Tajikistan Creates Registry Of “Proven” LGBT People

Radio Free Europe reports:

Prosecutors in Tajikistan say authorities have drawn up a registry of more than 300 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the Central Asian state, a move purportedly aimed at protecting sexual minorities and halting the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

An article in an official journal published this month by the Tajik Prosecutor-General’s Office said that that a total of 319 gay men and 48 lesbians had been included in the registry, adding that their “affiliation with sexual minorities has been proven.”

The journal said the individuals were identified in operations called “Morality” and “Purge” carried out by federal prosecutors and the Interior Ministry in the nation of 8.7 million. Tajikistan decriminalized homosexuality in 1998, scrapping a Soviet-era law, but sexual minorities still face firmly entrenched social taboos.

About 97% of Tajikistan’s residents are Muslim.