Gay man in Baku defrauded of 8 thousand manats under the pretext of a fake "law"

Anar, an Azerbaijani gay man who has been living in the Kingdom of Bahrain for many years, became a victim of a fraud scheme prepared by a former convict. The basis of the scheme was a completely fabricated claim that homosexuality is considered a crime in Azerbaijan. This was reported by Qafqazinfo.

44-year-old Vusal contacted Anar through a mutual acquaintance. Having learned that Anar wanted to come to Baku, Vusal contacted him via WhatsApp and tried to intimidate him. Supposedly, being gay in Azerbaijan is considered a crime, Anar has been banned from entering the country and will be arrested upon arrival at the airport. Then he said that he could "solve" this problem in exchange for 8 thousand manats, which he would transfer to his acquaintance working in the relevant law enforcement agencies.

Anar, who was unaware of Azerbaijani legislation, believed these words and transferred the money. However, upon arriving in Baku, he learned the truth. Homosexuality is not a crime in Azerbaijan, and there were no restrictions on it.

Based on Anar's complaint, Vusal was brought to criminal responsibility. In order to avoid arrest, he returned the 8 thousand manat in full and the court dismissed the case because the damage was paid.

The fear is not unfounded, but this time it is based on a lie

Although the law invented by Vusal does not exist, the fear he uses is completely understandable. According to the 2026 Rainbow Map report of the ILGA-Europe organization, Azerbaijan is in 48th place out of 49 countries and scored only 2%.

There is no legislation against discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity or sex characteristics. The laws on hate crime and hate speech do not provide any protection for LGBTQI+ people.

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