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Gay Activist, 20, Commits Suicide By Hanging Himself With Rainbow Flag

“We received a call from his loved ones reporting a suicide,” a police spokesman told the AFP. “Officers found his body at the scene. An investigation into the suicide is being carried out."

In his Facebook post, Shakhmarli wrote:

I am leaving. Forgive me for everything. This country and this world are not for me... You are all guilty for my death. This world cannot handle my true colours. Goodbye.

Homosexuality is legal in Azerbaijan, a largely Muslim former Soviet republic, but homophobia and anti-gay violence are rampant. For  Shakhmarli, the rejection appears to have begun at home: "The main reason for his suicide was that he had bad relations with his family,” said friend Vugar Adigozalov.

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