Former MP targets LGBTQI+ community yet again

Former Azerbaijani MP Tahir Karimli has made insulting and hateful statements against the LGBTQI+ community. In a statement to Pravda.az on October 1, Karimli described LGBTQI+ people as “morally corrupt,” “sick,” and “a threat to society,” and said they “should be treated or isolated.”

“LGBT engage in moral corruption, corrupt the population… If they are sick, they should be treated in hospitals. If they are criminals, they should be isolated,” the former MP said.

He described the protection of LGBTQI+ rights as “a blow to the morality of 95 percent of the population” and called the rights of minority groups “a threat to the values of the majority.”

Karimli’s statements are part of a growing queerphobic rhetoric in Azerbaijan in recent months. It should be noted that in September, while speaking to Pravda.az, he used harsh language against LGBTQI+ people, calling them "filth" and even saying that they should be hospitalized and treated.

Human rights organizations consider such statements to be hate speech and call on state officials and public figures to refrain from discrimination and insults based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

The rights of the LGBTQI+ community in Azerbaijan are still not protected by law. ILGA-Europe calls the country “one of the most repressive environments” for queer people in Europe.

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