LGBT Travel in Uzbekistan: The Law and Practical Reality
Article 120 still criminalises sex between men in Uzbekistan (Sept 2026). What it means for LGBT travellers: hotels, dating apps, affection, embassy help.
As of September 2026, consensual sex between men is still a crime in Uzbekistan under Article 120 of the Criminal Code, punishable by up to three years in prison. Human Rights Watch's World Report 2026 says the government "continues to ignore calls to decriminalize" it, and on 15 June 2026 five international LGBT and health organisations, ILGA-Europe among them, jointly called for its repeal because prosecutions are rising, not falling.
You may have read that Article 120 was repealed in 2026. We looked for that and couldn't find it in any government, rights-group or news source. It hasn't been. Below: what the law says, how it's enforced, and what it means in practice for LGBT travellers in Uzbekistan. This is general information, not legal advice (last checked: September 2026).
What the law actually says
Article 120 dates from the 1994 Criminal Code. Its wording, as reproduced by the Human Dignity Trust, criminalises "voluntary sexual intercourse of two male individuals". Rights groups describe the penalty as up to three years of imprisonment or restricted liberty.
Three details matter for visitors:
- It covers men only. There's no equivalent offence for sex between women. That doesn't make same-sex relationships between women legal in any positive sense; they simply aren't mentioned.
- Nothing is recognised. No same-sex marriage, partnership or legal gender recognition, and no anti-discrimination law covering sexual orientation.
- It isn't a "propaganda" law. Article 120 targets sex, not speech. Wearing a rainbow pin isn't itself the offence, though public expression still draws hostility.
The draft Criminal Code didn't change it
This is where the confusion probably starts. In February 2021 the Prosecutor General's Office published a draft of a completely new Criminal Code for public discussion, and campaigners hoped it would drop the offence. It didn't. According to the Human Dignity Trust and Human Rights Watch, the draft kept the same prohibition, renumbered as Article 154 and moved into a new chapter on crimes against "family, children and morality".
That draft still hadn't replaced the 1994 code when we checked in September 2026. The old code keeps being amended piecemeal, and Article 120 has survived every round.
At Uzbekistan's UN Universal Periodic Review in November 2023, a deputy interior minister put convictions under Article 120 at 27 for that year, according to the Human Dignity Trust. The government's line to UN committees has been that same-sex relations contradict national traditions and family values.
Enforcement is going up
The number of cases is small in absolute terms and climbing fast. The June 2026 joint statement published by ILGA-Europe gives this series:
| Period | Figure reported |
|---|---|
| 2016–2020 | 44 convictions |
| 2021–2023 | about 17 cases a year on average |
| 2024 | 48 criminal cases |
| First nine months of 2025 | 71 criminal cases opened |
| Early 2026 raids | at least 62 people detained, 34 criminal cases opened |
Sources don't line up neatly here, and we'd rather say so than pick one. Human Rights Watch's 2026 country chapter cites a local group saying at least 16 people were prosecuted under Article 120 in 2025, while the joint statement counts 71 cases opened in nine months. Cases opened, people charged and people convicted are different numbers, and neither source publishes its full method. The direction of travel is the same in both.
Does any of this touch tourists? In the sources we checked, from HRW, ILGA-Europe, the Human Dignity Trust and investigative reporting, every documented prosecution involves Uzbek citizens. We found no published case of a foreign visitor charged under Article 120. That's a real data point, not a guarantee: a foreigner caught up in a raid would be in a very hard position.
Dating apps are the biggest practical risk
If LGBT travellers read one section twice, it should be this one.
The June 2026 statement describes police using "entrapment tactics on dating applications to identify, arrest, and subsequently extort individuals". The 2023 US State Department human rights report, quoted by the Human Dignity Trust, said security services used informants to entrap and blackmail men suspected of being gay. HRW's 2021 investigation documented men lured through online contacts and Telegram dating groups, then filmed, assaulted or blackmailed, and one case where police offered a victim a choice between becoming an informant or paying about $1,000. Investigative outlet Unit (n-ost) reported in 2022 that police monitored Telegram groups in regions such as Jizzakh to find suspects.
Our take, and some readers will think it overcautious: don't use gay dating apps or Telegram groups in Uzbekistan at all. A lot of travel content says "be careful with apps", which sounds like advice but doesn't tell you what careful means when the person messaging you may be working with the police. The honest answer is that you can't reliably tell. If you do go ahead regardless, the minimum is this:
- Don't send photos that show your face or anything identifying, and assume screenshots are kept.
- Meet only in busy public places, never at a private flat you've been given the address of.
- Walk away from anyone who pushes to meet quickly, asks for money or asks about your hotel.
- Keep your own accommodation private.
Affection in public: the rule is the same for everyone
The UK Foreign Office's Uzbekistan advice puts it in two lines: same-sex relationships are "illegal, not recognised and still frowned upon socially", and you should "refrain from showing affection in public" (page updated 19 March 2026, still current at 27 September 2026).
It helps to know the baseline. Uzbek public life is reserved for straight couples too. A kiss on a Samarkand bench draws stares whoever's involved, and outside Tashkent even married couples rarely hold hands in the street. So if you're a same-sex couple, behaving like a pair of friends isn't a special performance; it's roughly how everyone behaves.
