On the morning of September 7, trans woman Emily Hajizade was attacked on the boulevard. LGBTI+ activist Ali Malikov told Nafas LGBTI Azerbaijan Alliance that the attackers were boulevard guards.
One of the security guards filmed without permission of Emily how she was taking off her shirt and sitting by the fountain. Emily asked him to delete the video and said she would call 102. The guard said, “I don’t give a fuck! Call whoever you want!”
“They were attacked before, and together with Emily, we filed a complaint at the 9th police station,” Malikov added. “This time Emily was called to the 39th police station because of the attack on the boulevard, I asked her to come home so she wouldn’t go alone.”
It should be noted that Emily Hajizade and LGBTI+ activist Ali Malikov were attacked together by unknown men on August 20.
Emily was also abused by her family. According to Ali Malikov, her family threatens her with death.
Fair, accurate and comprehensive coverage of hate crime news in the media plays an important role in expanding public awareness and understanding of LGBTI+s and the issues that affect our lives. While acceptance and visibility of LGBTI+s continues to grow, our community, especially trans folks, continues to face systemic discrimination and epidemic levels of negative policies and attacks.
According to the latest reports of ILGA-Europe, Azerbaijan is politically, socially and legally the worst country for LGBTI+s to live in amongst 49 countries.
