RFERL: TJ creates registry of proven LGBT people

The report states that prosecutors in Tajikistan drew up a registry of more than 300 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, a move officially described as aimed at protecting sexual minorities and halting the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. It states that an article in an official journal published by the Tajik Prosecutor-General’s Office listed 319 gay men and 48 lesbians as included in the registry, adding that their “affiliation with sexual minorities has been proven.” The report states that the individuals were identified in operations named “Morality” and “Purge” carried out by federal prosecutors and the Interior Ministry in a nation of 8.7 million. It states that Tajikistan decriminalised homosexuality in 1998, scrapping a Soviet-era law, but that sexual minorities still face firmly entrenched social taboos. The report states that rights groups report LGBT people facing discrimination and persecution across the Muslim-majority former Soviet republics in Central Asia. It states that the journal article gave the rationale that individuals were included “due to their vulnerability in society and for their safety and to prevent the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases.” The report states that the Tajik Interior Ministry declined to comment.