A Kyrgyz fashion-world celebrity has drawn criticism after apparently calling for the mass execution of "nontraditional" sexual minorities and prostitutes in the Central Asian republic.
In a Facebook post on August 10, Amina Yusurova, a fashion model and national director of the Kyrgyzstan World Beauty Congress, wrote: "Round up all the people of nontraditional orientation and blow them all up on one island."
She added that "women of low social responsibility" should be included "on that island."
It is unclear what prompted the digital outburst, but in it the 29-year-old Yusurova suggests that such people damage the reputation of the country and its capital, Bishkek.
The term "nontraditional sexual orientation" is frequently used by detractors in ex-Soviet states to refer to gay, lesbian, and other sexual minorities.
'Intolerant, Bloodthirsty'
Yusurova has provoked outrage in the past with comments targeting ethnic Russians in Kyrgyzstan, a country of around 6 million people that declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
A number of Yusurova's Facebook followers criticized her remarks, variously calling them "intolerant," "aggressive," and "bloodthirsty," and a Kyrgyz news website urged police to take action.
"You're setting everyone against yourself," Dzhamilya Turdakunova said via the social network.
"What's wrong with you?" asked Sumsarbek Obbo Mamyraly, a Facebook user from Bishkek.
Another suggested Yusurova "use her beauty to spread a different type of message."
One Facebook user wrote that he is "against" sexual minorities but that doesn't give him the right "to blow them up or take some other action against them."
Yusurova countered by saying that "these are my thoughts," while adding that she had the right to express her opinions.
Inciting Hatred?
The model, who has more than 6,100 Facebook followers, has previously urged Kyrgyz people to kick out ethnic Russians on the social network, according to local media reports. She has since removed that post.
Kyrgyz news website vesti.kg called on Kyrgyzstan's Interior Ministry and security services to "react" to Yusurova's comments, suggesting she has a history of offensive remarks.
Another popular news website, knews.kg, suggested that Yusurova's "comments in the public space -- directly or indirectly -- fall under the article on inciting ethnic hatred" in the country's Criminal Code.
Sexual minorities often face discrimination and harassment in Kyrgyzstan, where statistics point to a recent rise in attacks on gay, lesbian, and transgender people.
In 2016, Kyrgyzstan effectively banned same-sex marriages in an amendment to the constitution stipulating that marriage is a union between a man and a woman.
A bill criminalizing so-called gay "propaganda" is currently set for a final reading in the Kyrgyz parliament before becoming law.
