Gaystarnews.com
The ex-Soviet country of Kyrgyzstan last week announced a new bill that would make any statement that creates ‘a positive attitude to unconventional sexual orientation’ – whether or not it amounts to a criminal act under the law – punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine.
Although there are no laws that prohibit sexual relations between men as it was decriminalised in 1998, a recent report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) has found that gay and bisexual men have been subjected to a range of physical, sexual, and psychological abuses at the hands of police in Kyrgyzstan.
According to a news report published by the HRW, the proposed amendments to the Criminal Code define ‘non-traditional sexual relations’ as ‘sodomy, lesbianism and other forms of non-traditional sexual behaviour.’
Anyone found ‘creating a positive attitude toward non-traditional sexual relations, using the media or information and telecommunications networks,’ would face up to six months in prison and a fine of from 2,000 to 5,000 som (US$36 to $91).
If the person is found to ‘create a positive attitude toward non-traditional sexual relations’ among minors, or is a repeat offender, the prison term could be as long as a year and the fine would be 3,000 to 6,000 som ($55 to $110). Fines also could be imposed under the administrative code for similar activities that do not amount to criminal acts under the proposed amendments.
The bill was published online for public discussion, but has not been officially registered for consideration.
The HRW noted that the provisions in the bill would ‘violate Kyrgyzstan’s constitution as well as international human rights law on nondiscrimination, freedom of expression, association, and assembly.’
‘This draconian bill is blatantly discriminatory against LGBT people and would deny citizens across Kyrgyzstan their fundamental rights,’ said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
The group has called on the government to withdraw the proposed bill immediately, and the government and political parties to speak out against such legislation, making clear it has no place in Kyrgyzstan.
In the weeks after the HRW’s report ‘They Told Us We Deserved This: Police Violence against Gay and Bisexual Men in Kyrgyzstan‘ was released, an LGBT activist who was involved with the report received various threats from individuals on social media, including a death threat.