Connect with us

LGBT Leader Dies From Apparent Suicide, Hanging Himself With Rainbow Flag

Published

on

var addthis_config = {“data_track_addressbar”:true};

Isa Sahmarli, a leader of the LGBT human rights movement in former communist Azerbaijan, succumbs to anti-LGBT sentiment and rejection by his family

After months of anti-gay propaganda laws, discussions on outlawing lesbianism, and continued votes preventing same-sex marriage, the LGBT community in the former communist world suffered another setback this week. Isa Sahmarli, one of the most prominent LGBT activists in Azerbaijan, was found dead in his apartment Wednesday, a victim of apparent suicide. He hanged himself with a rainbow flag.

Sahmarli, only 20 years old, served as the head of Azad (Free) LGBT, one of the few gay-rights organizations in the country. He also organized multiple LGBT movie nights for the community in Baku, and had begun organizing an LGBT radio station, according to those who knew him.

“Isa was so proud to be an openly gay young man in Azerbaijan. He wore it as a badge, sometimes literally, and nothing made him smile more than educating people about LGBT rights,” one of Sahmarli’s friends, who lives in Azerbaijan and requested anonymity, told The New Civil Rights Movement. “He was repelled by hate. Any kind of hate.”

A video posted by RFE/RL showed Sahmarli’s friends gathered around his grave, laying a rainbow flag amidst the mourning:

http://english.share.rferl.org/flashembed.aspx?t=vid&id=25240150&w=500&h=284&skin=embeded

“Sometimes, I think he came into this world to help others and to give them support and encourage them realistically,” another friend, who also requested anonymity, told The New Civil Rights Movement. “Isa was the main person who was raising awareness about LGBT rights in the country. [His suicide] was a shock to me. I never thought he could do such an act. … in Azerbaijan, acceptance of LGBT people is zero percent.”

On his Facebook page, Sahmarli left a final note:

I am leaving you. God bless you. This country and this world are not for me. I am going to be happy now. Tell my mother I loved her very much. I blame you all for my death. This world is not colorful enough for my colors. Farewell.

There still seems to be no direct connection between any state-sponsored, anti-LGBT pressure, and Sahmarli’s apparent suicide. According to Vugar Adigozalov, who once worked with Sahmarli at Azad LGBT, the main cause for Sahmarli’s death stemmed from relations with those close to him. “The main reason for his suicide was that he had bad relations with his family,” Adigozalov told AFP.

Last year in an interview, according to Gay Star News, Sahmarli (also spelled Shakhmarli) “said his family could not accept his sexuality.”

“Though psychologists explained it to my family, they still call it an illness,” Shakhmarli said, adding it is the family that is the most common reason for LGBT people to commit suicide.

However, that’s not to say there isn’t anti-LGBT pressure extant in Azerbaijan. Like many of its former Soviet neighbors, LGBT rights movements in Azerbaijan, a Muslim-majority nation wedged between Russia and Iran, have been met with staunch opposition. While Russia’s recent propaganda laws and Kazakhstan’s attempts to bar “lesbianism” have generated the majority of headlines, there appears little reason to believe that Azerbaijan will buck the anti-LGBT trend ossifying across the region.

Now, with Sahmarli’s death, the LGBT movement in Azerbaijan has suffered one of its biggest setbacks to date.

“[Isa] is pure heart. Every project, every idea, every walk, every conversation, he approached with unmatchable enthusiasm,” Sahmarli’s friend said. “In many ways, Isa was the LGBT community in Azerbaijan.”

Video courtesy of Radio Free Europe Azerbaijan Service
Image via Isa Sahmarli’s Facebook page

Casey Michel HeadshotCasey Michel is a graduate student at Columbia University, and former Peace Corps Kazakhstan volunteer. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Slate, and Talking Points Memo, and he has contributed multiple long-form investigations to Minneapolis’s City Pages and the Houston Press. You can follow him on Twitter.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment
 
 

Enjoy this piece?

… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.

NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.

Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.

News

R.I.P. Sandra Day O’Connor: Politicians, Reporters Mourn First Woman on Supreme Court

Published

9 mins ago

on

December 1, 2023

By

Sandra Day O'Connor

Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor passed away Friday morning in Phoenix, Arizona at the age of 93. She was the first woman on the Court.

