on january 29th, the u.s.-based human rights watch released a 65-page report on kyrgyzstan, the former soviet union country, saying that the police there has extorted, threatened, detained, beaten, and sexually abused gay and bisexual men. that is despite the fact that homosexuality has been legal in the country since 1998.
in the meantime, the country’s grand mufti, maskat hajji toktomushev, has released a fatwa or a religious ruling, saying islam forbids same-sex relations. further, the mufti asked the government to check on organizations to see if they are spreading social discord.
according to a 2009 pew research center report, around 85% of the country is muslim.
link to the hrw report: hrw.org/node/122474
