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April 3, 2017
THERE are claims gay men are being systematically rounded up in a Russian region and that at least three have been killed.
A respected Russian newspaper says it has uncovered information that police in the southern Russian republic of Chechnya have rounded up more than 100 men.
But the Government of the region, where the vast majority of the population are adherents to Sunni Islam, has said it would be “impossible to persecute” gay men as none exist in Chechnya.
While homosexuality is not illegal in Russia, many politicians are virulently anti-gay with the country passing so-called “gay propaganda” laws. However, if the action in Chechnya is proved it would be on a whole different level.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, left, meeting Chechen regional leader Ramzan Kadyrov last week in Moscow. Picture: AP.Source:AP [w oryg. md]
Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta said it had confirmed the information — including three deaths — with sources in the Chechen police and government, but gave no details.
The report was denied by the office of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov. The Kremlin-backed Kadyrov is widely accused of extensive human rights violations, reported AP. He has brought Islam to the fore of Chechnya’s daily life, including opening what is called Europe’s biggest mosque. The territory has a high degree of autonomy from Moscow.
According to the state news agency RIA Novosti, Government spokesman Ali Karimov said the claims were “absolute lies and disinformation” and suggested there are no gay men in the region to arrest, saying, “it’s impossible to persecute those who are not in the republic.
“If there were such people in Chechnya, the law-enforcement organs wouldn’t need to have anything to do with them because their relatives would send them somewhere from which there is no returning.”
Ekaterina Sokirianskaia, Russia project director for the International Crisis Group, told the Guardian that while information was scant, she was nonetheless concerned about what she was hearing from inside Chechnya.
“I have heard about it happening in Grozny [the Chechen capital], outside Grozny, and among people of very different ages and professions,” she said.