As of April 2024, no one had been charged for the murder and the crime is "under investigation".[6]
Background
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]
Killing
Alsaffar's killing took place during the day, and was recorded on neighbouring CCTV.[9]
Reactions
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]