Stoned to death for being an emo: NINETY Iraqi students killed for having 'strange hair and tight clothes' 

• Number of deaths could be even higher
• Cleric calls the stonings 'an act of terrorism'
• Ministry of Interior 'complicit' in the killings

Youngsters in Iraq are being stoned to death for having haircuts and wearing clothes that emulate the ‘emo’ style popular among western teenagers.

At least 14 youths have been killed in the capital Baghdad in the past three weeks in what appears to be a campaign by Shia militants.

Militants in Shia neighbourhoods, where the stonings have taken place, circulated lists yesterday naming more youths targeted to be killed if they do not change the way they dress.

Iraqi activists said this unnamed teenager was brutally killed by religious police for having an 'emo' hairstyle

The killings have taken place since Iraq’s interior ministry drew attention to the ‘emo’ subculture last month, labelling it ‘Satanism’ and ordering the community police force to stamp it out.

Fans of the ‘emo’ trend – short for emotional – wear tight jeans and have distinctive long, black or spiky haircuts.

 

The bodies of at least 14 youths have been taken to three hospitals in eastern Baghdad bearing signs of having been beaten to death with rocks.

After reports of the stonings circulated on Iraqi media, the interior ministry said this week that no murders on its files could be blamed on attacks on ‘emos’.

Religious extremists have been harassing and killing teenagers with 'strange' or 'emo' appearances

Iraq’s leading Shia clerics have condemned the stonings.

Iraq's Moral Police released a statement on the interior ministry's website condemning the 'emo phenomenon' among Iraqi youth, declaring its intent to 'eliminate' the trend.

The move is part of a wider clampdown on young people taking on what government officials call 'Western appearances' in Iraq.

'The Emo phenomenon or devil worshipping is being followed by the Moral Police who have the approval to eliminate (the phenomenon) as soon as possible since it's detrimentally affecting the society and becoming a danger,' the statement read.

'They wear strange, tight clothes that have pictures on them such as skulls and use stationary that are shaped as skulls. They also wear rings on their noses and tongues, and do other strange activities.'

A group of armed men dressed in civilian clothing led dozens of teenagers to secluded areas a few days ago, stoned them to death, and then disposed their bodies in garbage dumpsters across the capital, according to activists, activists told the Cairo-based al-Akhbar website.

The armed men are said to belong to 'one of the most extremist religious groups' in Iraq.

'First they throw concrete blocks at the boy's arms, then at his legs, then the final blow is to his head, and if he is not dead then, they start all over again,' one person who managed to escape told Al-Akhbar.

Iraq's moral police was granted approval by the Ministry of Education to enter Baghdad schools and pinpoint students with such appearances, according to the interior ministry's statement.

The exact death toll remains unclear, but Hana al-Bayaty of Brussels Tribunal, an NGO dealing with Iraqi issues, said the current figure ranges 'between 90 and 100.'

'What's most disturbing about this is that they're so young,' she said.

This 'emo' youth was one of nearly 100 who were targeted for having a western hairstyle or wearing 'American jeans'

Al-Bayaty said the killings appear to have been carried out by extremist Shia militias in mostly poor Shia neighborhoods and said she suspected 'there's complicity of the Ministry of Interior in the killings.'

Photos of the victims were released on Facebook, causing panic and fear among Iraqi students.

WHAT IS EMO?

Described as both a cult and sect, it’s name derives from the word ‘emotional’
Its teen followers dress in black, favouring tight jeans, T-shirts, studded belts and sneakers or skater shoes.
Hair is often dyed black and straightened, and worn in a long fringe brushed to one side of the face.
Music also plays a critical role, Emos like guitar-based rock with emotional lyrics – bands such as My Chemical Romance, Jimmy Eat World, and Dashboard Confessional are particular favourites.
They regard themselves as a cool, young sub-set of the Goths.
With the trend comes accusations of self-harming and suicide – something its followers strongly deny.

A young man with long hair was among those fearful at the  government-ordained harassment of teenagers with Western appearances.

'I have long hair but that doesn't mean I'm an Emo. I'm not less of a man if I have long hair. Let's not say that if I have long hair, I'm a homosexual, but I have long hair because this is my style, this is me,' he told Iraq's Al-Sharqiya television network.

Safiyyah al-Suhail, an MP, said on Thursday that 'some students have been recently arrested because they were wearing American jeans or had Western haircuts.'

The interior ministry has not disclosed the number of teenage victims, but released a follow-up statement on Thursday warning extremists 'not to step on public freedom of Iraqis.'

News of the gruesome deaths drew a stern reaction from Iraq's prominent Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who criticised the stoning of the young men as 'an act of terrorism.'

He added: 'The Ministry of Interior took this situation very seriously and received an approval from the Ministry of Education to set a plan under my full supervision and to allow us to enter schools in the capital.'

'There are some cases of the spread of this phenomenon specifically among schools in Baghdad, but we are facing great difficulty in the lack of women on the force who would allow us to carry the investigation more accurately since the phenomenon is more popular among girls between the ages of 14 and 18.'