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Chechnya launches new gay 'purge', say reports
Source: The Independent
Chechnya launches new gay 'purge', say reports
Latest warning comes after reports of gay men arrested, tortured and detained in lawless region
Oliver Carroll Moscow @olliecarroll
5 hours ago
A new “purge” against gay men and women may be under way in Chechnya, according to activists.
Late on Thursday, a warning appeared on social media, urging all vulnerable men and women to flee the southern Russian region.
“We ask anyone still free to take this message seriously and leave the republic as soon as is possible,” read the statement.
The short message gives few details, but suggests disappearances of gay men and women have begun again in the majority-Islamic republic. Comments made under the social media post indicate the latest crackdown may have come after contacts of LGBT+ Chechens found their way into the hands of the authorities.
Igor Kochetkov, head of the LGBT Network, which has over the past two years helped a number of Chechens to safety, told The Independent that the group had received credible information of a new crackdown. He said he would be giving a detailed statement on Monday.
-snip-
Latest warning comes after reports of gay men arrested, tortured and detained in lawless region
Oliver Carroll Moscow @olliecarroll
5 hours ago
A new “purge” against gay men and women may be under way in Chechnya, according to activists.
Late on Thursday, a warning appeared on social media, urging all vulnerable men and women to flee the southern Russian region.
“We ask anyone still free to take this message seriously and leave the republic as soon as is possible,” read the statement.
The short message gives few details, but suggests disappearances of gay men and women have begun again in the majority-Islamic republic. Comments made under the social media post indicate the latest crackdown may have come after contacts of LGBT+ Chechens found their way into the hands of the authorities.
Igor Kochetkov, head of the LGBT Network, which has over the past two years helped a number of Chechens to safety, told The Independent that the group had received credible information of a new crackdown. He said he would be giving a detailed statement on Monday.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/chechnya-gay-purge-lgbt-detention-torture-missing-men-women-beating-a8723011.html
______________________________________________________________________
Source: Associated Press
Reports: several gay men and women detained in Chechnya
By NATALIYA VASILYEVA
January 11, 2019
MOSCOW (AP) — Several people have been recently detained in Russia’s Chechnya region on suspicion of being gay, in a throwback to an earlier crackdown, activists said on Friday.
The reports come a year and a half after more than 100 gay men in Chechnya were arrested and subjected to torture, and some of them were killed, according to activists. Chechen authorities never admitted their role in the well-documented abuse, and federal authorities conducted a probe that did not produce any findings to back up the reports.
Prominent activist Igor Kochetkov told The Associated Press on Friday that gay rights supporters have seen a spike in detentions of men and women suspected of being gay since late December. Kochetkov would not say how many people have been detained or where they are now. He said the activists are preparing a short report to be released on Monday.
The Interior Ministry in Chechnya was not immediately available for comment.
Independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which broke the news of the crackdown in 2017, earlier on Friday reported renewed persecutions of gay people in Chechnya.
-snip-
By NATALIYA VASILYEVA
January 11, 2019
MOSCOW (AP) — Several people have been recently detained in Russia’s Chechnya region on suspicion of being gay, in a throwback to an earlier crackdown, activists said on Friday.
The reports come a year and a half after more than 100 gay men in Chechnya were arrested and subjected to torture, and some of them were killed, according to activists. Chechen authorities never admitted their role in the well-documented abuse, and federal authorities conducted a probe that did not produce any findings to back up the reports.
Prominent activist Igor Kochetkov told The Associated Press on Friday that gay rights supporters have seen a spike in detentions of men and women suspected of being gay since late December. Kochetkov would not say how many people have been detained or where they are now. He said the activists are preparing a short report to be released on Monday.
The Interior Ministry in Chechnya was not immediately available for comment.
Independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which broke the news of the crackdown in 2017, earlier on Friday reported renewed persecutions of gay people in Chechnya.
-snip-
Read more: https://apnews.com/88929f353d494b3a87843002d02ad155
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