Behind the eccentric image typically presented of the reclusive oil and gas-rich Central Asian state of Turkmenistan, opponents and minorities are mercilessly persecuted, none more so than LGBTQ people, who are often jailed or sent to psychiatric hospitals. Two men who escaped one of the world's most secretive and repressive states recount to AFP how they were tortured, beaten and raped in Turkmenistan for the "crime" of being gay. "I had only one thought in my head: I want to die, I don’t want to live, when will this end?", survivor David Omarov, who now lives in Poland and works as a rights activist, recalls of his torture in prison. "The worst thing is that no one hears your screams." IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES