Gay activists beaten and arrted Rsia | World news | The Guardian

Contents:

• ‘THEY STARVE YOU. THEY SHOCK YOU’: INSI THE ANTI-GAY POGROM CHECHNYA
• LGBT HATE CRIM DOUBLE RSIA AFTER BAN ON 'GAY PROPAGANDA'
• ‘I’M AAID FOR MY FUTURE’: PROPOSED LAWS THREATEN GAY LIFE RSIA
• INSI THE IRON CLOSET: WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE GAY PUT'S RSIA
• POLICE ARRT 30 AT GAY PRI RALLY MOSW
• GAY ACTIVISTS BEATEN AND ARRTED RSIA

‘THEY STARVE YOU. THEY SHOCK YOU’: INSI THE ANTI-GAY POGROM CHECHNYA

The European Court of Human Rights led 2017 that the 2013 law is discrimatory, promot homophobia and vlat the European Conventn on Human Rights. The urt found that the law “served no legimate public tert, ” rejectg suggtns that public bate on LGBT issu uld fluence children to bee homosexual, or that threatened public morals. Homosexualy was crimalized Rsia 1993, but homophobia and discrimatn is still rife.

Speakg before Put signed the bill to the law on Monday, Tanya Loksha, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch said: “The 2013 ‘gay propaganda’ law was an unabashed example of polil homophobia, and the new draft legislatn amplifi that broar and harsher ways. MOSCOW, Sept 25 (Thomson Rters Foundatn) - Receivg photos of mutilated bodi wh the warng “you’re next” rattled gay rights activist Nika Toov but when he saw surveillance men outsi his home, he fled Rsia for threats via social media me om Pila - Rsian for “saw” - a homophobic group which has said was behd the fatal stabbg July of an LGBT+ activist whose name was among a dozen on their wily-circulated assassatn “blacklist”. Although the police did not treat the murr as a hate crime ially, they promised to vtigate whether Pila had anythg to do wh Grigoryeva’s ath after plats om lbian gay, bisexual and transgenr (LGBT+) rights - which tak s name om the “Saw” Amerin horror movi - is the latt threat to shake the LGBT+ muny Rsia, where homosexualy was emed a crimal offence until 1993 and classed as a mental illns until 1999.

LGBT HATE CRIM DOUBLE RSIA AFTER BAN ON 'GAY PROPAGANDA'

Vlence agast gay people and hostily om the wir muny has been on the rise sce 2013 when the Kreml adopted a gay “propaganda” law as part of a drive to fend what Print Vladimir Put lled Rsia’s “tradnal valu” mpaigners say the law has helped thori crack down on activists and ntributed to a rise anti-LGBT+ hate crim as well as police reluctance to vtigate Rsian LGBT Network, which offers legal aid to gay people, said only eight out of 64 s of physil vlence agast LGBT+ people that received 2018 were vtigated by the police headquarters, Kreml spokman Dmry Pkov and human rights missner Tatyana Moskalkova did not rpond to requts for ment. ATTACKSPila has ed s webse, Instagram, Rsia’s biggt social work VK and msagg app Telegram to ll for gay Rsians to be ported, posted a list of LGBT+ activists to be assassated, and offered sh rewards for attacks on them.

”Pila’s webse and all of s onle acunts were blocked last month after plats om activists who fear s threats are fuellg homophobia and vlence agast LGBT+ people.

“They openly ll for vlence agast certa people, but law enforcement has taken no actn whatsoever, ” said Alexanr Kondakov, a soclogist at Fland’s Universy of Helski who thored a study on anti-gay hate crim Rsia.

‘I’M AAID FOR MY FUTURE’: PROPOSED LAWS THREATEN GAY LIFE RSIA

UNPUNISHEDValy Bpalov, edor of the gay news se ParniPl, received an email on Aug. 26 stctg him to kill Maxim Lapunov - a gay man who went public about beg kidnapped and tortured Chechnya - before Oct. The route kidnappg and btal torture of gay men and women the republic has been heavily documented by rights groups and journalists, sce a so-lled "gay purge" 2017 ma global headl, when dozens of men were round up and tortured at police bas.

INSI THE IRON CLOSET: WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE GAY PUT'S RSIA

Brish gay rights activist Peter Tatchell stag an anti-Put prott agast the mistreatment of LGBT people Rsia ont of a monument to Soviet Marshal Gey Zhov on Manezhnaya Square Mosw on June 14, Zmeyev/AFP via Getty Imag, FILEAn ABC News Nightle documentary 2019 documented the s of several gay men who were taken by police and tortured, beaten wh rods and electrocuted. Chechen thori have dismissed the allegatns by tellg media repeatedly that homosexualy don't exist Chechnya or that people who are gay n't be Chechen. But for the young man who lls himself Maksim, as for sr of other gay men arrted a pogrom this month Rsia’s Chechnya regn, pivoted to nearly two weeks of beatgs and said had started wh a chat room nversatn wh “a very good old iend who is also gay, ” and who suggted that they meet at an apartment.

”Gay men have never had an easy life Chechnya. But the targeted, llective punishment of gays that began last month unr s pro-Kreml lear, Ramzan A.

Kadyrov, is a new turn the regn’s long history of rights Gazeta, an opposn newspaper, first reported the pogrom, sayg that at least 100 gay men had been arrted and three killed the roundup.

POLICE ARRT 30 AT GAY PRI RALLY MOSW

The victims e assumed nam their everyday followg acunt is based on terviews wh Maksim, who is his 20s, and two other gay men who were taed by Chechen secury agents. Homosexualy is taboo Chechnya and the mostly Mlim surroundg areas of the Cs regn southern Rsia. “This society is highly homophobic, ” said Ekatera L.

GAY ACTIVISTS BEATEN AND ARRTED RSIA

“Homosexualy is nmned. ”Neverthels, before the crackdown, gay men Chechnya uld at least lead social liv, if heavily closeted on, Maksim said.

“When two gay men meet, they don’t tell one another their te nam, ” Maksim said.

” Hill for The New York TimThe crackdown began after GayRsia, a rights group based Mosw, applied for perms for gay pri paras the Cs regn, promptg unterprotts by relig groups, the men said. In Chechnya, beme somethg even worse — a mass “prophylactic” cleansg of homosexuals, the secury service agents told the gay men as they round them men were held for as ltle as a day or as long as several weeks, acrdg to Human Rights Watch and to terviews wh gay men who later ped the regn.