There's also a quirk that works in your favour. Men here often walk arm in arm, sit close and greet each other warmly. Two men travelling together attract no attention on that basis, and people will generally read you as friends or brothers.
Where that stops working is anything unmistakably romantic. HRW recorded a case of two men detained after kissing in a park, released only when a relative paid a bribe.
Hotels, beds and the registration system
Every foreign guest is registered by their hotel, guesthouse or hostel with passport details at check-in, and you're handed a slip at check-out. Two men or two women sharing a room is routine for tourist groups and friends, and we know of no law that requires a hotel to refuse, report or question it. The slips and the three-day rule are explained in how tourist registration works.
A few things make life simpler:
- Book a twin, or book "two guests" without specifying. Twin rooms are normal in Uzbekistan and raise no questions at all. A double can be more awkward in a small family guesthouse, where the owner's family may notice who sleeps where.
- Larger hotels are more anonymous. International chains in Tashkent and bigger hotels in Samarkand run like hotels anywhere. Family-run guesthouses in Bukhara and Khiva are lovely, but you are living in someone's home.
If you're weighing the two options anyway, our comparison of family guesthouses and hotels covers price and privacy.
Women travelling together
Article 120 doesn't mention women, and two women sharing a room or travelling together is completely unremarkable here; people will assume you're friends, sisters or colleagues. The legal exposure is much lower than for men.
The social picture is the same as for anyone, though. Romantic affection in public draws the same disapproval, and "no recognition" still means a partner has no legal standing if one of you is hospitalised or detained. For the everyday side (clothing, taxis, unwanted attention) our advice for women travelling in Uzbekistan applies to pairs as much as to solo travellers.
Trans and non-binary travellers
This is the least documented area, and we'll say so. Uzbekistan has no legal gender recognition. HRW's 2026 chapter says police use Article 120 to harass transgender women as well as gay and bisexual men, and the Human Dignity Trust records 14 trans women prosecuted in Samarkand in 2024. For visitors, the practical flashpoint is a passport whose photo or gender marker doesn't match how you present, which can prolong document checks at borders, hotels and metro entrances. We don't have reliable reporting on visitors' experiences beyond that.
Should LGBT travellers visit Uzbekistan?
So, is it reckless for an LGBT traveller to visit Uzbekistan? We don't think so, and plenty do. Uzbekistan's day-to-day crime risk is low (see our broader safety assessment for 2026), and a discreet couple doing the Samarkand–Bukhara–Khiva circuit on tourist trains and hotel rooms is very unlikely to be noticed. The risk is concentrated in two places: meeting locals through apps, and public romance. Avoid both and your trip looks much like anyone else's.
What we won't tell you is that there's no risk. The law is real, enforcement rose sharply between 2024 and 2026, and the people bearing the cost are Uzbek. Some travellers decide on principle to go elsewhere, and that's a reasonable choice too.
If something goes wrong
Save your embassy's phone number before you fly. The UK, the US, Germany, France and many other countries have embassies in Tashkent, most with an out-of-hours consular number, and the FCDO and US State Department both say they can help citizens who are detained. In an emergency, Uzbekistan's unified line is 112 (police 102).
If you're stopped or detained, stay calm, show your passport and registration slips, and ask clearly for your embassy to be informed. Keep asking. Don't sign statements in Uzbek or Russian that you can't read, and don't hand over cash on the street to "settle" things, because an attempted bribe can become its own offence. If someone threatens to expose you or demands money, contact your embassy rather than paying; blackmailers rarely stop at one payment. Our round-up of Uzbek laws visitors actually run into covers police stops in more detail.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is being gay illegal in Uzbekistan?
Sex between men is illegal under Article 120 of the Criminal Code, with up to three years in prison, and that was still the case in September 2026. Being gay as an identity isn't itself the named offence, and sex between women isn't criminalised. Same-sex relationships have no legal recognition, and the UK Foreign Office describes them as socially frowned upon.
Was Article 120 repealed in 2026?
No. We found no government or rights-group source reporting a repeal. Human Rights Watch's World Report 2026 says Uzbekistan continues to ignore calls to decriminalise, and a June 2026 joint statement by five organisations urged repeal because cases are rising. The 2021 draft Criminal Code kept the same offence as Article 154.
Can two men share a hotel room in Uzbekistan?
Yes. Hotels register each guest's passport, and two men sharing a room is routine among friends and tour groups. A twin room raises no questions at all. A double in a small family guesthouse can be more noticeable, so many couples simply book twins. No law we know of requires a hotel to refuse or report same-sex guests.
Is it safe to use Grindr or other dating apps in Uzbekistan?
We recommend not using them. ILGA-Europe's June 2026 statement and earlier Human Rights Watch reporting document police and informants using dating apps and Telegram groups to identify, arrest and extort men. Documented victims are Uzbek citizens, but you can't tell who you're talking to, and a foreigner caught in that situation would have little protection.
Is Uzbekistan safe for lesbian couples?
The criminal law doesn't cover sex between women, and two women travelling together are read as friends almost everywhere. The social rules are the same as for everyone: no romantic affection in public. Your partnership has no legal standing, so carry each other's emergency contacts and insurance details.