Uzbek journalist Ruslan Sharipov has been charged with homosexuality, Human Rights Watch reported on 29 May. This is the first known case of an arrest for homosexuality in independent Uzbekistan. Sexual relations between men are still a crime under the Criminal Code and are punishable by up to three years in prison. Sharipov was arrested on 26 May on Tashkent\'s main square and has been held since then in the city\'s main pretrial detention center. Sharipov freely admits his sexual orientation, although he denies having had relations with two youths who are the main witnesses against him. Members of international and local human rights organizations reportedly have been able to visit the detained journalist, and he is being allowed to choose his own defense lawyer. (centralasia.ru)