TASHKENT, Uzbekistan—In March, around 100 people gathered in Uzbekistan’s capital in a violent rally against LGBTQ rights. Members of the mob marched toward the city’s main square in search of LGBTQ community members, chanting “Allahu akbar” and brutally beating at least two teenagers who passed by. The violence followed an online debate between conservative religious commentators and LGBTQ activists over calls to change Uzbekistan’s penal code, which criminalizes same-sex relationships. The same day, masked men attacked Miraziz Bazarov, a provocative blogger who supports LGBTQ rights, outside of his home.
