14 Iraqi Teens Killed by Militants for Dressing Emo

At least 14 Iraqi teenagers were stoned to death in the past three week. The crime? Dressing like teenagers, and Shiite militants have promised that there are more bodies to come unless the youth change up their wardrobe.

“Last week I signed the death certificates of three of those young people, and the reason for death I wrote in my own hand was severe skull fractures,” says one doctor.

Specifically, the ill-fated teens were dressed in the emo/goth style, wearing black clothing and similar haircuts. The nation’s interior ministry has branded this style as “Satanism” shortly before the killings began. Shiite militias have taken it upon themselves to police the edict. There have also been reports of leaflets being distributed, warning the emo-kids to “get back to sanity” or they will suffer a similar fate.

“We strongly warn you, to all the obscene males and females, if you will not leave this filthy work within four days the punishment of God will descend upon you at the hand of the Mujahideen,” the leaflet said.

Shiite clerics have formally denounced the killings, with one labelling them “terrorist attacks.” Abdul-Raheem al-Rikabi, Baghdad representative for Iraq’s most influential Shi’ite cleric, Ali al-Sistani said, “Such a phenonomenon which has spread among young people should be tackled through dialogue and peaceful means and not through physical liquidation.”

Citizens of Baghdad do not approve of the clothing style, but don’t think that murder is the answer, with one saying: “If they are close friends who have something in common, that’s all right. If other things we hear about them are true, like sucking each other’s blood or worshipping the devil, that is not accepted in our society. But I think this is just a trend to imitate the West.”

What say you? Does the punishment fit the “crime”?