Chechnya and the “anti-Gay Purge” – a Year Later | Czech Centre for Human Rights and Democracy

Contents:

• RSIA'S LGBT 'CONCENTRATN CAMPS': PRISONS FOR GAY MEN IN CHECHNYA, REPORTS SAY
• CHECHNYA LGBT: DOZENS 'TAED NEW GAY PURGE'
• ALLEGED GAY 'CONCENTRATN CAMPS' IN CHECHNYA SPARK GLOBAL OUTRAGE
• CHECHEN POLICE 'KIDNAP AND TORTURE GAY MEN' - LGBT ACTIVISTS
• GAY MEN ARE BEG HELD IN CONCENTRATN CAMPS IN CHECHNYA
• HUNDREDS PROTT OUTRAGE AGAST CHECHNYA'S GAY CONCENTRATN CAMPS
• LONDONERS PROTT GAY ‘NCENTRATN MPS’, ANTI-LGBTQ VLENCE CHECHNYA
• CHECHNYA IS TRYG TO EXTERMATE GAY PEOPLE. OUR SILENCE ONLY EMBOLNS VLADIMIR PUT AND RAMZAN KADYROV.
• ‘THEY STARVE YOU. THEY SHOCK YOU’: INSI THE ANTI-GAY POGROM CHECHNYA
• “WELE TO CHECHNYA” REVEALS THE KILLG OF GAY PEOPLE
• RUMORS ARE SPREADG GAY PEOPLE ARE BEG PUT IN ‘DEATH CAMPS’ IN THIS COUNTRY
• TWO GAY PEOPLE TORTURED TO DEATH IN CHECHNYA'S 'CONCENTRATN CAMPS' – REPORTS
• REPORTS OF ‘NCENTRATN MPS’ AND TORTURE FOR GAY MEN RSIA
• GAY CHECHENS REPORT DAYS OF BEATGS AND ELECTRO-SHOCK TORTURE AT HANDS OF RSIAN ERNMENT-BACKED THUGS
• CHECHNYA AND THE “ANTI-GAY PURGE” – A YEAR LATER

RSIA'S LGBT 'CONCENTRATN CAMPS': PRISONS FOR GAY MEN IN CHECHNYA, REPORTS SAY

The allegatns me after a few eyewns and survivors said terviews wh the Rsian publitn that they were arrted and taed at one of the secret prisons Argun, a town the Chechen Republic, 100 gay men have been reportedly taed and at least three killed the past week Chechnya by the police. Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Chechen lear Ramzan Kadyrov has prevly claimed the reports were "ma up"Activists Rsia say there has been a new crackdown agast LGBT people Rsian LGBT Network believ about 40 people have been imprisoned sce December - two of whom they say have died unr group has been monorg alleged ab the maly Mlim Rsian republic sce 2017 when dozens of gay people were reportedly taed. In early April 2017, the Rsian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported that men the Republic of Chechnya acced of beg gay had been "illegally taed, beaten, tortured wh electric shocks" and held for ransom "secret prisons" around Chechnya, cludg a former ary facily the town of Argun.

The head of the lol Interr Mistry dismissed the earlier report as a "bad April Fools' joke, " while the spokman for Ramzan Kadyrov, Chechnya's strongman lear, claimed there were no homosexuals Chechnya.

“In his nfirmatn heargs, [Tillerson] rpond to a qutn on the human rights of LGBTQ people by notg that ‘Amerin valu don’t acmodate vlence or discrimatn agast anyone, ’” advocy unsel Shawn Gaylord said a statement to The Huffgton Post. ”The Chechen ernment won’t adm that gay men even exist Chechnya, let alone that they orred what the police ll ‘preventive moppg up’ of people they em unsirable, ” the petn, which had over 25, 000 signatur as of Tuday afternoon, read. “We are seeg very ltle rponse to this the mastream media, and ernment actn so far is poor, ” Steve Taylor, who is the munitns director for the European Pri Organizers Associatn (EPOA) told Gay Star News.

CHECHNYA LGBT: DOZENS 'TAED NEW GAY PURGE'

Image source, AFPImage ptn, Gay rights are rtricted Rsia and ab are worse Chechnya, LGBT activists sayGay men are fleeg btal persecutn Chechnya, where police are holdg more than 100 people and torturg some of them an anti-gay crackdown, Rsian activists say. Homophobia is wispread maly Mlim regn is n by Ramzan Kadyrov, an thorarian lear wh a notor private ia, fiercely loyal to Rsian Print Vladimir Poplevskaya told the BBC that victims - eher gay or jt perceived as gay - are beg held at a tentn centre near Argun, 20km (13 ) om the cy of said the LGBT Network, based St Petersburg, was aware of "an anised mpaign to ta gay men" Chechnya.

