Sweeping purge against gays in Chechnya: People killed

More than 100 men suspected of non-traditional sexual orientation have been detained in the Caucasian republic in recent weeks.

Novaya Gazeta is investigating into the subject. According to the publication, at the moment, names of three dead have been revealed, but various sources report that there are a lot more victims.

Information on the mass detention of suspected homosexuals began forthcoming at the beginning of the week, Novaya Gazeta says. Within a few days, it was confirmed by several sources of the publication, including the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Chechen republic, Kadyrov’s administration, the republic’s Administration of the Federal Security Service, and the Prosecutor’s Office of Chechnya.

According to the publication's sources, the detainees suspected of homosexuality have little chance of surviving, as their relatives will not seek an investigation into their detention or murder.

Detentions are held throughout the country, and not only in the capital, the newspaper writes. Representatives of the sexual minority, who have not been detained, urgently leave Chechnya.

In the Caucasus, boasting of non-traditional orientation is equivalent to a death sentence, the publication tells. Which is why straw persons are used to identify gay people.

According to a message of a LGBT activist from Chechnya, who remained anonymous for obvious reasons, gays are exposed through provocative posts in social networks. The author claims that those who respond to such messages are then detained or killed.

The publication reports that the detainees include representatives of the Chechen muftiate, among whom there are influential religious figures close to the head of the republic, as well as two well-known Chechen TV personalities.

As reported by sources in the local security services, the so-called 'preventive cleansing' began after the reports of LGBT activists from other regions, led by Nikolay Alekseev (GayRussia.ru project) on holding rallies in the cities of the North Caucasus. this information provoked protests and an aggressive reaction among the population of Chechnya.

Meanwhile, the publication notes that the mentioned rallies have not been coordinated. The purpose of filing such notifications is to receive a refusal and then appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

Alekseev is known for his numerous lawsuits in courts of different regions of the country. He appeals against every refusal to approve a rally in Russian courts, and then the appeal is referred to the European Court of Human Rights. The publication notes that Alekseev won his first complaint in Strasbourg in 2011, received compensation of 29 thousand euro. At the moment, the ECHR is considering two more of his similar complaints, compensation for which may amount to 100,000 euros.