Members of the LGBT community of Uzbekistan addressed a letter to President Mirziyoyev requesting to delete the Article 120 (Homosexualism) form the Criminal Code.
Today, the Uzbek conservative and homophobic community is posting footages on social networks, showing members of the LGBT community being chased, humiliatated and beaten. In addition, there are reports in online publications that people are being jailed for homosexuality. We want to gather all these cases and send to the Human Rights Watch. Our goal is to ensure that Article 120 of the Code of Uzbekistan is deleted from the Criminal Code. This article incites vigilante attacks and corruption. We hope that our address will reach the President through the UN bodies, the letter said.
-Now more and more LGBT people are being hunted for. There are many cases when arrested gays or lesbians are demanded money for silence about their sexual orientation, the letter added.
Earlier on July 18, news publications reported of the arrest of two Tashkent men who had allegedly been engaged in homosexual relations. According to the police, the men were arrested in an apartment in Chilonzor district.
Homosexualism is outlawed in Uzbekistan and is punishable with up to three years’ imprisonment under the dishonorable Art. 120 of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan ("Voluntary sexual intercourse of two male individuals").
In May 2018, Uzbekistan authorities did not accept 11 UN recommendations on human rights related to the LGBT community. The director of the National Center for Human Rights Akmal Saidov, commenting on the decision of the Uzbek authorities, said that the rejected recommendations were contrary to the the article 120.
