Tag: gay kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyz Mufti Issues Fatwa Against Gays, Challenges HRW

Bishkek – Kyrgyzstan’s acting grand mufti, Maksat Hajji Toktomushev, has issued a fatwa against same-sex relations and challenged the findings of a new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW). In a statement placed on the Kyrgyz Muslims’ Spiritual Directorate website on January 30, Toktomushev said Islam absolutely forbids same-sex relations. Homosexuality was decriminalized in Kyrgyzstan… Read more »

Kyrgyzstan: Report documents widespread physical and sexual abuse of gay men by police

A report by a leading human rights group has claimed that gay and bisexual men in Kyrgyzstan face extortion, beatings, illegal detentions and even rape from the police force. Although sex between men was decriminalised in the state in 1998, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) report released today found that gay men face regular oppression… Read more »

Police raped us with hammers and electric shocks, say Kyrgyzstan gays

Human Rights Watch have called on the country’s government to deal with the ‘nightmare’ for LGBTI people Gay men are reportedly facing extreme abuse by police, including at least one instance of ‘hammer rape’, in Kyrgyzstan. International charity Human Rights Watch is urging authorities in the Central Asian country to acknowledge the police brutality and… Read more »

Interview: Lack Of Data On Gay Men Impedes HIV Fight In Central Asia

In recent years, the countries of Central Asia have experienced some of the fastest growing rates of HIV infection in the world. One of the key populations at risk is men who have sex with men (MSM).owever, an acute lack of data on the health of that population — due in large part to intense… Read more »

Kyrgyzstan: Rights Activists Condemn Ban on Gay Muslim Documentary

Democratization activists in Kyrgyzstan are worrying about a roll-back of basic freedoms after a Bishkek court prohibited a film festival from screening a Dutch documentary about homosexual Muslim men. “I Am Gay and Muslim,” was scheduled to screen on September 28 at the sixth annual Bir Duino (“One World”) human rights documentary film festival in… Read more »

Kyrgyzstan: Can a Gay Man Get a Fair Trial?

An appellate case involving a young homosexual man convicted of distributing pornographic films is shaping up as an important test for gay rights in Kyrgyzstan. Local rights activists contend that that the defendant, Mikhail Kudryashov, was entrapped and is a victim of gender-related bias at the hands of police and prosecutors. Kudryashov’s appeal is currently… Read more »

In Kyrgyzstan, under the law you can change your sex but receiving the right documents proves difficult

In Kyrgyzstan, the law allows sex reassignment, but it is difficult to re-execute the documents. On this December 8 at a roundtable in Bishkek to discuss the HIV epidemic in Kyrgyzstan, told members of the public organization “Indigo”, working with representatives of sexual minorities. According to them, unlike other countries in Central Asia in Kyrgyzstan… Read more »

LGBT Organization ‘Labrys’

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan – First Arts Festival against Homo-and Transphobia to be held in Bishkek 14 May 2009. For the first time in Kyrgyzstan an arts festival named ‘Rainbow Kyrgyzstan’ commemorating the International Day Against Homo- and Transphobia is to be held in Bishkek on 17-20 May. The festival was prepared and organized by Lesbian, Gay,… Read more »

Report claims trans men and lesbian women face rape and abuse in Kyrgyzstan

A leading human rights group has claimed that lesbian and bisexual women and transgender men face violent abuse, including rape, in Kyrgyzstan, both in family settings and from strangers on the street. Based on interviews, the Human Rights Watch report found evidence of beatings, forced marriages, and physical and psychological abuse. HRW wants the Kyrgyz… Read more »

Police storm international meeting for gay rights in Kyrgyzstan

Human rights groups have highlighted the plight of the LGBT community in Kyrgyzstan after a police raid on a leading gay rights group. Police forced their way into the premises of the LGBT group Labrys, which was in the midst of hosting a dinner for 30 domestic and international advocates. Members of the Kyrgyz Anti-AIDS… Read more »

Kyrgyzstani group publishes homosexuality information

The publication of a brochure about homosexuality in the central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan has drawn attention to the discrimination lesbian, trans and bisexual people in the country face. However, the head of Bishkek mosque condemned the publication. “If there is no reaction to it, then our society has truly sunken below the level of… Read more »

More Toddlers Infected With HIV In Kyrgyzstan Scandal

Bishkek – The latest cases involve children who are 2 and 3 years old and were found after an analysis of blood samples from the southern city of Osh where the outbreak occurred, Erkin Bakiev of the regional AIDS center said. Health Ministry officials in the former Soviet republic have accused medical staff of accidentally… Read more »

LBT Organization in Kyrgyzstan

Press conference about brochure on homosexuality in Kyrgyzstan On 8 October “Labrys” presented the brochure on homosexuality in Kyrgyzstan written for the first time in Kyrgyz language. The target audience was the Kyrgyz society in general, which, we thought, needed undistorted and clear information about homo and bisexuals, homophobia and discrimination. We also addressed the… Read more »

Kyrgyzstan lesbian community print information brochure

A social organisation for lesbian, trans and bisexual people in the central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan has taken its first steps toward wider acceptance by publishing a brochure about homosexuality. Representatives of Labris told a press conference in the capital Bishkek that Homosexuality: A Kyrgyzstan Reality has an initial print run of 1,000 copies, half… Read more »

Frugal Traveler: Into the Mountains of Kyrgyzstan

“Chut!” Bakut yelled as he yanked the horse’s bridle. “Move!” His cries echoed off the mountains around us, a threatening desert landscape I’d only ever seen in Wile E. Coyote cartoons. But the horse would not budge; it had found a safe spot on the perilously steep and sandy slope, and was not coming down… Read more »

LABRYS (lesbian organization) survives crisis in Kyrgyzstan

Since the elections the Central Asian republic has been in the news continuously. We have all seen the demonstrations and plundering in Bishkek and other cities. No one could imagine that the people of Kyrgyzstan would take the matter in their own hands. But what has been the effect of all this on our colleagues… Read more »

Kyrgyzstan: Focus on gay and lesbian rights

Bishkek – Kyrgyzstan is known as an island of gay tolerance in an otherwise oppressive region. Some gay people come here from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, where homosexuality is punishable by law, in search of a more favourable and accepting environment. The number of gay and lesbian groups in the country is growing as a consequence.… Read more »