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Parents had almost burned their Azerbaijani teenaged son alive after they learned that he was gay. The young man was forced to flee from home, but still fears for his life and cannot leave the country without documents, reports Gay Star News.

A teenager has escaped with his life after his family found out he was gay. An 18-year-old from Azerbaijan, who the author of the article calls Malik to protect his identity, has been victim of blackmail for the past few months, the article reads.

As the article notes, that an anonymous person on Facebook threatened to give him out to his family on 23 July, sending a picture of him marching in a Pride to his parents. “Malik’s parents attempted to burn him with gasoline,” the LGBT Azerbaijan Alliance reports, adding they punched and kicked him.

“Even though Malik ran away from home, a lot of his personal belongings and documents were taken away by his family….meaning he has no chance to leave the country,” the activists note.

The young man is in a safe place right now. However, a threat to his life continues, reads the article.

The article also notes that Isa Shakhmarli, a leader of a gay rights group in the capital Baku, died in an apparent suicide earlier this year. He was discovered dead after reportedly hanging himself using the rainbow-colored flag. Prior to his death, Shakhmarli said in an interview that LGBT Azerbaijan people struggle because it is a homophobic country and many cannot find a job. This means 90% are forced to remain closeted.

“Though psychologists explained it to my family, they still call it an illness. I wish our society was not biased. Before hating, read about homosexuality on the internet, learn about it. Then you can be free to hate after it. I want LGBTs to be brave. I live separately from my family in my own house, I have my own job, I can do everything myself. If you want, you can achieve,’ Shakhmarli said.

As the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), one of the LGBT organizations in the US, reports, Azerbaijan does not criminalize same-sex activity, but its strong Muslim culture makes it difficult to be openly LGBT in the country.