The news was announced by the Supreme Court, which said that the former justice died of a respiratory illness combined with complications of advanced dementia.

“A daughter of the American Southwest, Sandra Day O’Connor blazed an historic trail as our Nation’s first female Justice. She met that challenge with undaunted determination, indisputable ability, and engaging candor. We at the Supreme Court mourn the loss of a beloved colleague, a fiercely independent defender of the rule of law, and an eloquent advocate for civics education. And we celebrate her enduring legacy as a true public servant and patriot,” Chief Justice John Roberts said in the statement.

READ MORE: Reagan-Appointed SCOTUS Justice Sandra Day O’Connor Says Obama Should Choose Scalia Replacement

Though O’Connor was appointed in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan and was conservative, she was known to be a swing vote in many major decisions. Her appointment was challenged from the religious right as she had been vocally against banning abortion and had supported the Equal Rights Amendment.

While she normally joined the Court’s conservatives, she would side with the liberal members of the court in 28 cases. In 1992, she was the deciding vote in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which upheld the Roe v. Wade decision.

However, in 2000, she voted with the conservative majority on Bush v. Gore, which stopped the Florida election recount, keeping then-Vice President Al Gore from potentially becoming president. She retired in 2006, during President George W. Bush’s second term, and was replaced by conservative Justice Samuel Alito.

Politicians, pundits and journalists alike took to X (formerly Twitter) to mourn the passing of O’Connor.

“I’m sorry to hear of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor passing. I loved Evan Thomas’s recent bio, which showed off her can-do, self-starter, distinctly southwestern mentality. The first female Supreme Court justice (the original SCOTUSlady!), never a victim, & a model of civility. RIP,” wrote Anastasia Boden, director of the Cato Institute’s Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies.

“Today, we say goodbye to the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court and first female majority leader of a state senate. El Paso’s own Sandra Day O’Connor was instrumental in developing case law as a jurist, especially sex discrimination under Title VII,” Representative Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) wrote.

“She blazed every trail she set foot on—defying the odds stacked against women in the legal profession to rise to become Arizona’s assistant attorney general, our first female majority leader in the state Senate, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge, and ultimately our first female justice on the United States Supreme Court. She brought her Arizona brand of pragmatism and independence with her to the Supreme Court and was often the swing vote on consequential decisions,” Representative Greg Stanton (D-AZ) wrote in a statement.

“Justice O’Connor was not perfect. But her drive for consensus & common sense, her love of family, and her career itself, having graduated from law school at 22 in 1952, are especially notable and laudable. May her memory be a blessing,” tweeted MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin.

“Sad news w the passing of fmr Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O’Connor She was a trailblazer for the high court &always worked to find consensus She was 1st justice I had honor of voting for as Senator Her contributions 2 the court will endure +she will be missed,” Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) wrote.

“Sandra Day O’Connor was a trailblazer whose life and career paved the way for so many others. Her service and dedication to our country will be long-remembered. My heart is with her family and loved ones today,” Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) said.

“I’m saddened to hear about the passing of former Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O’Connor. As the first female justice, she leaves behind a trailblazing conservative legacy. My prayers are with her family during this difficult time,” Representative Cory Mills (R-FL) wrote.

Featured image by Kyle Tsui via Wikimedia Commons.

Continue Reading

News

The Christian Ziegler/Moms for Liberty Scandal Could Hurt Ron DeSantis

Published

1 hour ago

on

December 1, 2023

By

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis attempted to distance himself from Florida GOP Chair Christian Ziegler and his wife Bridget, the co-founder of Moms for Liberty—but his close involvement with them could spell trouble for him.

On Thursday, Christian Ziegler, elected this year as chair of the Florida Republican Party, was accused of sexual assault. The accuser is a woman who says she’s had a regular three-way sexual relationship with both Zieglers.

DeSantis told ABC News Thursday night that Ziegler should resign as chair.

“He’s innocent until proven guilty, but we just can’t have a party chair that is under that type of scrutiny,” DeSantis said.

READ MORE: Moms for Liberty Leader Alleges Biden Behind High-Level, Coordinated Effort to Make Kids LGBTQ (Video)

Before Thursday, DeSantis was close with the Zieglers. In February, during DeSantis’ fight with Disney, he appointed Bridget Ziegler to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, a new board overseeing Disney’s theme parks in Orlando, according to Variety. DeSantis has not called on Bridget Ziegler to step down from either the district or her position on the Sarasota County School Board.

