Anti-gay purges in Chechnya

Anti-gay purges in the Chechen Republic, a part of the Russian Federation, have included forced disappearances — secret abductions, imprisonment, torture — and extrajudicial killing by authorities targeting persons based on their perceived sexual orientation. An unknown number of people, who authorities detained on suspicion of being gay or bisexual, have reportedly died after being held in what human rights groups and eyewitnesses have called concentration camps.[3][4]

A public demonstration, "Chechen mothers mourn their children", was staged on 1 May 2017 after a purge on Nevsky Prospect in Saint Petersburg, to protest the persecution of gay men in Chechnya.[1][2]

Allegations were initially reported on 1 April 2017 in Novaya Gazeta,[5] a Russian-language opposition newspaper, which reported that since February 2017 over 100 men had allegedly been detained and tortured and at least three had died in an extrajudicial killing. The paper, citing its sources in the Chechen special services, called the wave of detentions a "prophylactic sweep".[5][6] The journalist who first reported on the subject went into hiding.[7][8] There have been calls for reprisals against journalists who report on the situation.[9]

As news spread of Chechen authorities' actions, which have been described as part of a systematic anti-LGBT purge, Russian and international activists scrambled to evacuate survivors of the camps and other vulnerable Chechens but were met with difficulty obtaining visas to conduct them safely beyond Russia.[10]

The reports of the persecution were met with a variety of reactions worldwide. The Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov denied not only the occurrence of any persecution but also the existence of gay men in Chechnya, adding that such people would be killed by their own families.[11][12] Officials in Moscow were skeptical, although in late May the Russian government reportedly agreed to send an investigative team to Chechnya.[13] Numerous national leaders and other public figures in the West condemned Chechnya's actions, and protests were held in Russia and elsewhere. A report released in December 2018 by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) confirmed claims that persecution of LGBT persons had taken place and was ignored by authorities.[14][15]

On 11 January 2019, it was reported that another 'gay purge' had begun in the country in December 2018, with several gay men and women being detained.[16][17][18][19][20] The Russian LGBT Network believes that around 40 persons were detained and two killed.[21][22]

Background

The status of LGBT rights in the Chechen Republic has long been a source of concern among human rights organizations (including Amnesty International) and it has also been described as being "especially bleak" within the Russian Federation as a whole.[23] It was also singled out for criticism by human rights organisations such as Amnesty International before the 2017 crackdown.[24] Chechnya is a predominantly Muslim, ultra-conservative society in which homophobia is widespread and homosexuality is taboo, and where having a gay relative is seen as a "stain on the entire extended family".[25]

The federal Russian LGBT laws apply in Chechnya, which is a part of the Russian Federation. However, in Chechnya, as in other regions of southern Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin "has empowered local leaders to enforce their interpretation of traditional values, partly in an effort to co-opt religious extremism, which has largely been driven underground".[26]

Although homosexuality was legalized in Russia in 1993,[27] in 1996 Chechnya's separatist president Aslan Maskhadov adopted sharia law in his Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, and article 148 of the Chechen penal code made all "sodomy" punishable by caning after the first two offenses and punishable by execution after the third offense,[24] although the death penalty in Chechnya has not been carried out since 1999.[28] Chechnya returned to direct Russian rule in 2000, formally complying with its federal laws and human right statutes. De facto, it retains some autonomy, and the current Head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, "has brought Islam to the fore of Chechnya's daily life, and gay people who reveal their sexuality are often discriminated against and shunned by their families".[29]

A spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin endorsed Chechen leaders' claims that anti-gay persecution is not occurring in the republic.[30] Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov claimed that the reports didn't have a "single concrete fact".[31]

Large-scale raids and killings

The detentions began in February 2017 after a Chechen man who had allegedly committed a drug-related offense was stopped by police[32][33] and arresting officers discovered contact information for other gay men on his phone.[34]

A second wave of detentions began after the LGBT rights organization Gayrussia.ru applied for permits to hold gay pride parades in four cities within Kabardino-Balkaria in Russia's predominantly Muslim North Caucasus region, although not within Chechnya itself. The application in this district was denied by the Kabardino-Balkar authorities. An anti-gay demonstration followed, along with posts on social media calling for gay people to be murdered by various methods.[6]

Gayrussia.ru organizer Nikolay Alexeyev dismissed suggestions that attempts to organize pride parades in the region had sparked the violence against gay Chechens as speculative and unfounded.[5] The organization had not focused on the Muslim districts in particular, and it had applied for permits for gay pride parades in 90 municipal governments all across Russia in an attempt to collect the inevitable denials, which would be used in a case about freedom of assembly and gay rights before the European Court of Human Rights.[6]

Human Rights Watch reported in 2017 that "it is difficult to overstate just how vulnerable LGBT people are in Chechnya, where homophobia is intense and rampant. LGBT people are in danger not only of persecution by the authorities but also of falling victim to 'honour killings' by their own relatives for tarnishing family honor."[35] Kadyrov has encouraged extrajudicial killings by family members as an alternative to law enforcement – in some cases, gay men in prison have been released early specifically to enable their murder by relatives.[36]

The Chechen police and military have conducted entrapment schemes, in which a victim is lured on a date, beaten and humiliated. A recording is produced, and blackmail money is solicited in return for silence. Law enforcement agencies in Chechnya already keep lists of "suspects".[37] According to a source from Radio Liberty, raids on gay people began in December 2016, subsided briefly, and resumed on a large scale in February 2017. The first gay men who were detained via entrapment were tortured in attempts to reveal the names of their acquaintances.

