This article is part of a partnership with OC Media. You can read the original in English here.
A 20-year-old Azerbaijani citizen, Fatima Karimova, was found dead in a rented apartment in Tbilisi on 26 June. According to investigators, she fell victim to a so-called “honour killing,” allegedly committed by her cousin, Emin Aliyev. Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs is investigating the case under the article of intentional murder.
The story gained widespread public attention after Georgian human rights activist Baia Pataraia shared it on social media on Wednesday. She later told Civil Georgia that the Georgian human rights organisation Sapari had petitioned the prosecutor’s office to be allowed to participate in the case as a legal representative of the victim’s family in Georgia.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia told OC Media that they could not provide additional details beyond the charges already filed. Meanwhile, the victim’s sister, Zuleykha Karimova, told the outlet that Georgian police had informed her that Emin Aliyev had left Georgia and fled to Turkey. He is currently wanted.
According to Zuleykha Karimova, in mid-May, Fatima left the Aghjabadi District of Azerbaijan for Tbilisi to live with her partner, Kanan Aliyev (no relation to Emin Aliyev). This caused outrage among relatives, as Fatima was allegedly engaged to another man, Orkhan Hasanov.
However, after arriving in Tbilisi, according to her sister, the young man began abusing Fatima: he tore up her passport, beat her, and left her alone in the hotel where they were staying.
“My sister could not return to Azerbaijan. I offered to send her money, but she said it was impossible because she believed her passport was ruined and was sure that border control officers would not allow her to leave the country with such a document,” Zuleykha Karimova said.
Fatima was then met by a local resident, Inna Mkrtchyan.
“She was in a very difficult state. Her hands were burned with cigarette butts. She said her boyfriend had done it. She asked to be taken to the Azerbaijani Embassy,” Mkrtchyan told OC Media.
According to the woman, it was Sunday, so the embassy was closed. Instead, she took Fatima to an acquaintance. The young woman had a piece of paper with three phone numbers, one of which belonged to her cousin, Emin Aliyev.
Emin Aliyev arrived in Tbilisi on 3 June. According to Mkrtchyan, he explained that he would rent an apartment for Fatima for a few months until her relatives’ anger subsided, and then help her return to Azerbaijan.
However, on 26 June, Zuleykha Karimova was unable to reach her sister and asked Emin Aliyev to check if she was alright. He later reported that Fatima was fine, but claimed she had not let him into the new apartment.
After that, Emin Aliyev stopped answering Zuleykha’s calls and messages. She then asked Inna Mkrtchyan to visit her sister.
According to Mkrtchyan, she was also called by the apartment owner, and neighbours said they had heard noise coming from Fatima’s apartment during the night.
“I went to the address in Varketili. A neighbour said he saw Fatima on the morning of 25 June as she was returning from a shop. When I asked about Emin Aliyev, we found out that he had left at around five in the morning on 26 June. That was when we realized something terrible had happened,” she said.
“My sister begged him not to kill her”
According to Zuleykha Karimova, Emin Aliyev repeatedly abused her sister and became particularly aggressive when intoxicated.
“Fatima told me that once, while drunk, he stood next to her in the bathroom while she was washing her face. When she turned around, she saw him holding a knife. My sister begged him not to kill her, and at that moment, he cut her arm,” Zuleykha said.
Later, according to her, Emin Aliyev apologized, cried, and said he was drunk and did not want to kill Fatima.
Furthermore, in personal correspondence with her sister, which OC Media reviewed, Fatima said that her partner, Kanan Aliyev, had blackmailed her, threatening to send intimate videos to her uncles if she blocked him.
Zuleykha believes that Emin Aliyev found out about the existence of these videos and decided that Fatima had “shamed” the family.
“Fatima told me that relatives had ordered Emin Aliyev to kill her,” Zuleykha Karimova said.
According to her, during her last conversation with their uncle, Elshan Sultanov, whom she informed of Fatima’s death, he replied: “That is how it was supposed to end.”
