The topic of homosexuality in Uzbekistan remains completely closed in the media and public discussions. Sexual contact between men is a criminal offense in this country and is punishable by imprisonment for up to three years.
A client (MSM) and his partner were beaten by five people near a nightclub. Police officers appeared from somewhere and managed to detain only two attackers, the rest managed to escape. After that, the police officers began to find out the reason for the beating in order to draw up a protocol. The attackers (the perpetrators of the fight) told the employees that they were beating “fags”. After that, the police released the perpetrators and began to intimidate the victims that they would take them for examination and put them in jail for sodomy. The client and his friend were forced to come to terms with the prejudice against them because of their homosexuality.
The client and his friend were asked to write a statement for beating on the street and against law enforcement officers for releasing the perpetrators and intimidating the victims. The client and a friend refused, fearing publicity and persecution by law enforcement.
Article 120
According to some reports, this article is rarely applied, usually to specific people. However, the fact of the presence of a criminal article for sodomy is a tool of blackmail and extortion against homosexual men.