All of the correspondence in their phones was checked, adding to the "suspect" list. This resulted in the number of victims growing exponentially. According to Novaya Gazeta, at the end of February, the police detained and checked the phone of a person who was in a state of intoxication. The phone had "pictures and videos with explicit content" and "dozens of contacts of local homosexuals". The detainee was sent to a "secret prison".[38] Subsequently, a "wave of persecution" began in Chechnya as an attempt to purge the country of those who are homosexual or are perceived to be homosexual.[37][39][40] Chechen police are reportedly pressuring parents in the region to kill their children who they suspect of being homosexual.[41][42] To facilitate this, police have reportedly been releasing detainees into the custody of their families and outing them.[43]

Imprisonment and torture

According to independent media and human rights groups, gay men are sent to clandestine camps in Chechnya, which one eyewitness described to Novaya Gazeta as a "closed prison, the existence of which no one officially knows".[4][44] Around 100 men have been imprisoned and at least three people have already died. Some of the guards in these allegedly unofficial jails are accused of releasing the prisoners to their relatives if their relatives promise to kill them (at least one man was reported by a witness as having died after returning to his family).[44] One location of a secret prison is allegedly in the southern city of Argun. Another prison is located in Tsotsin-Yurt, south of the Chechen capital Grozny.[37]

According to escapees interviewed in the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta and the British-owned The Guardian, 30 to 40 people are detained in one room (two to three metres big), and often kept for months on end without trial. Witnesses report they are also beaten (with polypropylene pipes below the waist), and tortured with electricity. In addition to physical torture, individuals report being mocked, humiliated and insulted, as well as being forced to clean the prison and spat in the face.[25][44] In some cases the process of torture ends in the death of the person being tortured.[45][46]

In May 2017, it was reported that the building in Argun had been buried under demolition rubble and that prisoners had been moved to a new, unknown location. Investigators say that prisoners are likely to have been moved to a Special Police Force training base in Terek, about 60 kilometres (37 mi) 60 in Argun, but they have been denied entry, because 'training is taking place'.[47][48]

Confirmation

Human Rights Watch has confirmed that authorities have "rounded up dozens of men on suspicion of being gay and that they are currently torturing and humiliating the victims. Some of the men have forcibly disappeared. At least three men have died since this brutal campaign began."[49] An investigation by Radio Svoboda (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) claimed that prisoners are being released to their families if their families promise to murder them.[50]

A 7 April 2017 press statement by the United States Department of State expressed concern "about the situation in the Republic of Chechnya, where there have been numerous credible reports indicating the detention".[51]

A lengthy analysis published on 26 May by Human Rights Watch reported the presence of leading government officials at the camps while detainees were being tortured.[52] The report, which includes graphic descriptions of the ordeals faced by several survivors of the camps, suggested that several victims of the camps were still being detained at the time of its publication.[53]

In June, a journalist with VICE News visited a now-abandoned detention center in Argun believed to be the site of one of the camps, and interviewed the local minister of internal affairs, who also acts as prison warden. The warden denied that abuse had taken place, and said, "My officers would not even want to touch such people, if they exist, let alone beating or torturing them".[54] Shown footage of the detention center, a man who described being electrocuted by his captors identified it as the site where he was held, and also identified the warden as one of his tormentors.[55]

A report released in December 2018 by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) confirmed claims that persecution of LGBT persons had taken place and was ignored by authorities.[56][15]

Experts at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights released a statement in 2019, indicating the worsening situation of LGBT people in Chechnya: “Abuse inflicted on victims has allegedly become more cruel and violent compared with reports from 2017. It is no longer only gay men in Chechnya who are being targeted but women also.” Reportedly, more than 40 people have been arrested since December 2018. People who tried to flee the republic were prevented from doing so by the authorities.[57]

Reactions

Chechen and Russian authorities have denied any knowledge of the persecution.[58] The Russian LGBT Network, an inter-regional LGBT rights organization based in Saint Petersburg, is attempting to assist those who are threatened and evacuate them from Chechnya.[59][60] On 17 May 2019, the association reported that seven people broke into the apartment of one of its volunteers in Saint Petersburg who was not publicly identified. The unidentified assailants threatened the activist and other staff with physical violence and murder. He was aggressively interrogated and threatened with violence. “We will take you to the police office and will break all your bones,” they were told by one of the attackers. The assailants were allegedly looking for a young Chechen woman who had escaped from the region, as well as the Russian LGBT Network emergency programme coordinator David Isteev. The activist said “They told me to tell David Isteev that they were going to find and kill him,” Three of the assailants were identified as Chechens and four implied they were police officers from Chechnya's capital Grozny, but refused to provide identification documents.[61][62][63]

Human rights groups and foreign governments have called upon Russia and Chechnya to put an end to the internments.[64]

A spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin endorsed Chechen leaders' claims that anti-gay persecution is not occurring in the republic.[65] Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov claimed that the reports didn't have a "single concrete fact".[66]

In May 2019, Maxim Lapunov, a Russian man who said he was tortured during the purge filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), saying Russia had failed to protect him as he was arrested and beaten up by police in the Chechen capital Grozny in 2017, and claiming his case was not properly investigated by Russian authorities.[67][68]

