing for their safety since Saddam
was toppled from power six years ago.
Meanwhile, in the UK, gay Iraqis seeking asylum are struggling to persuade
authorities to let them stay.
Through some harrowing testimonies, Aasmah hears from campaigners and
those who’ve been persecuted to see how life has actually changed for gay
Iraqis.
Producer Ashley Byrne, who is also Made in Manchester’s Creative Director,
says: “We’re proud to be making our 5Live debut with such an important
documentary which tackles a subject that doesn’t usually feature as part of the
usual narrative from Iraq.
“The programme includes an interview with a gay Iraqi who was kidnapped and
raped before fleeing the country, we hear from a young man who fled to Paris
after being tortured and we get exclusive access to a so-called ‘safe house’
harbouring vulnerable LGBT Iraqis on the outskirts of Baghdad,” says Ashley.
He adds: “Some of the evidence is very difficult to comprehend especially a form
of torture involving glue and diarrhoea inducing drugs.”
Presenter Aasmah Mir also meets a London based Iraqi whose life is under
threat for the work he’s doing to help gay people in his homeland. Ali Hilli, who
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runs the group Iraqi LGBT claims he has had two fatwas issued against him from
extremists in the Middle East.
Co Producer Gail Champion says: “What becomes clear throughout is that not
one person, one group or another is responsible for this persecution. It seems
like it’s chaos in Iraq with the authorities struggling to keep control. What
surprised me more than anything was how much life was easier for LGBT people
under Saddam Hussein.”
As part of the programme, the US Government is put on the spot over the
issue.
Ashley Byrne says: “It was our reporter who managed to illicit a response from
the US Government during a State Department Briefing in Washington earlier
this month. The Obama administration’s reaction to the recent killings and
violence can be heard during this programme.”
The programme also includes interviews with the Iraqi Prime Minister, religious
leaders and ordinary people on the streets of Baghdad where homosexuality is
still viewed by many as an illness and something that needs treatment.
Gay Life After Saddam is produced by Ashley Byrne and Gail Champion and is
A Made in Manchester Production for BBC Radio 5Live. It will air from 7-8pm
this Sunday, 5th July 2009 on 909/693 medium wave, on line and DAB Digital
Radio and via the BBC iplayer.
• For further information about the programme or Made in Manchester,
please contact Ashley Byrne on 07702 155397
Notes
Made in Manchester is a radio and television production company which was
formed in May 2005 by broadcaster and former commercial radio boss Ashley
Byrne and 5 Times World Swimming Champion James Hickman. The company
has had commissions for BBC Radio 2, Radio 4, 5Live, the World Service, 1Xtra,
BBC Local Radio and ITV1. MIM also has a corporate productions and
PR/Marketing arm with clients including Speedo, Finnair and Red Bull.
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