Rudaw her uncle Dlovan Sadiq said: "She left the house five to six years ago, I had not seen her ever since. Doski made a mistake." No arrests have been made and the suspect fled the country, Ekurd Daily reported.
Ms Azad's family were not keen on her new life as a woman who worked in a salon. Her father is reported to have had taken her ID and passport from her, but that she "seemed to have received it back because she spent New Year’s in Dubai."A source said that the alleged killer fled the country on January 30, and drove north to Turkey to avoid tracking.
It is understood that he may have returned to his home country soon after. The US Consulate General in Erbil, the Iraqi Kurdish capital, yesterday condemned the killing in a statement which read: "We categorically condemn this violence and the discrimination that is undoubtedly at the root of this crime.For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here."We ask the authorities to thoroughly investigate this murder and prosecute the perpetrator to the fullest extent of the law."Speaking to local media, district director Brendar Dosky had said that the motive behind the killing is likely Ms Azad's transgender identity but "this is preliminary information and it needs a detailed investigation."A woman's rights activist told VOA that the killing is "gravely concerning" for trans people in the country.