Domestic

Due to the date (1 April) of the initial Novaya Gazeta allegations, a spokesman for the region's interior ministry described the report as "an April fool's joke".[11] Alvi Karimov, a spokesperson for Ramzan Kadyrov, also rejected the allegations, saying: "you cannot arrest or repress people who just don't exist in the republic", while also adding that "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".[11] Sources have said that Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov wanted the LGBT community to be eliminated by 26 May.[69]

On 14 April 2017 Dmitry Peskov, Press Secretary for the President of Russia, said "We do not have any reliable information about any problems in this area".[70] The Russian LGBT Network is attempting to evacuate from Chechnya those who are threatened.[59][60] The Canada-based charity Rainbow Railroad announced that it is working with the Russian LGBT Network to establish safe routes out of the region and assist at-risk men in escaping.[71]

On 5 May, Putin agreed to a proposal by Russia's human rights ombudsman to form a group to investigate the reports.[72]

In Moscow, on 10 May, five activists were arrested while en route to the prosecutor general's office to deliver a petition calling for an unbiased investigation.[73] According to the Russian LGBT Network, the petition bore more than two million signatures of people in various countries.[74] The arrests followed an incident at a May Day parade in St. Petersburg in which riot police reportedly detained 17 protesters who sought to bring attention to the ongoing events in Chechnya.[75]

It was reported on 17 May that survivors of Chechnya's anti-gay persecution were having difficulty finding countries willing to issue them visas. The Russia LGBT Network reported having unproductive talks with American embassy officials, in which they were told there was "no political will" to issue U.S. visas to the refugees.[76] As of 19 May, a total of nine survivors of the persecution had reportedly been granted visas—two by Lithuania, the others by countries that Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius termed "allies" but declined to identify.[10] Linkevičius urged other nations of the European Union to accept more of the refugees.[77] As of June, the Russian LGBT Network reported that 42 men had been evacuated to other parts of Russia. While they are safe there from the immediate threat of detention, they risk being tracked down by family members of the Chechen diaspora if they remain in Russia.[78]

In late May, following weeks of international pressure, the Kremlin authorized its human rights ombudswoman, Tatiana Moskalkova, to assemble a preliminary fact-finding team,[79] which has sent investigators to Chechnya.[13] Early reports indicated that Chechen officials were attempting to sabotage the team's investigation.[80]

After a lull, the Russian LGBT Network announced in July that it was again receiving reports of authorities persecuting gay Chechens. The group voiced doubt that the Russian government was conducting an actual investigation, despite earlier claims to the contrary from the Kremlin.[81][82]

In a television interview slated for broadcast on July 18, Kadyrov reiterated his earlier contention that there are no gay people in Chechnya and denied that they had been arrested and tortured by his government. "We don't have any gays," he said. "If there are any, take them to Canada. To purify our blood, if there are any here, take them." In the interview, he called the men who stated they had been tortured as "devils". He stated, "They made it up." adding, "They are for sale. They are subhuman. God damn them for slandering us. They will have to answer to the Almighty for this."[83][84]

In January 2019, following reports of a new wave of "anti-gay purges" that started from December 2018, Dzhambulat Umarov, the Chechen Minister of National Policy, told the Daily Beast: “Considering the fact that they (gay people) have sick imagination to start from, I am not surprised that they can write nonsense like that”.[85]

On 29 January 2019, Igor Kochetkov, Leading Russian LGBT Network activist, filed a complaint with Russia's Investigation Agency. He then gave the names of 14 people that authorities unlawfully detained and tortured in Chechnya's capital, Grozny. He also reported the name of one man who police allegedly killed in January.

After the complaint, however, the leader of a pro-government group in Chechnya uploaded a YouTube video threatening Kochetkov. Ali Baskhanov called Kochetkov a ‘son of the devil’ and warned that if he came to Chechnya it would be his ‘final stop’, according to HRW. Kochetkov says authorities did not take his complaints of the threat seriously. He is now planning to sue the Investigative Department. Human Rights Watch urged to Russia to protect the activist and said that "The threats against Igor Kochetkov are very serious and deserve a prompt reaction by the Russian authorities. Given the danger LGBT people have been facing in Chechnya, the Interior’s Ministry’s lack of response is dangerous and unacceptable."[86]

On February 16, the spokesman for the Head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov, Alvi Karimov, called reports of the persecution of LGBT people in the republic "informational gay attack" directed against Russia. Karimov said that the authors of such statements "have gone the limit in terms of absence of shame and conscience." “Sitting in offices in Geneva, Washington and other cities, they quote each other without having any objective and reliable fact,” The official added that “the informational gay attack is a serious and well-planned part of an economic, political, psychological and informational attack directed against Russia. There is not a single case of arrest on these grounds in Chechnya. Law enforcement agencies, human rights activists and journalists, including foreign ones, have repeatedly checked these reports and did not find confirmation of them.”[87]

International
Protest and fundraising during Amsterdam Pride Walk 2017

United Nations and other intergovernmental bodies

In April 2017, a panel of five experts that advises the United Nations Human Rights Council called on Chechnya to "put an end to the persecution of people perceived to be gay or bisexual in the Chechen Republic who are living in a climate of fear fueled by homophobic speeches by local authorities";[26] the same month, the director of the human rights office at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said that Moscow must "urgently investigate the alleged disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment" of gay men in Chechnya.[88]

In January 2019, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) expressed its concern with reports of additional arrests following an anti-purge in the Russian republic, and called on Russia to take action to halt the detention and abuse of gay and bisexual people in Chechnya. The UN experts are Elina Steinerte, Agnes Callamard, David Kaye, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, Nils Melzer, Dubravka Šimonovic, and Ivana Radačić.[89][90][91]