ALLEGED GAY 'CONCENTRATN CAMPS' IN CHECHNYA SPARK GLOBAL OUTRAGE

Media ptn, Svetlana Zakharova om the Rsian LGBT Network tailed the tentns to the BBC World Service's Newshour programmeVictims' hotleThe gay rights group has an email hotle to help victims, or potential victims, flee to other parts of Rsia. Another said he was forced to pay brib to Chechen police every month to survive, and the creatn of the mps is the next step the regn’s anti-gay mpaign, reported rights activists om all over the world have reacted horror and spoken out agast the shockg news. Gay men the regn have also been letg their social media profil sce the New York Tim reported that many were beg lured to dat and then Friday, former Vice Print Joe Bin issued a statement nmng the mps, and lled on the current admistratn "to advance human rights for everyone by raisg this issue directly wh Rsia’s lears.

""I am disgted and appalled by reports om both the Rsian media and non-ernmental anizatns that thori the Rsian republic of Chechnya have round up, tortured, and even murred dividuals who are believed to be gay, " he wrote. A report by Novoya Gazeta said thori had set up several mps where homosexuals are killed or forced to promise to leave the of the mps is reportedly at the former ary headquarters the town of Argun. Print Razman Kadyrov (right), who is a key ally of Vladimir Put, allegedly orred the clampdown Svetlana Zakharova, om the Rsian LGBT Network, told MailOnle: 'Gay people have been taed and round up and we are workg to evacuate people om the mps and some have now left the regn.

CHECHEN POLICE 'KIDNAP AND TORTURE GAY MEN' - LGBT ACTIVISTS

' Chechen society is strictly nservative, meang that unlike other s where relativ or rights activists may put prsure on thori when a homosexual relative disappears, those spected are likely to be disowned by their own fai. Hundreds of people gathered outsi the Rsian embassy London on Wednday to prott after reports om human rights groups that up to 100 gay men are beg held and tortured “mps” Rsia’s southern regn of Chechnya. ”The Chechen thori uld not be reached for ment but a spokman for the regn’s print, Ramzan Kadyrov, nied the allegatns to other media, addg that gay men did not exist Chechnya.

The crackdown a month after several ci the North Cs, where the Chechen republic is loted, asked for perms to stage a strg of gay pri paras, Novaya Gazeta suatn Chechnya is ma worse by a nservative majory-Mlim society where any exprsn of sexualy that is seen as outsi tradnal genr rol is nsired sful, Kirey targetg of LGBT people by their own fai, and honor killgs, are mon the regn, she add. “Wele to Chechnya: Insi the Rsian Republic’s Deadly War on Gays, ” which premiered at the Sundance Ftival January and airs on HBO next week, is one of the most harrowg films I have ever seen.

GAY MEN ARE BEG HELD IN CONCENTRATN CAMPS IN CHECHNYA

“Image the 21st century, a supposedly secular untry, ” says David Isteev, at the start of this acclaimed documentary, “you have s where people are killed simply bee they are homosexual — where they are maimed, where the fai of the people are urged to kill their children and siblgs. “Wele to Chechnya” follows Isteev, emergency program ordator for the Rsian LGBT Network, and his fellow activists as they risk their liv tryg to protect gay Chechens om beg targeted both by the thori and their own fai.

“We documented a large-sle, vic, anti-gay purge” marked by “torture, enforced disappearanc, and extrajudicial killgs, ” Tanya Loksha, the Rsia program director at Human Rights Watch, told me a phone terview om Mosw.

HUNDREDS PROTT OUTRAGE AGAST CHECHNYA'S GAY CONCENTRATN CAMPS

For David France, the award-wng director of “Wele to Chechnya, ” mak no sense to talk of a “first” or a “send” purge, as is all part of a sgle ongog mpaign of persecutn agast gay Chechens. ” In recent years, he has also been “jtifyg and enuragg” so-lled honor killgs of gay Chechens by their fai while his admistratn, France explaed to me, ref to prosecute such crim.

As Human Rights Watch has noted, the Rsian republic “is a highly nservative, tradnal Mlim society; homophobia is tense and rampant, and homosexualy is generally viewed as a sta on fay honor.

“If there’s no punishment, ” says an exhsted-lookg Isteev toward the end of the film, “if LGBT people are regard as subhuman, if you n do anythg to them, means that tomorrow, anyone n fd themselv the sho of gay Chechens. 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.

LONDONERS PROTT GAY ‘NCENTRATN MPS’, ANTI-LGBTQ VLENCE CHECHNYA

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.

” 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.

CHECHNYA IS TRYG TO EXTERMATE GAY PEOPLE. OUR SILENCE ONLY EMBOLNS VLADIMIR PUT AND RAMZAN KADYROV.

