Her Name Was Eden

Eden was a transgender woman from Saudi Arabia. With the help of US-based private investigators, she was trafficked out of the country. 24 hours after her suicide, major media outlets stay silent.

Consider this a strong content warning for what is to follow re: suicide. I must report on what I know about Eden and her passing, as it has affected the transgender community deeply. However, what you read may be traumatic and I want to caution you should you proceed. Please if you need help - contact 988, The Trevor Project, or Trans Lifeline to reach a suicide crisis counselor.

Last night, Eden Knight, a transgender woman with many friends in the community, took her life. With her passing, she left a final message on twitter about the circumstances that lead to her death. Originally from Saudi Arabia, Eden was trafficked out of the United States. Forced to detransition, she was brought back to Saudi Arabia and given no future where she could be herself. Her final message reveals what so many transgender people and those who care about us have said for so long: for many of us, forced detransition can be a fate worse than death. It is with hope that what I tell you here will cause change and that she will be remembered in her passing.

Eden’s note details that two “fixers,” allegedly a man by the name of Michael Pocalyko and a woman by the name of Ellen, got in touch with her with a message of hope - that they could patch things over with her father. They delivered her to D.C. and a lawyer by the name of Bader took over from there. Over time, the lawyer made it so that Eden was entirely dependent on him and unable to to leave. Because Eden had remained in the United States illegally, she was afraid that if she tried to run away, she would be reported and sent back to Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately, that seemed to be Bader’s plan the entire time - eventually, she had no option but to go back to Saudi Arabia as she was completely cut off from her community, money, and independence.

Here is what I can confirm from independent sources: Eden has indeed passed away. Her father is wealthy and has close ties to the Saudi government. I cannot corroborate the exact identity of her father, but the identity of an individual making the rounds on Twitter lines up with details I have been made aware of by a separate independent source with knowledge of the case. Independent investigators have also allegedly identified Michael Pocalyko and Ellen. I will link a document that friends of Eden’s have put together for journalists looking further into the events of her passing - I cannot confirm the authenticity of every part of this document, but having spoken to some of these investigators as well as reporters, they have made a compelling case.

If the key details that have been revealed by multiple sources are found to be true, then Eden’s death represents a serious atrocity committed to a transgender woman by people who are allowed to operate within the United States. Her death also represents a chance to make things right and a chance to show a commitment to transgender people within our borders. Transgender refugees should be given full protection and a number to call if they are being trafficked, and asylum status should be granted liberally to this population who could face certain death if they are deported. Eden should have been made to feel safe to reach out for help.

Likewise, transgender people in our own borders should be protected from state governments that seek to do to trans people what Eden’s family did to her. Forced detransition is not something that only happens in countries less tolerant of transgender people. States like South Dakota have passed laws making this mandatory and specifically telling doctors how to do it.

Eden’s words show the pain of many transgender people who are forced into circumstances similar to her. Sometimes medical detransition is forced on transgender people by bad family members. Sometimes it is politicians that attempt to force detransition on people. The one string that runs through it all is that these people think that transgender individuals are wrong to be who they are. This is what activism against anti-trans legislation is for. This is what immigration activism for trans asylum seekers is for. Transgender people know where this path leads.

She closed her note off by saying that she wanted to be a leader for people like her. Her friends have told me many stories of how wonderful a person she was and how much she cared about the community. She said that she wanted to see our kids grow up to fight for us, and that she wanted to see transgender rights worldwide.

The only way we will ever see that is if we call for full accountability of those who seek to harm us, and a future where we take action to protect transgender both within our borders and worldwide.

Eden, we’ll do our best to make that world real for you and the countless others we lost along the way.