In March 2019, a number of countries, at the 40th Session of the Human Rights Council, issued a joint statement calling for "a swift, thorough and impartial investigation into the alleged persecution" and accountability for those responsible. Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Uruguay all supported the joint statement; however, the United States under the Trump administration refused to sign on to the statement.[92][93]

Human rights/LGBT rights organizations

In April 2017 Amnesty International called for a prompt investigation and intervention,[94] and more than 130,000 people have signed a petition started by the organization in opposition to alleged human rights violations.[95]The same month, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum condemned the persecution of gay men in Chechnya and called on Chechen and Russian authorities to investigate the matter and "ensure the safety of LGBT populations within the Russian Federation".[96][97]

Three France-based human rights organizations filed a complaint in May 2017 with the International Criminal Court (ICC) accusing Chechen government officials of genocide.[98] and Chechen President Kadyrov as the "logistician" of the concentration camps.[99] Putin announced in 2016 that Russia, which signed but never ratified the treaty creating the ICC, would end its relationship with the treaty in November 2017.[100]

Many celebrities and LGBT activists such as Troye Sivan, Ellen DeGeneres, Matt Bomer, Mark Ruffalo, and Billy Eichner have voiced their strong condemnation of persecution of LGBT persons in Chechnya.[101][102]

Protests outside Russian diplomatic missions

Hundreds of people have attended demonstrations outside Russian diplomatic missions, protesting the anti-gay persecutions in Chechnya. Democrations took place in April 2017, outside the Embassy of Russia in London;[103][104] and in January 2019, outside New York City's Russian Consulate, in solidarity with gay and lesbian people facing a "second wave" of persecution in Chechnya.[105] On the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a protest attended by around a hundred people was held on 27 January 2019, outside the Embassy of Russia in London.[106] In May 2019, on the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, LGBT activists laid a giant rainbow flag on the steps of the Russian embassy in London, handing in a 65,000-signature petition calling on the Russian authorities to investigate the purge.[107]

Foreign governments
France

The camps became an issue in the 2017 French presidential election, with Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Benoît Hamon and Emmanuel Macron condemning Chechnya for them, while François Fillon and Marine Le Pen remained silent.[108] In a meeting with Putin in 2017, French President Macron pressed the Russian leader on the plight of LGBT Chechens and promised constant vigilance on the issue. According to Macron, Putin reported having taken steps to ascertain "the complete truth on the activities of local authorities".[109]

United Kingdom

In 2017, British MEPs urged Prime Minister Theresa May and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson to meet with the Russian ambassador.[110] Johnson condemned the Chechen government's persecution of gay men as "outrageous" and "abhorrent."[111]

In 2019, Foreign Secretary Alan Duncan said: "The persecution of LGBT people in Chechnya is utterly appalling. ...The Russian authorities must protect their people from these human rights abuses, and conduct a credible investigation into these reports immediately. There should be no climate of impunity for those who commit these abuses. We and the international community have repeatedly called for the Russian Government to conduct an investigation and hold those responsible for human rights abuses in Chechnya to account, including through the 2018 OSCE Moscow Mechanism."[112]

Australia

In 2017, Julie Bishop, the Australian Foreign Minister, condemned both the arrests and the camps.[113][114]

Canada

In April 2017, the Government of Canada called the "persecution of LGBTQ2 people in Chechnya reprehensible", calling upon Russia to investigate and ensure the safety of those at risk.[115]

United States

In April 2017, the United States Department of State expressed concern about "numerous credible reports indicating the detentions and deaths of LGBTI individuals" in Chechnya.[51] The same month, fifty members of Congress signed a letter urging Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who was in Russia in April, to publicly question the validity of the reports and to pressure the Russian government to investigate and put a stop to the arrests.[116] Also in April 2017, Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said, "We continue to be disturbed by reports of kidnapping, torture, and murder of people in Chechnya based on their sexual orientation and those persecuted by association. If true, this violation of human rights cannot be ignored – Chechen authorities must immediately investigate these allegations, hold anyone involved accountable, and take steps to prevent future abuses."[117] Former Secretary of State and 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton condemned the developments and called on the administration of President Donald Trump to do the same.[118]

In June 2017, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed House Resolution 351, which condemned the atrocities against LGBT people in Chechnya and called upon the Russian government to condemn the violence.[119][120]

According to a National Security Council spokesperson, the topic of anti-gay persecution did not arise at a May 2017 meeting between Trump and Putin's Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov. A White House spokesperson said that she was "not 100 percent sure" whether Trump had been briefed on the issue.[121] Testifying before a House of Representatives committee in June 2017, Tillerson reported that he had not discussed the matter during a meeting with Lavrov and did not know if Trump had raised it with Putin.[122]

In December 2017, the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions under the Magnitsky Act on Kadyrov and another Chechen official, Ayub Katayev, citing "gross violations of internationally recognized human rights"; the sanctions freeze assets and restrict the individuals' ability to travel in the U.S.[123] A spokesman for Putin called the sanctions "illegal" and indicated that Moscow would enact similar restrictions on U.S. officials in response.[124] In May 2019, the U.S. government imposed new financial sanctions on Chechen officials linked to the roundups of gay men in Chechnya, including Abuzayed Vismuradov, the commander of the "Terek Special Rapid Response Team" unit.[125][126]

