Azerbaijan
Seven years after the suicide of Isa Shakhmarli — little change for queer Azerbaijanis
For the past six years, Azerbaijan’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans community has marked 22 January as a day to fight homophobic hate. The day was chosen after well-known queer rights activist Isa Shakhmarli took his own life in 2014. Shakhmarli, 20, was the chair of Azad LGBT (Azerbaijan Free LGBT), a Baku-based advocacy group. He was found dead after hanging himself with a rainbow flag. An openly gay activist, Shakhmarli left a note on Facebook. ‘I am leaving you, God bless you. This cou
