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Back in April, news of what appeared to be a “gay concentration camp” in Chechnya came to light after the arrests of 100 men accused of being gay and the murder of at least six of those men.
Those left alive were returned by authorities who encouraged their families to carry out “honour killings.”
While some world leaders were inspired to speak out against this, Chechen president Ramzan Kadirov denied the claim, saying that there are no gay people to be found in his country. The bizarre claim of not having any gay people contradicts his later comments which promise to “eliminate all gay people by the start of Ramadan.” While this statement is horribly frightening, it should serve to put Kadirov under scrutiny from other world leaders. Vladimir Putin backed an inquiry into any occurrences, but the results came back negative, leaving the Russian embassy in Israel to say “there are no victims of persecution of threats or violence.” The most shocking aspect of this lie is its pure incompetence and ineptitude. No effort goes into covering tracks or hiding evidence, only caring enough to come up with a pathetic lie that is easily contradicted by their own, public words. Another world-leader who chose not to acknowledge this is the United States’ very own Donald Trump who is currently being urged by over 50 members of congress through a letter asking him to confront President Putin.
More recently, a list of the names of 27 out of a possible 56 men executed by Chechen authorities in January as part of an anti-gay raid has been released. The date of the release coincides with the time that claims that Chechnya has resumed its purge began to surface. While the kidnapping, imprisonment and torture was believed to have been over, the Russian LGBT Network reports that Chechen citizens are reaching out to say that this is beginning to happen once again. Details have yet to come out on the revamped ‘cleanse.’ While we know that 6 prisons for homosexuals were established the last time this happened, we can’t be sure of what is currently going on. Fundraising efforts have been started by the Russian LGBT Network and All Out to evacuate gay men from Chechnya. The two organizations are currently the best ways to stay updated and until more information comes out.
