Roosh V: calls for 'pro-rape' blogger's meetings to be banned

Calls are growing for events organised by "pick-up" artist Daryush Valizadeh to be banned from the UK after he announced a series of "secret meet-ups".

Known to his blog followers as Roosh V, the 36-year old American is a self-described "neo-masculinist" who has called for rape to be made legal if committed on private property.

"I propose that we make the violent taking of a woman not punishable by law when done off public grounds," he wrote. He has since claimed that the post was intended as "satire".

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Valizadeh is also the founder of the Return of Kings online forum, which claims men are superior to women and publishes articles such as: "Five reasons to date a girl with an eating disorder."

His fans claim to be organising an international meet-up day on 6 February, featuring 165 events in 43 countries. UK meetings are reportedly planned in cities including London, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

On his website, Valizadeh said only heterosexual men were allowed and they must provide a "secret password" in order to attend. Asked what to do if "crazy feminists show up", he replied: "Record them with your camera and then send it to me afterwards so we can tear them up."

A petition calling on the Scottish government to ban events there has received more than 52,000 signatures, while protests have been planned across the UK.

"[The meetings] makes our cities unsafe for at least half the population. Promoting rape is hate speech and should be treated as such," say the petition organisers.

Midlothian MP Owen Thompson has also written to Home Secretary Theresa May calling for Valizadeh to be banned from entering the country, the BBC reports.

"The rationale for these meet-ups is a kind of perverse solidarity," Eleanor Roberson writes for Daily Life. "[It's] where blokes whose views are rightly judged to be laughable garbage are able to connect with each other, like when you turn on a light in the kitchen and all the cockroaches scurry into one dark corner."