A photo of the backs of the two assailants, published by the Lebanese police. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — The Lebanese police announced on Tuesday in a press release that they had arrested two men for the murder of a young transgender woman, Tala, whose body was found in Dora on May 13. She had suffered stab wounds to the face and was bathed in blood.
A statement from the Internal Security Forces (ISF) presents its version of the events on the night of the murder: At around 2 a.m., a white BMW without number plates arrived to the place where Tala's body was later found, and a man got out of the car, dragging the struggling woman. The second man then tackled her to the ground, beat and stabbed her, while cutting off her clothes with a blunt object. The two men then abandoned the victim and drove off in their vehicle.
Helem, a prominent LGBTQIA+ rights organization in the region established 20 years ago in Beirut, released a statement regarding the incident over the weekend.
Having heard about the murder, Helem "discovered that the person killed was a trans woman named Tala who was known and loved in her community."
The organization's recounting of the event is corroborated by that of the ISF, adding that the murderers removed Tala's clothing and "photographed [her body] naked in a disgusting lack of basic humanity and civility to the dignity of the victim. However, while the ISF claimed the crime was sexual in nature, Helem places it in the context of a system of abuse and oppression upheld by "organized gangs."
The ISF's investigations found that the two suspects in the car were R.K. (Lebanese, born in 1982) and M.K. (Syrian, born in 2003). They were arrested in Jal al-Dib and Sad al-Boushrieh (Metn-north) respectively. One confessed to having committed the murder, while the other had driven the car. The motive was sexual, according to the defendants' confessions.
Referring to testimonies from several trans women in the Dora-Bourj Hammoud area where Tala was murdered, Helem says that this crime "is not individual or isolated, but rather part of a series of attacks and crimes targeting trans women by organized gangs that impose 'protection fees' on them."
According to the rights organization's statement, the attacks and the fees create a vicious cycle by which increased violence gives gangs increased leverage in exploiting trans people's vulnerability and need for protection.