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Iraqi male model brutally killed in Baghdad 'because of his good looks'

Friends of Karar Nushi believe he was murdered by radical Islamists because of the way he dressed, his long hair and his friendship with female actors

Lucy Pasha-Robinson
Wednesday 05 July 2017 17:13 BST
Karar Nushi, who was studying at the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad, was receiving death threats, according to his friends
Karar Nushi, who was studying at the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad, was receiving death threats, according to his friends (Facebook)

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A male model was reportedly brutally stabbed to death in Iraq over his appearance.

Karar Nushi was found dead in Baghdad after reportedly receiving death threats over his long hair and tight-fitting clothes.

The Institute of Fine Arts student, who was also an actor and a model, was found covered in stab wounds on Palestine Street to the north of the capital, according to Iraqi News.

His body reportedly showed signs of torture.

Friends of the actor said on social media they believed he was killed by radical Islamists because of the way he dressed, his long hair and his friendship with female actors.

Mr Nushi was a Shia Muslim and was said to be preparing for a male beauty pageant before his death.

Last year Isis militants threw a man they accused of being homosexual from the top of a building in Kirkuk, Iraq.

In 2016, extremists blindfolded a man before pushing him to his death from a 10-storey building in Aleppo, Syria, after accusing him of homosexuality.

In 2015, Amir Ashour, founder of Iraqi LGBT rights group IraQueer, was forced to flee his home country for Sweden after receiving death threats.

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