Date | September 2023 |
---|---|
Location | Mansour district, Baghdad, Iraq |
Motive | Suspected LGBTQ+ hate crime |
Deaths | 1 |
In September 2023, Iraqi social media personality Noor Alsaffar, known as Noor BM, (b. 2000), [1] was shot three times by a gunman in the Mansour district of Baghdad, killing him. [2] [3] [4] [5]
As of April 2024, no one had been charged for the murder and the crime is "under investigation". [6]
In 2020, during an interview with the Alwalaa channel, Alsaffar described himself as a cross-dresser, stating that: "I’m not transgender and I’m not gay. I don’t have other tendencies, I’m only a cross-dresser and a model." This led to online abuse. [7] At the time of his murder in 2023, Alsaffar had over 370,000 followers on TikTok and Instagram, which were mostly used to post beauty and Get Ready With Me content. [8]
Alsaffar's killing took place during the day, and was recorded on neighbouring CCTV. [9]
IraQueer, an Iraqi LGBTQ+ rights group, condemned the killing of "the queer Iraqi vlogger Nour BM". [7] After the killing, some news outlets, such as Agenzia Nova and Al Bawaba, described Alsaffar as a transgender or transsexual woman. [1] [10] Remembering Our Dead, a website supporting Trans Day of Remembrance, described Alsaffar as "gender-nonconforming", but stated that how Alsaffar viewed their gender at the time of their death is not known. [11]
The shooting is one of several targeted attacks on social media personalities in Iraq, some of whom were identified as members of LGBTQ+ communities. [12] It is part of a wider increase in homophobia and transphobia in Iraq, which includes the burning of the rainbow flag, [8] a ban on media organisations in using the term 'homosexuality' - stipulating that 'sexual deviance' should be used instead, [13] the criminalisation of same-sex relationships, [14] and the deliberate digital targeting of LGBTQ+ people. [15] [16]
Date | September 2023 |
---|---|
Location | Mansour district, Baghdad, Iraq |
Motive | Suspected LGBTQ+ hate crime |
Deaths | 1 |
In September 2023, Iraqi social media personality Noor Alsaffar, known as Noor BM, (b. 2000), [1] was shot three times by a gunman in the Mansour district of Baghdad, killing him. [2] [3] [4] [5]
As of April 2024, no one had been charged for the murder and the crime is "under investigation". [6]
In 2020, during an interview with the Alwalaa channel, Alsaffar described himself as a cross-dresser, stating that: "I’m not transgender and I’m not gay. I don’t have other tendencies, I’m only a cross-dresser and a model." This led to online abuse. [7] At the time of his murder in 2023, Alsaffar had over 370,000 followers on TikTok and Instagram, which were mostly used to post beauty and Get Ready With Me content. [8]
Alsaffar's killing took place during the day, and was recorded on neighbouring CCTV. [9]
IraQueer, an Iraqi LGBTQ+ rights group, condemned the killing of "the queer Iraqi vlogger Nour BM". [7] After the killing, some news outlets, such as Agenzia Nova and Al Bawaba, described Alsaffar as a transgender or transsexual woman. [1] [10] Remembering Our Dead, a website supporting Trans Day of Remembrance, described Alsaffar as "gender-nonconforming", but stated that how Alsaffar viewed their gender at the time of their death is not known. [11]
The shooting is one of several targeted attacks on social media personalities in Iraq, some of whom were identified as members of LGBTQ+ communities. [12] It is part of a wider increase in homophobia and transphobia in Iraq, which includes the burning of the rainbow flag, [8] a ban on media organisations in using the term 'homosexuality' - stipulating that 'sexual deviance' should be used instead, [13] the criminalisation of same-sex relationships, [14] and the deliberate digital targeting of LGBTQ+ people. [15] [16]