In what is seen as a first legal victory for LGBTIQ rights in Kazakhstan, the Central Asian country’s Supreme Court has overturned a decision by the Court of Appeal, saying it “committed a substantial and gross violation of the right to self-portrayal under Article 145 of the Civil Code and infringement of the constitutional rights” of a lesbian couple.

A controversial case that took a year and a half for Kazakhstan’s court system to hear has turned out to be the first legal victory for LGBTIQ rights in Kazakhstan.

In January 2018, two young women (unnamed for ethical reasons) were filmed kissing at a cinema in the city of Almaty by a man, Eldar Mamedov. Mamedov posted the video to Facebook, where it was viewed over 60,000 times and reposted on various other social networks. The faces of both women were fully identifiable and they were subsequently recognised on the streets, and asked questions like, “Have you not been killed yet?”

Comments under the video posted by Mamedov included death threats, calls for violence and other hate speech. Fearing for their safety, the two young women were forced to leave Kazakhstan for eight months.