Azerbaijan’s Invisible Crisis

The year 2017 became a dark chapter in the history of LGBT persons around the world, with violent crackdowns in Azerbaijan, Chechnya, Indonesia, Egypt and many other places.

Azerbaijani authorities were orchestrating arrests, torturing detainees and fabricating trials against the LGBT community. With international attention quickly fading, the Azerbaijani crisis has become largely invisible, despite the LGBT community living under constant pressure.

This debate is a rare opportunity to learn about the situation for LGBT persons in Azerbaijan, and to meet those who are fighting for their stories to be heard. The panel will discuss the events from 2017, what has happened since and how it is to be LGBT in what is considered to be among the worst countries for LGBT in Europe.

Panel:
Azerbaijani journalists and activists
Mina Skouen, The Norwegian Helsinki Committee

In cooperation with HUMAN Film Festival.
The event will be in English. Free entrance, but requires registration (see the link above).

The film “All Monsters are Human” will be shown before the debate.

UK / 2019 / 21 min / Azerbaijani
Dir & prod: Helen Spooner, Hugh Davies

In the wake of a vicious anti-LGBT government crackdown in Azerbaijan in September 2017, this documentary film follows the plight of three young LGBT Azeris fearing for their lives. On a journey from Istanbul to Baku, the filmmakers combine animation and video footage to reveal stories of extortion, torture and murder, and discover that for those who have managed to escape, persecution has followed them. It’s a universal story of identity, survival and enduring love in a place that seeks to destroy it.

Contact

Employee

Mina Wikshåland Skouen

Senior Adviser Equal RightsEmail: [email protected]Phone: +47 90 82 50 76
Read article "Mina Wikshåland Skouen"