Police raid queer-friendly club in Baku

Witnesses speak of violence, insults and extortion

Those detained during a police raid on a nightclub known as a safe place for the queer community in the Azerbaijani capital have testified to violence, degrading treatment and extortion.

Witnesses said several people were physically assaulted during the raid, with at least one person’s tooth broken. One woman's hair was allegedly forcibly shaved in an apparent attempt to humiliate her. Separate witness accounts also allege that one person was sexually assaulted while in police custody. These allegations have not been independently verified.

According to those who were at the club at the time of the incident, police officers detained them in the department from midnight and then forced them to stand outside Nasimi region police department in freezing weather for about two hours. The detainees were reportedly not given water or food. One witness said: “We were told explicitly that if we paid 30 or 50 manats, we would be released.”

According to several witnesses, this is not the first time a similar scheme has been used. Although a similar raid was reported last year, this time the operation was carried out in a more aggressive and organized manner. Witnesses say that the police arrived on a special bus and took everyone in the club en masse to the police station.

The detainees also said that the police threatened to send them for drug tests and take them to court. These threats reportedly caused panic. One witness noted that the detainees’ fingerprints and biometric data were taken. This is usually a procedure used for criminal suspects, not for those who have not committed an administrative offense.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has not issued an official statement on the incident.

Minority Azerbaijan says that such raids may be aimed at intimidating the queer community and forcing them out of public spaces. The lack of mechanisms in Azerbaijani legislation that explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity increases the risk of impunity in such cases.

Witness statement regarding the previous raid

A reader who contacted Minority Azerbaijan after the incident reported that a similar police intervention took place in the same club in January 2025.

According to the witness, there were approximately 40-50 people in the club at the time and all of them were detained by the police for about six hours. During this time, although those detained were not subjected to physical violence, they were held under humiliating treatment and serious psychological pressure.

The witness stated that during the raid, one of the plainclothes men who was with the police officers openly said: “If I had the power, I would shoot you all.” According to them, such statements only intensified the feeling of fear among the detainees.

“Physical violence was not used, but the manner of behaviour, the way of speaking and the conditions of detention were humiliating and had a very severe psychological impact,” the witness noted.

The person, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, said that due to the psychological trauma he experienced and the ongoing sense of fear, they are not currently living in Baku and has been forced to change their place of residence to avoid possible new pressures.

Witness statement about the raid

According to one of the witnesses, one of the detainees was subjected to insulting and provocative statements by police officers. After the detainee protested, they were subjected to physical violence, resulting in a broken tooth. The witness said that after that, they were subjected to humiliating and degrading treatment.

Labyrinth Project club statement

A brief statement was posted on the club's official Instagram account following the incident. Labyrinth Project said in the statement that the night was tense for club staff and guests as a "police check" was conducted at the venue. The club apologized for the inconvenience caused and noted that arrangements were being made to return the lost items.

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