In January 2019, the U.S. Department of State called on Russia to urgently investigate the reports of the purges, with Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino sating: "We are deeply disturbed by credible reports out of Chechnya about renewed attacks against individuals perceived to be members of the LGBTI community. Civil society groups report that at least 40 individuals have been illegally detained since December, including two who reportedly died in custody after being tortured. We call on Russia to live up to its international obligations and commitments and its own constitution, and launch an immediate investigation into these human rights abuses."[127]

Germany

German Chancellor Angela Merkel raised the topic in a meeting with Putin in May 2017, urging him to exert his influence to "ensure that minorities' rights are protected".[128]

Israel

A spokesperson for the Russian Embassy in Israel blamed reports of anti-gay persecution in Chechnya on a "propaganda campaign against Russia". In a May 11 letter published in the newspaper Haaretz, press attaché Dmitry Alushkin asserted that "authorized official government bodies of the Russian Federation" had conducted an investigation and that "[there] are no victims of persecution, threats or violence". He criticized Israeli citizens for spreading "factually incorrect information".[129][130]

Multilateral efforts

In April 2017, Lilianne Ploumen, Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, has called for a statement of condemnation from the 32 members (Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Italy, Mexico, Montenegro, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Uruguay) of the Equal Rights Coalition.[131] In May 2017, in a joint letter to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the foreign ministers of five European countries (Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden) declared their concern over the situation.[132]

Report of the U.S. Department of State

In 2018, the United States Department of State released the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices of 2017. The report on Russia detailed multiple human rights abuses against LGBTI people in Chechnya over the preceding year, including extrajudicial killings of LGBTI persons in Chechnya; the kidnapping, detention, and torture of men accused of being gay in Chechnya as part of a purge conducted by Chechen security forces; repeated threats of violence by Chechen officials against journalists reporting on human rights violations; and a failure of Chechen and Russian authorities to adequately redress human rights violations.[133]

Asylum

As of June 2017 Germany and Lithuania had granted visas for entry to the countries based on 'humanitarian' grounds. [134][135]

In August 2017, the Dutch government changed policy to allow LGBT persons from Chechnya to gain almost automatic "asylum-seeker" status and entry to the Netherlands.[136][137]

In September 2017, the Toronto-based nonprofit Rainbow Railroad made public that the Canadian government, working with them, has quietly allowed gay men and lesbians from Chechnya to seek safety in Canada. As of June 2017, 22 people deemed government-assisted refugees have found asylum in Canada.[138][139] In December 2018, it was reported that the Canadian minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland has ordered an airlift that brought 57 LGBT Chechen refugees to Canada.[140]

As of January 2019, none had received asylum in the United States.[141] In May 2019, one man had made an application.[142]

