Over 100 people have reportedly been detained as part of a police raid on a queer-friendly club in central Baku. Those detained have claimed to have been subjected to physical violence, harassment, and degrading treatment by the police.
The raid took place on Saturday night.
According to Qiy Vaar, a pro-queer rights Azerbaijani instagram page, the detainees were taken en masse to a police station, where they were kept on the street for a long time in the cold.
‘Some people’s condition worsened, and there were those who lost consciousness’, the page wrote.
They cited detained individuals as saying they were subjected to physical violence and extorted for money by police officers.
They wrote that one woman had her hair cut, while another person suffered a broken tooth during their detention. They added that police officers used ‘humiliating expressions and threats’, and demanded bribes ranging from ₼50 ($30) to ₼100 ($60).
‘It is reported that a case of sexual violence also occurred at the police station’, the page wrote without providing any additional details.
They added that the detainees were threatened with being taken to court as well as with mandatory drug tests.
The page added that the police collectively recorded the personal data of the detainees, including their photographs and fingerprints.
‘State institutions carry out planned and mass raids by taking advantage of the queer community’s lack of legal and institutional protection’, Qiy Vaar wrote. ‘It is known in advance that legal defence mechanisms will not function effectively and that complaints will not result in outcomes in favour of the citizen’.
On Monday, Qiy Vaar published an anonymous video testimony they say is of a person who was present at the club during the raid. In the video, the person claims that the police physically assaulted them, mocked them, and humiliated them in a variety of ways.
They accused the police of forcing one of their friends to wet himself while outside the police station, and of abusing another friend who had a panic attack.
‘We were given an empty bottle and ordered to fill it with water from the toilet and drink it — all 106 of us’, they continued. ‘When another girl had an epileptic seizure, she was taken to the toilet, shouted at, and told: “You have no right to lose consciousness here.”’
‘One of my friends was insulted because of their sexual orientation, and someone urinated on their head’, they said, adding that the police also poured a liquid on the floor and used a detainee’s body to wipe it off.
The person said that those detained were not allowed to contact their families or a lawyer.
‘Our families were treated very badly. They were told: “We collected your children from a gay club; they were using drugs and engaging in immoral behaviour”’.
It is yet unclear whether any detainees remain in police custody.
The authorities in Azerbaijan have not issued a statement on the incident.
