LGBTQ Conference in Lebanon Threatened by Security Forces

On the 29th of September Lebanese security forces from the General Security Directorate shut down a regional gender rights conference in Beirut, Lebanon. The conference, known as NEDWA, is organized annually by the Arab Foundation for Freedoms and Equality (AFE) and brings together over 100 activists from the Arabic-speaking Middle East and North Africa region. General Security officers responded to a complaint filed by the Hay’at Al-Oulamaa el Mouslimin (Association of Muslim Scholars). The group had issued a statement accusing the conference of promoting perversion and drug use, and called for the conference to be cancelled on grounds of "incitement to immorality." Jessica Stern, Executive Director of OutRight Action...