Journalist Fikret Huseynli’s post regarding LGBTQI+s sparked criticism

Fikret Huseynli, an Azerbaijani journalist living in the Netherlands, expressed scientifically unfounded views on his Facebook page concerning the migration of LGBTQI+s to Western countries, Qıy Vaar! reported.

Huseynli writes that he is "not a person who discriminates based on religion, race, gender, or other factors" and believes that people's private lives are "their own business," yet adds, "there is one point I must mention." According to him, while Azerbaijanis previously arrived in the West primarily for political reasons, "those arriving as sexual minorities now constitute the majority." He notes that "the majority of them are young men" and remarks that, "as a Caucasian, one's testosterone levels should be sky-high."

Huseynli further claims that individuals are "taking advantage of legislation to change their gender, form families, and openly advertise this," adding: "It seems that someone in Azerbaijan is truly sterilising the nation—altering its lineage—through food or liquids, turning men into 'effeminate men' and women into lesbians."

These claims have no scientific basis. Gender identity and sexual orientation are distinct concepts. Being trans does not determine a person's sexual orientation. Furthermore, there is no scientific evidence to support claims that people can be made trans, gay, or lesbian through food or drinking water, nor that such means could lead to the "sterilisation of the nation."

Qıy Vaar! pointed out that Huseynli himself is a journalist who has faced political persecution. Following an attack by unknown individuals in Baku in 2006, he relocated to the Netherlands in 2008, where he was granted political asylum and subsequently obtained Dutch citizenship in 2014. He worked for the opposition-leaning newspaper Azadliq and later headed the Amsterdam bureau of Turan TV. In October 2017, he was detained in Ukraine based on a search request issued by Azerbaijan via Interpol. Huseynli characterised the charges brought against him as political persecution linked to his journalistic work.

Qıy Vaar! notes that it is concerning for a journalist, who fled political persecution and found protection in another country, to propagate such views regarding the rights of vulnerable groups without any basis in statistical data, research, or scientific evidence.

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