By Ulkar Gurbanova

“Be quiet, let me sleep."

"Whenever I make noise, you want to hit me."

"Don’t make noise, shut up!”

These are small pieces of the last conversation between the Chobanov siblings, according to neighbors.

22-year-old Emin Chobanov killed his 30-year-old sister Rubaba Chobanova in their Baku apartment. The Chobanov family lived in a one-room apartment in a building constructed by the Azerbaijani government for people with vision disabilities.

Both parents- Emin Chobanov and Basti Chobanova are both visually impaired.

Before this tragedy five family members, including the younger sister Nigar Chobanova, lived together.

The tragedy happened at 9 am. on May 26, 2016.

Neighbors and the official court document agree the relationship between the siblings was not good condition and they frequently fought.

According to the court document, Rubaba was blamed for mistreatment of her blind parents, and in particular for a free lifestyle and "coming home late several times".

The document says she "humiliated and insulted her parents, and claimed that because they were visually impaired, no one wanted to come to their house to ask her hand in marriage.”

Rubaba was working as a shop assistant;

Emin was not working anywhere. On the day of the murder, while she was getting ready for work, another argument started.  

But this time, the fight was different.

Rubaba was quarreling with her mother and Emin intervened.

Rubaba took off her shoe and threw it at Emin.

They started wrestling.

Rubaba grabbed a kitchen knife and attacked her brother.

Emin took the knife from her and stabbed her five times in the chest.

It all happened in front of their parents.

The Baku Court on Grave Crimes, guided by Article 120.2.4 of the Criminal Code, found Emin guilty of the murder of his sister with special cruelty.

On November 28, 2016, he was sentenced to 17 years in prison.

Emin filed an appeal.

His lawyer Vahid Aliyev argued that the prison term was so long because the court decided Emin emotionally tortured his parents by killing his sister in front of them.

He argued that Emin killed his sister over a personal conflict, and was not trying to harm his parents.

Aliyev asked the court to reduce Emin's sentence under Article 120.1 of the Criminal Code.

Emin's surviving sister Nigar Chobanova, who is the legal heir of the victim, also asked the court to reduce her brother's sentence.

After investigating the materials of the court case, discussing the details of the appeal, and listening to the prosecution, the Collegial Court decided to accept the appeal and to change the judgment of the Baku Court on Grave Crimes.

The court accepts that the victim herself initiated the argument.

After killing his sister, the perpetrator called for an ambulance, waited for the police officers, confessed to the crime, and voluntarily handed over the murder weapon.

The court noted that his parents are not able to take care of themselves and need the help of others.

The court noted it was his first involvement in a criminal case.

And according to a Court Psychiatric Examination, Emin Chobanov is considered as a person with a mental disorder, although he was aware what he was doing when he murdered Rubaba.

The court reduced Emin Chobanov's sentence to 10 years.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Georgia two cases of femicide, when brother killed sister were registered from 2008 till 2014.

Meanwhile, 8 women were killed by a male family member, i.e. a son, father, brother, nephew or grandson, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland between 1st January 2016 and 31st December 2016, posted by The Femicide Census.

The significant research also was conducted in Azerbaijan by Gender Port and Women's Association for Rational Development.

Between 2010 and 2016, 230 women were killed by their father, brother, son or very close relatives.

This number was very dramatic in 2014, 48 women were killed by a male family member in a single year.

The results are very distressing for a geographically and demographically small country such Azerbaijan.