| Location Header: | Turkmenistan |
| Legal Status: | Illegal (for males) since 1927 (as Turkmen SSR); not criminalised between females[1] |
| Penalty: | Up to 5 years imprisonment with fines |
| Gender Identity Expression: | No |
| Recognition Of Relationships: | No recognition of same-sex unions |
| Adoption: | No |
| Military: | No |
| Discrimination Protections: | None |
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Turkmenistan face active discrimination and stigmatization compared to non-LGBT residents.[2] [3] Turkmenistan is one of the only two post-Soviet states where male homosexual activity remains criminalised, along with Uzbekistan.[4]
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, under the Criminal Code of Turkmenistan, Chapter 3; Article 135, section (1). In addition, the provisions of Article 19 of the code allow for increased penalties for repeat convictions, applying to any crime under the code. Prior to a 2019 amendment, the 1997 code's maximum term was two years.[3]
The 1927 code of the Turkmen SSR had far less detailed provisions than the 1997 code adopted after independence.[5] [6] The law was enforced rarely before the ascension of Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow to presidency in 2006.[3]
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] Repeat prosecutions can incur compulsory admission to psychiatric clinics where internees may be subjected to involuntary conversion therapy.[3] [7]
No penal provisions exist for female homosexuality who, along with transsexual persons, are an unacknowledged category in Turkmen law.[3] [7]
Turkmenistan has consistently rejected pleas to implement anti-discrimination legislation, despite requests by multiple nations via three Universal Periodic Reviews.[3] 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.[3] [7] [8]
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".[9]
No civil society exists in Turkmenistan, media is entirely owned by the state, and conducting field-surveys is very difficult.[7] These conditions render scarce the availability of any surveillance data on LGBT rights and allied issues.[7] [10] 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.[7] [3]
In October 2019, a gay doctor was tortured by the state-apparatus for a long span of time, before temporarily disappearing.[3] In May 2020, multiple well-known figures from the modelling industry were arrested on the charges of homosexuality.[3] Turkmen lesbians have been granted asylum in the United States.[11] [12] Gays have been documented to have sought refuge in the European Union.[3]