A police raid was carried out at night at a queer friendly space located on one of Baku’s central streets. According to community members, approximately 100 people were detained during the incident.
According to information provided to Qıy Vaar, the police arrived at the scene by buses and took people en masse to a police station. The detained individuals were kept on the street for a long time in cold weather; some people’s condition worsened, and there were those who lost consciousness.
According to the statements of those detained, incidents of violence occurred at the police station. Several people report that they were subjected to physical violence. It is noted that one woman’s hair was cut and one person’s tooth was broken. At the same time, it is said that police officers used humiliating expressions and threats, and demanded bribes ranging from 50 to 100 manats from the detained individuals. It is reported that a case of sexual violence also occurred at the police station. The detained individuals were threatened with being taken to court and with being subjected to narcological tests without any grounds.
This incident is not the first attack against LGBTQ+ spaces. Community members state that similar police raids were carried out last year as well, and that such raids have a systematic nature.
Human rights defenders note that this type of police “hunt” is not new to the Azerbaijani reality. State institutions carry out planned and mass raids by taking advantage of the queer community’s lack of legal and institutional protection. It is known in advance that legal defense mechanisms will not function effectively and that complaints will not result in outcomes in favor of the citizen.
The detained individuals say that their personal data were recorded collectively, and that their photographs and fingerprints were taken. In a case conducted within the framework of an administrative offense, the collection of such data serves not so much a legal basis as the creation of a mechanism of total control over the LGBTQ+ community. As the Qıy Vaar collective, we immediately and unconditionally call on the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Prosecutor General’s Office to investigate the matter and issue a statement.
We ask those affected to contact us in order to organize legal defense and document the facts that occurred.