See also

References
  1. Batchelor, Tom (1 May 2017). "Russian police round up LGBT activists demonstrating against persecution of gay men in Chechnya". The Independent. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  2. Kramer, Andrew E. (1 May 2017). "Russians Protesting Abuse of Gay Men in Chechnya Are Detained". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  3. Smith, Lydia (10 April 2017). "Chechnya detains 100 gay men in first concentration camps since the Holocaust". International Business Times UK. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  4. Reynolds, Daniel (10 April 2017). "Report: Chechnya Is Torturing Gay Men in Concentration Camps". The Advocate. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  5. Milashina, Elena (1 April 2017). "Murder of honor: the ambitions of a well-known LGBT activist awake a terrible ancient custom in Chechnya". Retrieved 14 April 2017. "Novaya Gazeta" became aware of mass detentions of residents of Chechnya in connection with their unconventional sexual orientation - or suspicion of such. At the moment, more than a hundred men have been informed of the detention. "Novaya Gazeta" knows the names of the three dead, but our sources say that there are many more victims.
  6. Kramer, Andrew E. (1 April 2017). "Chechen Authorities Arresting and Killing Gay Men, Russian Paper Says". Retrieved 15 April 2017 – via NYTimes.com.
  7. "Analysis - She broke the story of Chechnya's anti-gay purge. Now, she says she has to flee Russia". Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  8. "Reports Of New, Terrifying 'Gay Concentration Camps' Where Men Are Getting Tortured And Murdered". ELLE UK. 2017-04-13. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
  9. Walker, Shaun (14 April 2017). "Journalists fear reprisals for exposing purge of gay men in Chechnya". Retrieved 15 April 2017 – via The Guardian.
  10. Ponniah, Kevin (19 May 2017). "Chechen gay men hopeful of finding refuge in five countries". BBC News. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  11. Walker, Shaun (2 April 2017). "Chechen police 'have rounded up more than 100 suspected gay men'". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  12. Peter, Laurence (11 April 2017). "Chechen police 'kidnap and torture gay men' - LGBT activists". BBC News. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  13. Walker, Shaun (26 May 2017). "Russia investigates 'gay purge' in Chechnya". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  14. Benedek, Dr. Wolfgang (December 21, 2018). "OSCE Rapporteur's Report under the Moscow Mechanism on alleged Human Rights Violations and Impunity in the Chechen Republic of the Russian Federation by Professor Dr. Wolfgang Benedek". Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  15. Gessen, Masha (December 21, 2018). "A Damning New Report on L.G.B.T. Persecution in Chechnya". The New Yorker. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  16. Vasilyeva, Nataliya (11 January 2019). "Reports: several gay men and women detained in Chechnya". AP NEWS. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  17. Damshenas, Sam (January 11, 2019). "Chechnya has reportedly launched a new 'gay purge'". The Gay Times. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  18. "Chechnya launches new gay 'purge', reports say". The Independent. 11 January 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  19. ""Новой газете" стало известно о новых преследованиях геев в Чечне". Новая газета - Novayagazeta.ru. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  20. Kramer, Andrew E. (14 January 2019). "Chechnya Renews Crackdown on Gay People, Rights Group Says". Retrieved 28 January 2019 – via NYTimes.com.
  21. "New wave of persecution against LGBT people in Chechnya: around 40 people detained, at least two killed". Российская ЛГБТ-сеть. 14 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  22. "Activists Say 40 Detained And 2 Dead In Gay Purge In Chechnya". NPR.org. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  23. Savelau, Dmitry (12 April 2017). "Gay men in Chechnya are some of the most disempowered people in the world today". The Independent. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  24. Breaking the Silence: Human Rights Violations Based on Sexual Orientation. Amnesty International. 1997. p. 34. ISBN 1873328125.
  25. Walker, Shaun (13 April 2017). "Chechens tell of prison beatings and electric shocks in anti-gay purge: 'They called us animals'". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  26. Chan, Sewell (13 April 2017). "U.N. Experts Condemn Killing and Torture of Gay Men in Chechnya". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  27. "Russia: Update to RUS13194 of 16 February 1993 on the treatment of homosexuals". Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. 29 February 2000. Retrieved 21 May 2009.
  28. Bright, Arthur (29 August 2012). "India uses death penalty: 5 other places where it's legal but rare". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  29. Osborne, Samuel (April 7, 2017). "Gay men being tortured and murdered in Chechen prisons, claim detainees". The Independent. Retrieved April 10, 2017. He has brought Islam to the fore of Chechnya's daily life, and gay people who reveal their sexuality are often discriminated against and shunned by their families.
  30. Dearden, Lizzie (20 April 2017). "Russia backs Chechnya government's denials over killing and torture of gay men". The Independent. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  31. "Chechnya gay purge: Russian foreign minister says claims of abuse are 'not based on fact'". The Independent'. May 30, 2017.
  32. Knight, Amy (19 May 2017). "Putin's Monster". The New York Review of Books. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  33. Andreevskikh , Olga (30 May 2017). "Report reveals the full brutality of anti-gay purges in Chechnya". The Conversation. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  34. Armitage, Susie (26 May 2017). "This New Report Shows How Bad Chechnya's Gay Crackdown Really Is". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  35. Tanya Lokshina, Anti-LGBT Violence in Chechnya Human Rights Watch (April 4, 2017).
  36. Smith, Lydia (11 April 2017). "'People are being tortured and killed': Chechnya's deadly anti-LGBT crisis". International Business News. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  37. "Information uncovered about a second prison for homosexuals in the Russian republic of Chechnya". Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  38. "Расправы над чеченскими геями (18+)". Новая газета (in Russian). Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  39. "Gay men 'sent to concentration-style camps during purge in Chechnya'". The Evening Standard. 11 April 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  40. "Authorities rounding up, killing gay men in 'prophylactic purge,' Russian paper says". ABC News. 4 April 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  41. Pasha-Robinson, Lucy. "Chechen authorities tell parents: 'Kill your gay sons or we will', survivor claims". The Independent. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  42. Stroude, Will (May 3, 2017). "CHECHEN AUTHORITIES 'SUMMON PARENTS TO PRISON CAMPS TO KILL THEIR GAY SONS'". Attitude. Archived from the original on May 6, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  43. Burrows, Emma (29 May 2017). "French president calls on Putin to protect gay Chechens". CNN. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  44. "Расправы над чеченскими геями (18+)". Новая газета - Novayagazeta.ru. 4 April 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  45. "People are being beaten and forced to 'sit on bottles' in anti-gay 'camps' in Chechnya". The Independent. 2017-04-11. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