Pkov, told journalists that the Rsian thori had found no evince that the Chechen police had arrted gay quickly beme clear to Maksim and the other men that the Chechen thori were applyg the same tactics ed by Rsia and by Mr. Secury service agents took to posg as gay men lookg for dat on the Village and other chat rooms, or persuad those they had already ptured to lure acquatanc, those arrted said spread among gay Chechens. His acunt of the ceptn ed to ta him was nsistent wh others documented by Human Rights Watch and wh the acunts of the two other gay men terviewed separately for this six of the men the apartment were transferred to a makhift cell an abandoned buildg, where they were tortured wh electricy one by one, Maksim 11 days, he was released to a male relative, who was told that Maksim was gay.

Petersburg, which has tablished an emergency, round-the-clock volunteer group to help gay men pe the reassure the victims they are tryg to help, the activists have taken extraordary preutns, operatg virtually as a partisan cell behd enemy l, though they have done nothg illegal unr Rsian law. “The people don’t tst anybody, ” said Olga Baranova, director of the Mosw Communy Center, a support group for gays that is part of the volunteer work helpg gay men flee arrivg at the safe lotn outsi Chechnya, several young men said they had spected that the volunteer group was also a trap but had no other optn but to accept the help, Ms.

Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen lear, has both refuted the prence of LGBT dividuals his untry as well as claimed that gay people ought to transfer to Canada “to purify our blood”.

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

On Saturday 7 April, All Out, s participants and panns will certaly e together at 2pm outsi the Rsian embassy London as well as ci around the world to honour our gay as well as bisexual siblgs killed Chechnya. Please place as much prsure as feasible on the Rsian feral ernment to close the prisoner-of-war mp for gay mal Chechnya, and also to secure the legal rights of LGBT people throughout Rsia. The globe needs to work together to close the prisoner-of-war mp for gay mal Chechnya as well as put fens to regulatn for LGBT cizens throughout Rsia and also the globe.

It had not been jt gay guys and also lbian ladi, but also those thought to be homosexual due to the fact that they didn’t f stereotyp of genr and sexualy the Nazis valued. Ln 1995 – for the ial as well as only time – a group of gay survivors of the Holot released a claratn requirg regnn as ponent of a task of the uned state Holot Memorial Mm Washgton D.

WATCH: Alan Brooks om Open Table Liverpool and Sefton checkg out the gay survivors’ statement [4 ms] This is an extract om the Open Table Network memoratn of Holot Memorial Day 2022 on the style: ‘Be the light the darkns’. And as the Uned Stat Secretary of State meets his Rsian equivalent, rights activists ll on him to al wh reports that the Chechen ernment is assemblg as well as tormentg gay men. In between 1933 and 1945, an timated 100, 000 mal were arrted for vlatg Nazi Germany’s regulatn vers homosexualy, and also of the, roughly 50, 000 were sentenced to jail.

“WELE TO CHECHNYA” REVEALS THE KILLG OF GAY PEOPLE

Stop Homophobie, Mose and also Come Idaho France prompted the ICC to explore the persecutn of gay guys, cg the stance of a teenager apparently thrown away of a nth-floor home wdow after his uncle found he was gay.

After servg two jail sentenc for “bchery between mal”, Brazda was judged to be a repeat offenr sent to Buchenwald where, like other gays, he was pelled to wear a pk triangle. He took French cizenship 1960, stayg Alsace, but did not publicly expose the factors for his ternment until 2008, when buddi prompted him to e out after the mencement of a memorial to the Nazis’ gay sufferers Berl. Elizabeth Ronzier om gay rights team Inter-LGBT told RFI that Brazda had actually been a ccial number aidg to obta acknowledgment for homosexuals who were ported to Nazi ncentratn mps throughout the 2nd World War.

” The supprsns are guid agast lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and tersex persons, those prumed to belong to LGBTI groups, ” the EU said s Authori Journal, where released the asset ic up as well as travel bans. The Rsian Internal Matters Mistry shoots down all fe as Kadyrov as well as his alli officially reject that there are any type of LGBT people the area, not to mentn a gay purge.

RUMORS ARE SPREADG GAY PEOPLE ARE BEG PUT IN ‘DEATH CAMPS’ IN THIS COUNTRY

Neverthels, their nials are untered by lots of trmatic refugee rerds om LGBT dividuals who have actually been locked up, feated, tortured as well as elimated gay ncentratn mps. As well as the rerds have been penntly nfirmed by Civil rights Watch and also the Internatnal Suatn Group, both of which ce on-the-ground rourc that show up to validate gay guys have been targeted for apprehensn. Last month, civils rights profsnals who create the Unique Procr of the Civil rights Council released a prs statement labelled: “End abe and also apprehensn of gay mal Chechnya“.

