LGBT rights in Turkmenistan

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Turkmenistan face active discrimination and stigmatization compared to non-LGBT residents.[3][4] Turkmenistan is one of the only three post-Soviet countries where male homosexual activity remains criminalised, along with Uzbekistan and Chechnya.[5]

LGBT rights in Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
StatusIllegal (for males) since 1927 (as Turkmen SSR); not criminalised between females[1][2]: 4 [3]
PenaltyUp to 5 years imprisonment with fines [3]
Gender identityNo
MilitaryNo
Discrimination protectionsNone
Family rights
Recognition of relationshipsNo recognition of same-sex unions
AdoptionNo

Law

Male homosexuality is explicitly illegal and sodomy— defined as sexual intercourse between men —is punishable by up to two years in prison, with additional terms of two to five years in a labor camp possible,[lower-alpha 1] under the Criminal Code of Turkmenistan, Chapter 3; Article 135, section (1).[6] In addition, the provisions of Article 19 of the code allow for increased penalties for repeat convictions, applying to any crime under the code.[7] Prior to a 2019 amendment, the 1997 code's maximum term was two years.[3][4]

The 1927 code of the Turkmen SSR had far less detailed provisions than the 1997 code adopted after independence.[8][9] The law was enforced rarely before the ascension of Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow to presidency in 2006.[3][4]

Investigations into offences under Article 135 are grossly humiliating and may involve torture by state and non-state actors. Homosexuality is institutionally perceived as a form of mental disorder.[3][4] Repeat prosecutions can incur compulsory admission to psychiatric clinics where internees may be subjected to involuntary conversion therapy.[3][4][2]

No penal provisions exist for female homosexuality who, along with transsexual persons, are an unacknowledged category in Turkmen law.[4][2]

Towards anti-discrimination legislation

Turkmenistan has consistently rejected pleas to implement anti-discrimination legislation, despite requests by multiple nations via three Universal Periodic Reviews.[4] In dialogue with various wings of the United Nations, Turkmenistan has justified the discriminatory frameworks by arguing any deviations to be a potential threat to the fabric of Turkmen traditions and society.[4][2][10]

In February 2021, the Turkmen Government noted to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights about intentions to "reconsider the reasoning of the article criminalizing consensual same-sex relations" and "study the option of introducing anti-discrimination legislation".[11]

Society and culture

No civil society exists in Turkmenistan, media is entirely owned by the state, and conducting field-surveys is very difficult.[2][8] These conditions render scarce the availability of any surveillance data on LGBT rights and allied issues.[2][8][12] However, reports of the extra-judicial consequences of being gay include: state-sponsored violence, including torture during criminal investigative process; and vigilante attacks, especially in prison.[2][4]

In October 2019, a gay doctor was tortured by the state-apparatus for a long span of time, before temporarily disappearing.[3][4] In May 2020, multiple well-known figures from the modelling industry were arrested on the charges of homosexuality.[3][4] Turkmen lesbians have been granted asylum in the United States.[13][14] Gays have been documented to have sought refuge in the European Union.[4]

Summary table
Same-sex sexual activity legal
  • No Illegal for males under Article 135(1) of the Criminal Code. (Penalty: 2 to 5 years in prison.[2][3][4][6][7][15])
  • Yes Legal for females.
Equal age of consent No
Anti-discrimination laws in employment only No
Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services No
Anti-discrimination laws in all other areas (incl. indirect discrimination, hate speech) No
Same-sex marriages No
Recognition of same-sex couples No
Step-child adoption by same-sex couples No
Joint adoption by same-sex couples No
Gays, lesbians and bisexuals allowed to serve openly in the military No
Right to change legal gender No
Access to IVF for lesbians No
Conversion therapy banned No
Commercial surrogacy for gay male couples No
MSM allowed to donate blood No
Homosexuality declassified as a mental illness No

See also

Notes
  1. Sections 2−4 of Article 135 relate to non-consensual or otherwise harmful or abusive sex acts and attract higher penalties. These involve threats, force or violence [Article 135(2)]; or result in infection with HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases [Article 135(3) §d) and (4) §b)]; or are for "pederasty", or sex with a minor [Article 135(3) §c) and (4) §a)]. Such sexual violence and acts of child abuse, although all dealt with in the same article of the code that deals with consensual sex between adult males, are solely matters considered criminal even in jurisdictions where consensual adult same-sex sexual activity is not proscribed. For this reason, those penalties are not relevant here.[lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 3]
  2. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (2021). "Section 6. Discrimination and Societal Abuses". 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Turkmenistan (Report). United States Department of State. Report also available from U.S. Embassy in Turkmenistan
  3. "УГОЛОВНЫЙ КОДЕКС ТУРКМЕНИСТАНА" [Criminal Code of Turkmenistan]. Article Article 135 "Sodomy", Act No. 222-1 of 12 June 1997 (PDF) (in Turkmen). Assembly of Turkmenistan. Sections: (2–4). [As amended 13 November 2021].