  46. "Chechnya has opened concentration camps for gay men". PinkNews. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
  47. Morgan, Joe (May 23, 2017). "Chechnya gay concentration camp destroyed, prisoners moved to unknown location". Gay Start News. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  48. Butterworth, Benjamin (May 25, 2017). "Chechnya's gay concentration camp has been destroyed and moved to new location". Pink News. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  49. Lokshina, Tanya (4 April 2017). "Anti-LGBT Violence in Chechnya". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  50. "Information uncovered about a second prison for homosexuals in the Russian republic of Chechnya".
  51. "The United States Concerned by Reports of Detentions and Deaths of LGBTI Individuals in Chechnya, Russia" (Press release). The United States Department of State. April 7, 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  52. ""They Have Long Arms and They Can Find Me": Anti-Gay Purge by Local Authorities in Russia's Chechen Republic". Human Rights Watch. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  53. Batchelor, Tom (26 May 2017). "Chechnya gay purge: Victims tell of being stripped naked, beaten with pipes and electrocuted". The Independent. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  54. Ring, Trudy (21 June 2017). "Vice Explores Chechen Prison, But Officials Still Deny Antigay Persecution". The Advocate. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  55. Hassan, Hind (20 June 2017). "Inside the Chechen prison where gay men say they were tortured". VICE News. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  56. Benedek, Dr. Wolfgang (December 21, 2018). "OSCE Rapporteur's Report under the Moscow Mechanism on alleged Human Rights Violations and Impunity in the Chechen Republic of the Russian Federation by Professor Dr. Wolfgang Benedek". Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  57. "LGBT community in Chechnya faces 'new wave of persecution': UN human rights experts". Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  58. Delaney, Max (May 30, 2017). "Russia's Lavrov says 'no facts' on Chechnya gay persecution". Yahoo. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  59. "Russian LGBT Network evacuating 'at risk' people from Chechnya". Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  60. "Pleas for help from gay men in Chechnya on rise, Russian group says". Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  61. "Chechnya 'gay purge' responders receive death threats after home invasion". PinkNews - Gay news, reviews and comment from the world's most read lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans news service. 2019-05-31. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  62. "Russia: Chechnya Gay Purge Responders Threatened". Human Rights Watch. 2019-05-28. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  63. "Activists Helping Gays Escape Chechnya Face Threats, Home Invasions". www.advocate.com. 2019-05-29. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  64. "Russia Urged to End Torture, Killing of Gays in Chechnya", Voice of America, April 13, 2017.
  65. Dearden, Lizzie (20 April 2017). "Russia backs Chechnya government's denials over killing and torture of gay men". The Independent. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  66. "Chechnya gay purge: Russian foreign minister says claims of abuse are 'not based on fact'". The Independent'. May 30, 2017.
  67. "Gay man takes Russia to Europe's rights court over Chechnya LGBT+..." Reuters. 2019-05-24. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  68. "Russian Files Chechnya 'Gay Purge' Complaint With European Rights Court". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  69. Eleftheriou-Smith, Loulla-Mae (25 April 2017). "Chechnya wants to eliminate gay community by end of May, reports suggest". The Independent. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  70. "Kremlin: no confirmed info on claimed Chechen gay killings". Fox News. April 14, 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  71. Villarreal, Yezmin (2017-04-18). "Human Rights Group Hopes to Evacuate Gay Men From Chechnya". The Advocate. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  72. "Vladimir Putin backs investigation into reports of violent anti-gay crackdown in Chechnya". NBC News. Associated Press. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  73. Reevell, Patrick (2017-05-11). "LGBT activists arrested in Moscow after demanding investigation of alleged torture of gay men in Chechnya". ABC News. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
  74. "Chechnya gay rights: Activists with petition held in Moscow". BBC News. 2017-05-11. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
  75. Koreneva, Marina (1 May 2017). "Russia detains protesters against Chechnya anti-gay violence". Agence France-Presse. France 24. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  76. Feder, J. Lester (17 May 2017). "Russian Activists Say They've Been Told US Visas Are Out Of Reach For Gay Chechens". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  77. Gramer, Robbie (18 May 2017). "Lithuania Opens Door to Gay Chechens Fleeing Persecution, While U.S. Slams It Shut". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  78. Mackinnon, Amy (June 4, 2017). "America, don't abandon gay Chechens". CNN. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  79. Weir, Fred (26 May 2017). "Chechnya's anti-gay pogrom: Too much even for the Kremlin?". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  80. "Rights group says Chechen officials humiliated gay detainees". ABC News. Associated Press. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  81. Feder, J. Lester; Lytvynenko, Jane (2017-07-06). "Activists Say Chechnya Has Restarted Its Crackdown Against LGBT People". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
  82. Lavers, Michael K. (2017-07-11). "State Department: Chechnya extrajudicial killings are 'troubling'". The Washington Blade. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
  83. Lavers, Michael K. (14 July 2017). "Chechnya president: 'We don't have any gays'". The Washington Blade. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  84. Miller, Ryan W. (15 July 2017). "'We don't have any gays': Chechen leader denies gay purge". USA Today. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  85. "Chechnya officials blame gay people's 'sick imagination' for purge reports". Pinknews.co.uk. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  86. "Russia: New Wave of Anti-LGBT Persecution". Human Rights Watch. 2019-02-15. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  87. "Kadyrov's spokesman complained about gay attack on Chechnya". en.crimerussia.com. Archived from the original on 2019-02-17. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  88. Nordwall, Smita (13 April 2017). "Russia Urged to End Torture, Killing of Gays in Chechnya". VOA. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  89. "LGBT community in Chechnya faces 'new wave of persecution': UN human rights experts". UN News. 2019-02-13. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  90. "Chechnya: UN experts urge action after reports of renewed persecution of lesbian, gay and bisexual people". Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  91. Lang, Nico (2019-02-14). "U.N. demands answers from Russia following more reports of anti-LGBTQ torture in Chechnya". www.lgbtqnation.com. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  92. Campaign, Human Rights. "Trump-Pence Admin Refuses to Join Call for Chechnya Investigation". Human Rights Campaign. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  93. "Human Rights Council 40: Joint Statement Item 8 General Debate on LGBTI persons in Chechnya". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  94. "Document". Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  95. "Stop abducting and killing gay men in Chechnya". Amnesty International. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
