A star-crossed young gay couple jumped to their deaths from a bridge in Armenia after sharing a kiss in a final photo, based on an area LGBTQ group.
The organization Pink Armenia reported that the 2 men, identified only as Arsen and Tigran, leaped from the 301-foot Davitashen Bridge within the capital of Yerevan last week.
Before committing suicide together on Oct. 20, the duo put a tragic post on Instagram, writing, “Pleased End. We made the choice together to share photos and take the following steps.”
The couple posted pictures of themselves having fun with facials together, sharing a kiss and showing off what seem like their wedding rings.
Considered one of the youths was said to have been 16 or 17 years old, while the opposite was a number of years older.
Local reports claimed that Tigran and Arsen’s parents didn’t approve of their relationship and so they had received threats before their deaths.
“The young men still had a few years of life ahead of them, but due to intolerance towards them, they took such a tragic step,” Pink Armenia wrote. “LGBT individuals are very acquainted with the sensation of isolation and misunderstanding of family and society.
“This tragic incident proves once more that LGBT people in Armenia will not be protected and never protected by society or the state.”
Armenia’s gay rights organization also claimed that after the couple’s Instagram post went viral, people have flooded their page with vial homophobic comments.
Homosexuality was only decriminalized in Armenia in 2003, but many members of the LGBTQ community in the previous Soviet country still opt to maintain their same-sex relationships secret as a result of widespread intolerance.
Armenia ranks forty seventh out of 49 countries of Europe and Central Asia for LGBTQ rights, just ahead of Turkey and Azerbaijan, according the international organization ILGA-Europe that measures hostility toward gay people.