References
  1. "LGBT Rights in Turkmenistan". Equaldex. Retrieved 8 January 2022. Homosexuality: Male illegal, female legal
  2. Eurasian Coalition on Male Health (ECOM) (2019). Legislative analysis related to LGBT rights and HIV in Turkmenistan (PDF) (Report). Retrieved 11 May 2021. (Article 135 of the Criminal Code). This article imposes imprisonment for up to two years..." [...] "The legislation of the country does not impose penalties for sexual intercourse between women.
  3. Mendos, Lucas Ramón; Botha, Kellyn; Lelis, Rafael Carrano; de la Peña, Enrique López; Savelev, Ilia; Tan, Daron (2020). State-Sponsored Homophobia: Global Legislation Overview Update (PDF) (Report). Geneva: International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association. pp. 24, 137, 178, 328. Retrieved 11 May 2021. p. 24: In Turkmenistan, a 2019 amendment to the Penal Code reflected that the maximum punishment for sodomy had been increased to five years' imprisonment, as compared to two years in the 1997 Code.
  4. Estonian Network of People Living with HIV (2020). NGO Submission In Connection with Turkmenistan's Mid-Term Reporting On the Implementation of the 2018 UPR Recommendations (Third Cycle) (PDF) (Report). Retrieved 11 May 2021. ...two years' imprisonment for sodomy, stipulated by article 135 of the Turkmen Criminal Code. It should be noted that before Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow came to power in 2007, the article on sodomy was rarely enforced
  5. Mole, Richard C. M. (2018). "Introduction to "Soviet and Post-Soviet Sexualities"". Slavic Review. 77 (1): 1–5. doi:10.1017/slr.2018.7. ISSN 0037-6779.
  6. "УГОЛОВНЫЙ КОДЕКС ТУРКМЕНИСТАНА" [Criminal Code of Turkmenistan]. Article 135 "Sodomy", Act No. 222-1 of 12 June 1997 (PDF) (in Turkmen). Assembly of Turkmenistan. Section (1). [As amended 13 November 2021]. Sodomy, that is, sexual intercourse between a man and a man, shall be punishable by deprivation of liberty for a term of up to two years, with the imposition of a duty residence in a certain area for a period of two to five years.
  7. "УГОЛОВНЫЙ КОДЕКС ТУРКМЕНИСТАНА" [Criminal Code of Turkmenistan]. Article 19 "Recurrence of crimes", Act No. 222-1 of 12 June 1997 (PDF) (in Turkmen). Assembly of Turkmenistan. [As amended 13 November 2021].
  8. Latypov, Alisher; Rhodes, Tim; Reynolds, Lucy (19 March 2013). "Prohibition, stigma and violence against men who have sex with men: effects on HIV in Central Asia". Central Asian Survey. 32: 52–65. doi:10.1080/02634937.2013.768059. ISSN 0263-4937. S2CID 143149043.
  9. Healey, Dan (15 July 2001). Homosexual Desire in Revolutionary Russia: The Regulation of Sexual and Gender Dissent. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-32234-6.
  10. Liczek, Irina (2005). "Cultural Parameters of Gender Policymaking in Contemporary Turkmenistan". Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East. 25 (3): 567–583. doi:10.1215/1089201X-25-3-567. ISSN 1548-226X. S2CID 144764115.
  11. "Decriminalisation: Turkmenistan has announced plans to decriminalise same-sex relations". Rainbow Digest. International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association. 305. February 2021. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  12. Musazov, Farkhad (2019). Life of LGBT Persons in Turkmenistan (PDF) (Report). Bishkek: Kyrgyz Indigo Public Union. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  13. "Turkmen Lesbian Granted Asylum". www.law.columbia.edu. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  14. "Goldberg Kohn Attorneys Secure Asylum for Lesbian Couple from Turkmenistan". www.goldbergkohn.com. Retrieved 11 May 2021.


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