On April 5, Lilit Martirosyan, the first registered transgender woman in Armenia, became the first member of the country’s LGBT community to speak in the Armenian parliament. LGBT people in Armenia, she told the National Assembly, have been “tortured, raped, kidnapped, physically assaulted, burned, stabbed, murdered, robbed and unemployed.”

It was a courageous public appearance in a country where homophobic and transphobic sentiments are widespread. Sadly, but not surprisingly, Martirosyan’s speech was followed by a torrent of death threats and verbal abuse. The chairperson of the parliamentary session she spoke at denounced her appearance. Days later, a crowd of more than 100 supporters of nationalist and conservative groups gathered in front of the National Assembly building to protest her appearance. One lawmaker was captured on video telling demonstrators that Martirosyan should be burned alive. She has continued to receive death threats since her speech, and recently told Agence-France Presse that she is hiding out at a friend’s house. ...