19-year-old bisexual woman receives death threats

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Gunay, 19-year-old bisexual woman was threatened with death by her father. After her father found out that she was bisexual, she was and threatened with death by him.

On July 4, the victim contacted LGBTI+ rights activist Ali Malikov. Together, they called the call centre of the Ministry of Internal Affairs 102 and complained about the woman’s father.

The police told the victim that she should come to the 27th police station and file a complaint. However, Gunay said that she could only come the next day as she was working. The police asked them to come the day after then, not the next day. The victim objected to this proposal of the police and on July 5, together with activist Ali Malikov, they went to the 27th police station.

According to LGBTI+ rights activist Ali Malikov, they were treated rudely at the police station and their clothes were policed too. “Later, when the head of the police station called, I told him that they misbehaved towards us at the police station. In his answer, the chief cursed me,” Malikov added. The victims complained to 102 about the chief and the police officers. “After calling 102, they kicked us out of the station,” said the activist.

The victim then got in touch with the social worker Sanubar Heydarova. Sanubar Heydarova contacted Ehsan Zahidov, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Press Service and Elshad Hajiyev, the head of the media and public relations department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, regarding the registration of the complaint and the rudeness of the police officers, and asked them to look into the case.

Activist Ali Malikov said to Nafas LGBTI Azerbaijan  Alliance that the complaint was considered only after the calls to 102 and Ehsan Zahidov and Elshad Hajiyev. “Our complaint was registered correctly only after these calls. In other words, during this period, the police didn’t even care that something might happen to the girl,” the activist added.

According to Ali Malikov, on July 26, a police officer named Hijran from the 26th police station contacted Gunay. They illegally questioned whether she was working or not, and asked where she was. The victim confronted the police because of this questioning. Later, she had to contact Ehsan Zahidov again. “It turns out that if a citizen does not have access to Ehsan Zahidov or Elshad Hajiyev, there will be no one to look into their complaint,” LGBTI+ rights activist Ali Malikov told Nafas LGBTI Azerbaijan Alliance.

Since the complaint was forwarded to the 26th police station, on July 29, the victim went to the police station together with the social worker Sanubar Heydarova. “Currently, the victim is in touch with a lawyer and they are waiting for the warrant to be issued. Despite the fact that the complaint was filed more than a month ago, the father of the victim has not been called to the police,” said Ali Malikov.