Turkmenistan

Same-sex sexual activity is prohibited under the Criminal Code 1997, which criminalises ‘sodomy’. This provision carries a maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment with or without an obligation to live in a certain area for one to three years. Only men are criminalised under this law.

A former Soviet Union state, Turkmenistan gained its independence in 1991. Although Russia and most former Soviet states opted not to criminalise same-sex sexual activity in their new criminal law regimes of the 1990s, Turkmenistan was one of two which chose to continue criminalising after the Soviet Union dissolved (the other being Uzbekistan).

There is evidence of the law being enforced in recent years, with LGBT people being subject to arrest and imprisonment. There have been reports of discrimination and violence being committed against LGBT people in Turkmenistan in recent years.

2022

In April, according to local media sources, a new version of the Criminal Code was published, which not only retained the ‘sodomy’ provision and moved it from Article 135 to Article 133. The provision was also strengthened by increasing the scope of the punishment, as the age of criminal responsibility for ‘sodomy’ was reduced from 16 to 14.

The sodomy provision, in addition to a maximum prison sentence of two years, also stipulates that there is the possibility of an “obligation to reside in a certain area for a term of one to three years.” A report by ADC Memorial with the participation of Central Asian LGBT NGOs suggests that this essentially means exile from the city to sparsely populated areas where convicts of dangerous crimes live. It also suggested that this measure of exile is rarely used for consensual same-sex intimacy under Article 133. A report by ILGA Europe described this obligation as “placement in a psychiatric institution.”

2025

In September, it was reported by a French news agency that there have been further incidences of torture and mistreatment of LGBT individuals at the hands of Turkmenistan prison officials, following their arrests and imprisonment. The news piece also details allegations of the mistreatment of prisoners living with HIV.

2023

It was reported in ILGA Europe’s Annual Review that the government of Turkmenistan alleged in a dialogue with the UN Human Rights Committee that Kasymberdy Garayev (see below) is living with his parents at home. Despite this, ILGA Europe reported that Garayev’s location had not been confirmed by other sources.

2021

In August, the police arrested and detained some 30 suspected gay men in the city of Turkmenabat.

2020

The US Department of State report noted that enforcement of the law was “selective”.

In April, according to local media, a popular entertainer and around a dozen other men were arrested on suspicion of being gay. It was also reported that in May, they were sentenced to two years’ imprisonment on sodomy charges.

2019

A report by ILGA Europe recited the account of a gay man who was arrested on charges of ‘sodomy’. He was allegedly lured on a fake date by law enforcement through a dating site, where he was immediately detained, beaten and tortured. A study published by the NGO Kyrgyz Indigo reported the detention of more than 20 men in Ashgabat in similar targeted attacks between August and September, often in order to extort money.

In November, according to Human Rights Watch, Kasymberdy Garayev, a young gay man who had in October come out publicly through an local news outlet, was reported missing after being summoned by the police. His family feared that he was held incommunicado. A few days later, local media reported that Garayev had reappeared and that he had retracted his account that he was gay. Human Rights Watch reported that Garayev had been detained previously in 2018, after the authorities had lured him online on a fake date with another man. According to TGEU, Garayev has disappeared and reappeared several times, and it was reported that as of March 2024, there is no still clear understanding of what is happening to him.

In December, according to local media, a 23-year-old gay man was arrested by the police after he was tested HIV-positive at the AIDS-HIV Center in Ashgabat. The police officers forced him to sign a paper admitting his homosexuality and opened a criminal case against him on the sodomy charge. The young man managed to flee to Russia and then to a third country, fearing he would be sent to prison.

2013

A report by Human Rights Watch recounted the story of an 18-year-old man who was arrested for being gay and subjected to a forced anal ‘examination’. According to the man, around 20 people were detained for same-sex sexual activity along with him. They were tortured in detention, and then all were sentenced to two years’ imprisonment under article 135.

2023

ILGA Europe’s Annual Review described the situation for LGBT people in Turkmenistan. It stated that violence and mass raids against LGBT people are routine. Cases are often fabricated to detain, extort and abuse gay men. The report highlighted that Turkmenistan is an extremely closed society, with limits on freedom of expression and the press, meaning that accessing information on the situation for LGBT people is difficult. Reports in previous years have consistently highlighted the violence and discrimination faced by LGBT people in Turkmenistan, for instance in obtaining HIV-related services and visas that would allow them to seek asylum in safer countries.

2019

A report by Kyrgyz Indigo and ILGA Europe described the situation for LGBT people in Turkmenistan. It stated that LGBT people are forced to live in secrecy and constant danger. Stigma is high, and familial rejection can occur, with relatives even being complicit in arrests. The report highlighted that Turkmenistan is an extremely closed society, with limits on expression and the press, meaning that accessing information on the situation for LGBT people is difficult.

In October, a 24-year-old doctor came out as gay in an article published online. He highlighted the difficulties posed by the criminalising provision. Having been summoned to a police station, he was not heard from for several weeks, though he did resurface a few days later.

2017

In May, Ashgabat police posted a video of an interrogation of a transgender person for alleged ‘prostitution’. The recording demonstrated the abusive and humiliating treatment of LGBT at the hands of police.

2013

A report from Amnesty International, interviewing individuals from the country, suggested that LGBT individuals are often subject to abuse, both from society and from state authorities. One man reported how he was forced to pay a fine of over 10 times the average Turkmenistan monthly salary in order to avoid being sent to prison. Gay men were forced to denounce other gay men, with some being beaten to secure compliance. Others reportedly faced travel restrictions, stopping them from leaving the country.

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