Last year, Christian Ziegler opened a rally for DeSantis, and has backed DeSantis’ using of the culture war to make a name for himself.

“All you have to do is Google Christian Ziegler Ron DeSantis, and you’ll see no one has been in the press more than I have promoting the governor and what he’s done because I think he’s done an outstanding job, especially on the cultural issues, which for me, are a big passion of mine,” Ziegler said in a March interview with CBS Miami.

DeSantis’ approval ratings as governor have been falling. In a poll taken in November, before the allegations against Christian Ziegler were made public, DeSantis’ overall approval had fallen four points since July, to a 49% approval rating. But among independent voters, his disapproval rating rocketed to 60%, a 14-point boost during the same time frame. Disapproval also grew by 10 percent, to 80%, among Black voters.

The allegations against Christian Ziegler are serious. Ziegler is accused of sexually assaulting the woman he and his wife and a standing sexual relationship with on October 2. He’s also accused of secretly recording video of their previous sexual encounters.

Though DeSantis has called on him to resign, other GOP leaders have supported Ziegler.

“If the allegations are true I’m pretty sure change will come at the [Republican Party of Florida] but I don’t believe it for a minute,” Lee County GOP Chair Michael Thompson told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. “Christian’s the chairman. Christian’s still the chairman of the organization until something else happens. We don’t anticipate Christian leaving as the chair.”

“Innocent until proven guilty,” Thompson added. “That’s what our justice system needs to get back to and that’s for everybody across the board, not just for Trump, not just for Ziegler… let’s not try to convict people in headlines. Let’s see the evidence.”

Continue Reading

News

Moms for Liberty Deletes Statement Supporting Co-Founder Whose Husband Is Accused of Sexual Battery

Published

19 hours ago

on

November 30, 2023

By

The far-right Christian nationalist organization Moms for Liberty issued, then later deleted, a statement declaring support for its co-founder after her husband, the chairman of the Florida Republican Party, was accused of sexual battery by a woman who allegedly has had a consensual “three-way sexual relationship” with the married couple.

“The Sarasota Police Department is investigating a sexual battery allegation against Florida GOP Chair Christian Ziegler, a political bombshell in the home state of former President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis,” The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports.

“The alleged sexual battery occurred inside the woman’s home in Sarasota last month,” the nonpartisan Florida Center for Government Accountability adds, citing a police report. “According to sources close to the investigation, she said she and both Zieglers had been involved in a longstanding consensual three-way sexual relationship prior to the incident.”

The FLCGA also reports the “complaint was filed on October 4 and the alleged sexual battery occurred inside the woman’s home in Sarasota on October 2, according to the [police] report. Among the few words that went unredacted in the report are ‘rape’ and ‘sexual assault complaint.'”

READ MORE: Pence Bombshell Resurfaces Old Questions About Grassley and January 6

“Christian Ziegler is also alleged to have secretly videotaped the sexual encounters between the couple and the woman, sources said,” the FLCGA added.

Bridget Ziegler, the Moms for Liberty co-founder and the spouse of Christian Ziegler, “has become a star within the MAGA movement,” the FLCGA notes, adding she was “personally endorsed for her school board seat by Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, who also appointed her in March to the state board that oversees the special district previously overseen by Disney World prior to DeSantis’s politically motivated feud with the entertainment company.”

Moms for Liberty was named an anti-government extremist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Thursday afternoon Moms for Liberty responded to the fast-spreading news reports, issuing a statement on the social media platform X saying they “stand with” Bridget Ziegler.

“Yet another attempt today to ruin the reputation of a strong woman fighting for America,” the group said, calling her a “badass” in a post that has since been deleted. Florida’s Voice confirmed the deletion.

READ MORE: ‘If I Leave They Win’: Santos Claims ‘Bullying’ at Off the Rails Press Conference

In 2021, Donald Trump at a Florida rally thanked then-Florida GOP vice chair, now Chairman Christian Ziegler, calling him a “friend,” someone who “made our country great,” and a “warrior.”

Watch below or at this link.

 

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2020 AlterNet Media.