TWO GAY PEOPLE TORTURED TO DEATH IN CHECHNYA'S 'CONCENTRATN CAMPS' – REPORTS

A number of heart-breakg stori om the area have actually been shared, nsistg of tal of parents of gay people who were provid a utng to elimate their youngsters before ps elimated them abe mps.

It’s also given that emerged that parents the regn are beg urged to “kill” their gay children, wh the Chechen head of state llg for a full cleanup of LGBT rints by Ramadan.

Public rad’s David Greene spoke wh a nfintial agent of the Network ncerng jt how they have actually actned to effectively rcue and leave as numero gay mal as feasible om the Rsian Republic.

REPORTS OF ‘NCENTRATN MPS’ AND TORTURE FOR GAY MEN RSIA

Gay men are reportedly beg hunted by their very own fai outsi of prisoner-of-war mp, many thanks to a ernment orr om Chechen print Ramzan Kadyrov tendg to kill all gay people the untry by Ramadan on Might 26, acrdg to Pk Informatn. The Nazis brand homosexualy an aberratn threateng their assumptn of Germans as the master race, as well as the Gtapo kept a special register of around 100, 000 gay people.

Talkg Wh the MailOnle, Svetlana Zakharova om the Rsian LGBT work, claimed: “Gay dividuals have been rtraed and also round up as well as we are workg to leave dividuals om the mps as well as some have actually now left the area. ” It is difficult to overemphasize jt exactly how vulnerable LGBT people are Chechnya, where homophobia is tense and also wispread, ” posed Tanya Loksha of Civil Rights Watch. Chechen officials rejected the prelimary rerds of thori physil vlence vers gay men the regn, clarg that they were based “li as well as disrmatn” sce there are no gay people Chechnya.

Kheda Saratova, the Chechen Commissner for Civil Rights, has actually exced a statement which she said she would overlook any kd of rerds bee she did not thk there were gay mal Chechnya. At least 100 gay men have been taed and three have been killed, The Huffgton Post prisoner who managed to pe told Novaya Gazeta, a Rsian newspaper, prisoners were often beaten to force them to revealg other members of the gay muny, MailOnle reports. Alexanr Artemyev, om Amnty Internatnal Rsia, told MailOnle about the tense fear the gay muny  Chechnya mt grapple wh on a daily said, They eher have to hi or leave the republic.

GAY CHECHENS REPORT DAYS OF BEATGS AND ELECTRO-SHOCK TORTURE AT HANDS OF RSIAN ERNMENT-BACKED THUGS

Print Ramzan Kadyrov, an ally of Vladimir Put, allegedly orred the clampdown on the gay muny, although his regime prevly nied makg any arrts, claimg " is impossible to persecute those who are not the republic. Basilly, thori Chechnya seem to ny the very existence of the gay muny  their area, while simultaneoly roundg them up to ncentratn you still thk history don't repeat self, I strongly suggt you thk aga. Catns: Chechnya opens world's first ncentratn mp for homosexuals sce Hler's the 1930s where mpaigners say gay men are beg tortured wh electric shocks and beaten to ath (MailOnle), Chechnya Opens 'Concentratn Camps For Gay Men' (The Huffgton Post), Massacre of Chechen gay (18+) (Novaya Gazeta), Anti-LGBT Vlence Chechnya (Human Rights Watch).

Two people have been tortured to ath and around 40 jailed durg a new crackdown on the LGBT+ muny Chechnya, acrdg to Rsian LGBT Network say the victims died what have prevly been scribed as “ncentratn mps for gay men”, the first such example sce Hler’s the thorarian ernment, led by Print Ramzan Kadyrov, has nied the latt reports.

CHECHNYA AND THE “ANTI-GAY PURGE” – A YEAR LATER

Two years ago even suggted there were no gay people the 2017, after reports 100 gay men were beg held and tortured a ncentratn mp the town of Argun, the print’s spokman, Ali Karimov, said: “It’s impossible to persecute those who are not the republic. ”The latt reports have yet to be penntly verified, but f a pattern of persecutn the untry that first me to light when Rsian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported that hundreds of men, believed to be homosexual and bisexual, were beg held secret tentn centr. Mikhail Svetlov via Getty ImagThe report om the rpected mpaigng newspaper claimed that Chechen thori were attemptg a “plete cleansg” of prompted a report om Human Rights Watch which said that high-level officials Chechnya huiated mat durg viss to tentn facili where gay people were allegedly held and Chechen men “rema at great risk of beg hound by Chechen thori or their own relativ as long as they rema Rsia”, said.