Georgian prosecutors have charged a suspect in absentia over the murder of an Azerbaijani woman, Fatima Karimova, in Tbilisi under “aggravating circumstances,” days after women’s rights advocates raised alarms over “horrific femicide” and possible “honor crime,” and following subsequent reports that the suspect was arrested in Turkey.
According to the July 7 statement by the Prosecutor’s Office, the suspect, Emin Aliyev, strangled Karimova in the evening of June 25 on motives “of intolerance of the equality of women and men” in a Tbilisi apartment where she had been held for weeks and restricted from contact with the outside world and her family members. Aliyev was allegedly Karimova’s relative.
(Georgia’s disputed parliament amended a series of laws in 2025 to remove the word “gender,” thus introducing the term “intolerance of the equality of women and men” to denote gender-based crimes.)
The investigation found that from June 3 to June 25, Aliyev restricted Karimova’s ability “to make life decisions independently, prohibiting her from communicating with family members and people she wished to see, and restricted her right to leave the house and move freely,” the Prosecutor’s Office said.
It added that Karimova attempted to leave the Tbilisi apartment she shared with Aliyev, but “was unable to do so independently,” as Aliyev “unilaterally made decisions regarding her leaving the house, her communication with other people, and even matters related to food,” through which he “illegally attempted to assert his superiority as a man over Fatima Karimova.”
Aliyev has been charged under Article 109(h) of Georgia’s Criminal Code, which criminalizes murder committed out of “intolerance of the equality of women and men” and carries a sentence of up to 20 years’ imprisonment or life imprisonment. The Prosecutor’s Office said it will seek pretrial detention in absentia and will place the accused on the wanted list.
Aliyev is reportedly detained in Turkey, according to reports in several Azerbaijani media outlets.
The case first drew public attention on July 1, when Baia Pataraia, who represents the women’s rights organization Sapari, shared details she said she had initially learned from a Russian social media influencer. According to her, the victim was a young orphan from Azerbaijan who had been “lured” to Georgia by a boyfriend with promises that they would live and work together. She said the promised job never materialized and that, after the couple ran out of money, the man “severely” beat Karimova, pawned her iPhone, and returned to Azerbaijan alone, leaving her behind in Tbilisi.
Pataraia said an Armenian woman living in Georgia took the beaten woman in and helped her reach relatives in Azerbaijan, after which a young male relative traveled to Tbilisi, promising to rent her an apartment and arrange her return home once the situation had calmed down.
The Armenian woman went to check the apartment after the victim’s younger sister in Azerbaijan lost contact with her for several days, and neighbors reported hearing a loud argument the previous night, but had not called the police. Police later forced open the door after being alerted and found the woman dead, Pataraia added, noting the perpetrator had fled to Turkey and had been declared wanted.
On July 6, Azerbaijani media outlet APA, citing Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General’s Office, reported that the office had sent an official request to its Georgian counterpart expressing its “readiness to provide comprehensive legal assistance and other necessary support” to ensure “a full, comprehensive, and objective investigation” into the case.
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