LGBTI+ activist under pressure

LGBTI+ activist Ali Malikov says they have been under pressure for some time. They talked to Minority Azerbaijan about it:

“Two months ago, I informed the Gender and Development Organization about a trans person who said they were 15-16 years old. The child lived on the streets and engaged in sex work. I came to their office to talk to Gender and Development about the matter, and they informed the Social Services Agency about the child. I was told that the minor told an employee of the agency that they had sexual needs and did not want to go to the shelter. After that, the employee left the office. 

Some time after this incident, I saw the child while doing sex work in the Molokan garden. They were standing on the side of the road, waiting for a customer. I shared this issue on social media. After that, an employee of Gender and Development contacted me and said that I wanted to mess things up.”

Ali Malikov said that although they informed the chairperson of the organization Kamran Rzayev about it, they faced an aggressive reaction from him. Then, an employee of the organization named Aykhan threatened Ali Malikov and said that he would arrest them and share a video about them. Then, a video of the minor sex worker with a naked face was shared on Aykhan's Instagram account. In the video, a minor insults Ali Malikov and accuses them of child trafficking.

On June 4, Ali Malikov was attacked again by the same child. Ali told Minority Azerbaijan that they met the minor while topping up the balance of their card at the Sahil metro station. the chold was heard shouting insults at Ali and Ali had to take off their headphones. The minor said that Ali had slandered them, dialed 102 and started calling the police. Then the police came and took them to the police station. A minor threatened to call the trans folks to the station. Ali Malikov was later released from the police station.

According to Ali, they could not find out the name or other information about the minor, and some said the minor was even 14 years old.

Ali Malikov, who wrote extensively about what happened on Facebook, said their life is in danger:

"I can no longer live with such a threat. As an LGBTQ +, I don't want to be killed or harmed while trying to help my community. There are video/photo recordings about this organization and that person (in connection with inciting people against me). I ask journalists and media representatives to help me resolve the issue openly to the public and ensure my safety.”

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