A 23-year-old gay man has spoken of being beaten by police for having HIV. Fearing reprisals, M has claimed asylum in a European country and spoken anonymously of his ordeal in Turkmenistan to RadioFreeEurope.
M grew up hiding his sexuality in the Central Asian country and left for Russia to pursue a business management course at the age of 18. In 2019 he was diagnosed with HIV and deported under Russia’s punitive laws banishing foreign nationals with HIV to their former countries.
Realising he would face discrimination and criminal charges in Turkmenistan, M tried to keep his status a secret. Needing to access treatment, in December he visited a local HIV centre and was asked to take a blood test and return two days later. Upon his return to try to get antiretroviral treatment, two police officers were there with questions.
‘The officers asked me how I got infected. I told them I didn’t know,’ M said. If he had disclosed his sexuality he would have faced criminal charges as being gay is illegal in Turkmenistan. A day later three police officers arrived at M`s apartment and took him away for questioning. ‘First they questioned me, then began to beat me badly. They told me: “We know where you got HIV. You’re gay.” I told them that it`s not true, but they kept beating me.’
Told to report to the police station in January, M decided to flee Turkmenistan instead. M went back to Russia where a friend put him in touch with an LGBT+ organisation. With its support he claimed asylum in a European country, which M does not want to disclose. Although the country is LGBT+ friendly, M is still afraid to be open about his sexuality. Fearing criminal charges if he were to return to Turkmenistan, M has resigned himself to never seeing his parents. He is also worried that his parents will find out he is gay, saying it would bring ‘shame’ on them.
Turkmenistan, which is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran, routinely imprisons gay and bisexual men for up to two years just for being who they are.