HRW: Brutal Police Raid on LGBT-friendly Venue in Azerbaijan

The international human rights organization Human Rights Watch reported that dozens of people were detained during a police raid on a nightclub known as a safe space for the queer community in Baku, and that those detained faced violence, degrading treatment, and illegal extortion.

The organisation’s dispatch says that the operation that took place last month did not have the effect of a regular security measure and was in fact targeted based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

According to witness statements cited by HRW, police entered the venue at night and confiscated the mobile phones of those present there, demanded passwords, and checked personal photos and videos without a court order. More than 100 of those detained were taken to the Nasimi District Police Department and held for several hours standing in an open courtyard in freezing weather. They were reportedly not given water or food.

Witnesses who spoke to the organization also reported cases of physical and psychological violence. One of the detainees reportedly had a tooth broken, while others were denied access to the toilet for hours. A woman was allegedly abused by police officers despite having an epileptic seizure.

According to Human Rights Watch, those detained at the police station had their biometric data taken without legal justification and were subjected to forced drug tests. Detainees also reported being asked humiliating questions about their sexual orientation and personal lives.

HRW noted that the detainees were only released after paying a fine of 30-150 manats on the spot under the guise of “petty hooliganism.” The organization assessed this practice as de facto blackmail and illegal extortion.

The incident, the organization emphasized, was reminiscent of mass detentions of LGBTQI+s in Baku in 2017. Cases of torture and discrimination were documented during those operations, and in 2024 the European Court of Human Rights recognized that the Azerbaijani authorities had violated the prohibition of torture and discrimination. However, HRW said that to date, those responsible have not been punished.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs did not issue an official statement about the raid after the incident. Social media accounts close to the police claimed that the operation was based on complaints from residents about “unethical behavior” and shared footage allegedly taken from the phones of detainees.

Human Rights Watch called on the Azerbaijani authorities to urgently, independently and impartially investigate the detainees’ allegations of violence and blackmail and to ensure protection from discrimination for everyone, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity.

The organization stressed that these raids, which Minority Azerbaijan and other local sources have documented, further increase the risk of intimidation and exclusion of the queer community from public space.

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