Police in Uzbekistan, a former Soviet republic, arrested openly gay journalist and human-rights activist Ruslan Sharipov May 26 and charged him with committing homosexual acts, a violation of article 120 of the criminal code
Two of Sharipov’s colleagues also were taken into custody but have not been charged.
Human Rights Watch said May 29 that Sharipov likely has been targeted because of his articles on police corruption and human-rights abuses.
‘Sharipov’s longstanding history of criticizing government policy, combined with past harassment against him and his colleagues, raise strong suspicions that this is a politically motivated case,’ said Elizabeth Andersen, executive director of Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia division. ‘That the authorities would charge him with committing homosexual acts, violating his fundamental rights to non-discrimination and privacy, makes it doubly egregious.’