In a special two-part series for Coda, reporter Andrew North traveled to the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan with a sketchpad to document the surge in anti-gay violence that followed a proposed “gay propaganda” bill strikingly similar to Russia’s.

Part 1: Terror in Central Asia

The story of one man caught up in Kyrgyzstan’s homophobic violence. [Warning: Graphic Content]

Part 2: Permission to Exterminate

Activists have gone underground after a wave of attacks.

We knock again, hard. But still there is no sound of anyone coming to the door. A journalist colleague and I had been invited for dinner at the home of Nika, a gay man who recently set up a small LGBTQ support group in Bishkek, the Kyrgyzstan capital. Only after we phone him do we finally hear muffled sounds from inside of first one, then two heavy metal doors being unlocked. “This is how we live now,” said Nika, taking in my glance at his security arrangements.