◂ LIBRARY

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Community

Social events, entertainment, bars, festivals, cafes, bookstores, etc.

• In the capital there is an underground scene that operates with little (but occasional) police interference. I know locals who are openly gay and live with few issues in Baku.

  • There are varying opinions about how friendly or open the group really is, but it is at least LGBT friendly. 

  • “The underground community usually hangs out at Western Expat bars (Room and Barrel). Some staff are clearly uncomfortable with gay people, but others are not and I’m unaware of any violence there. I have only seen police monitoring the entrance of Room once. Old Room is less expat, more of a younger local hang out that may be LGBT friendly, but not for any overt displays of sexuality.” (Fulbrighter ‘18–‘19)

• In other cities there is no community at all. There are no gay bars, festivals, etc.

• The Dutch embassy hosted a film series documenting mass arrests, prolonged detention and physical torture of LGBT persons that occurred in September/October 2018. There was a sizable turnout of locals to the films, however, the recent events were conducted by the police with impunity and show what locals face.

Political/Social Environment

Resources assessing queer- and trans-friendliness in your country

• “LGBTs are shunned by most of the community and subject to harassment by the police.” (Fulbrighter ‘18–‘19)

• “Gatherings for LGBT rights have been met with mass arrests and public and police violence.” (Fulbrighter ‘18–‘19)

Legal

Laws that are accepting or discriminatory and legal resources specifically for LGBTQ persons

• “It is not explicitly illegal to be LGBT; however, any PDA or public acts are arrestable offenses for both LGBT and straight people. It is much more likely to be met with arrest or a baton for LGBT persons while heterosexual couples may only receive a fine. Looking foreign will help with this. Police do not want to overtly harass foreigners or embassy affiliated persons, but you’ll still be fined.” (Fulbrighter ‘18–‘19)

• “As a Fulbrighter connected to a foreign embassy the risk of arrest or violence from the police is low, but monitoring of your internet and phone activity is constant. Devices are registered with the police per law… Always have American Citizen Services on-call number on you…If the police come to your home and you know you have not broken the law call ACS and have them on the line before opening the door. Inform the police you are with a U.S. Embassy program and only speak in English unless absolutely fluent in Azerbaijani.” (Fulbrighter ‘18–‘19)