Iraqi 'emo' youths reportedly killed by conservative militias
Dozens of Iraqi teenagers have been killed in recent months by militias who consider them to be devil worshippers, human rights activists claim.
The young people are described as "emos", a term used in the West to refer to youths who listen to rock music and wear alternative clothing.
Reports say that up to 58 teenagers have been beaten to death or shot in the last month, most of them men.
Iraq's interior ministry recently described emos as devil worshippers.
In Iraq, the term emo is also conflated with homosexuality, which although legal is socially and religiously taboo.
Militias in Baghdad's conservative Shia neighbourhood of Sadr City have distributed leaflets with the names of 20 young people they say should be punished.
In a statement on his website, Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr described emo youths as "crazy and fools", but said they should be dealt with within the law.
"They are a plague on Muslim society, and those responsible should eliminate them through legal means," he said.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17333275