  96. "Museum Condemns Persecution of Gays in Chechnya". United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved 2017-04-27.
  97. Lavers, Michael K. (27 April 2017). "U.S. Holocaust Museum 'deeply concerned' by gay Chechnya arrests". The Washington Blade. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  98. "Chechnya accused of 'gay genocide' in ICC complaint". BBC News. 16 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  99. "Des associations LGBT accusent la Tchétchénie de " génocide " devant la CPI". Le Monde (in French). 16 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  100. "Russia quits International Criminal Court, Philippines may follow". CNN. 17 November 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  101. Wong, Curtis (13 April 2017). "Ellen DeGeneres And Others Call For End To Gay 'Concentration Camps'". Huffington Post. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  102. "Chechnya 'concentration camps' a sickening reminder of LGBTI persecution", Sydney Morning Herald, April 21, 2017.
  103. Grafton-Green, Patrick. "Hundreds protest against 'gay concentration camps' in Chechnya outside London's Russian Embassy". London Evening Standard. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  104. "Watch LGBT activists outside the Russian Embassy protest the 'prison camps' for gay men in Chechnya". The Independent. 2017-04-13. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
  105. "Activists Storm the Russian Consulate to Protest Chechnya's Gay Purge | NewNowNext". www.newnownext.com. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  106. "Londoners rally at Russian embassy demanding end to torture in Chechnya". Gay Star News. 27 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  107. "'The whole world's been shocked by the purge in Chechnya'". www.amnesty.org.uk. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  108. Lacroix, Jérémie (13 April 2017). "Tchétchénie : Mélenchon s'indigne, Hamon et Macron condamnent, Fillon et Le Pen s'abstiennent". Têtu. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  109. Rubin, Alissa J.; Breeden, Aurelien (29 May 2017). "French president calls on Putin to protect gay Chechens". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  110. "Huge crowds in London protest Chechnya's 'gay concentration camps'". Evening Standard. 2017-04-12. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
  111. Cowburn, Ashley (13 April 2017). "Boris Johnson is calling for Russia to investigate the detention of 100 gay men in Chechnya". The Independent. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  112. "US State Department condemns Chechnya gay purge reports". Pinknews.co.uk. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  113. Koziol, Michael (13 April 2017). "Julie Bishop reproaches Russia over 'mass arrests' of gay men in Chechnya". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  114. Wade, Matthew (14 April 2017). "JULIE BISHOP CONDEMNS GAY CONCENTRATION CAMPS IN CHECHNYA". Star Observer. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  115. "Canada calls persecution of LGBTQ2 people in Chechnya reprehensible" (Press release). Government of Canada. April 15, 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  116. Duffy, Nick (13 April 2017). "50 Members of Congress sign letter condemning anti-gay purge in Chechnya". PinkNews. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  117. Haley, Nikki (April 17, 2017). "Statement from U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley on Reports of Detentions and Killings in Chechnya". United States Mission to the United Nations (Press release). United States Department of State. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  118. Johnson, Chris (21 April 2017). "Clinton blasts Trump for actions against LGBT rights". The Washington Blade. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  119. "Bipartisan resolution condemns anti-LGBTQ violence in Chechnya". NBC News. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
  120. "House Passes Resolution Condemning Atrocities in Chechnya". Human Rights Campaign. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
  121. Johnson, Chris (10 May 2017). "White House 'not aware' if Trump briefed on Chechnya anti-gay abuses". The Washington Blade. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  122. Johnson, Chris (15 June 2017). "Tillerson: I haven't raised Chechnya anti-gay abuses with Russia". The Washington Blade. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  123. Ring, Trudy (20 December 2017). "U.S. Sanctions Chechen Leader Over Antigay Persecution". The Advocate. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  124. Ring, Trudy (21 December 2017). "Kremlin Says Sanctions Against Kadyrov 'Illegal,' Vows Response". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  125. "U.S. Sanctions Chechen Officials Allegedly Linked To 'Gay Purge'". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  126. "Treasury Targets Additional Individuals Involved in the Sergei Magnitsky Case and Gross Violations of Human Rights in Russia". U.S. Department of the Treasury. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  127. "Attacks on LGBTI Community in Chechnya". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  128. Reynolds, Daniel (2 May 2017). "Angela Merkel Urges Putin to Protect Gay Chechens". The Advocate. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  129. Editor, Letters to the (11 May 2017). "Haaretz Reported on Abuse of Gay Men in Chechnya. Russia Was Not Pleased and Wrote Us Back". Retrieved 18 November 2017 – via Haaretz.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  130. Jackman, Josh. "Reports of Chechnya gay purge are false and meant to smear Russia, says official". Pink News. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
  131. "Dutch aid minister calls for action over Chechnya anti-gay violence". DutchNews.nl. April 18, 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  132. Oliphant, Roland (5 May 2017). "Vladimir Putin backs investigation into reports of violent anti-gay crackdown in Chechnya". The Telegraph. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  133. "RUSSIA 2017 HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  134. Shimer, David (9 June 2017). "Gay Chechens, Attacked at Home, Find Doors Opening in Europe". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  135. "Lithuania helps gay Chechens flee Russia". EUobserver. 2017-05-19.
  136. "Gay Chechens face easier asylum claims in the Netherlands - DutchNews.nl". Dutchnews.nl. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  137. "Sneller verblijfsvergunning Tsjetsjeense homo's". Nos.nl. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  138. Porter, Catherine (3 September 2017). "Chechnya's Persecuted Gays Find Refuge in Canada". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  139. Fiona Keating (2017-09-03). "Canada quietly gives asylum to gay people fleeing persecution in Russia; Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrovhas previously suggested deporting gay men to Canada". The Independent (United Kingdom).
  140. "LGBTQ Chechens struggle to find their footing after fleeing to Canada". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  141. Kramer, Andrew E. (2019-01-14). "Chechnya Renews Crackdown on Gay People, Rights Group Says". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  142. "Gay Chechen man with HIV seeks asylum in US". Washington Blade: Gay News, Politics, LGBT Rights. 2019-05-01. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.