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An update on the LGBTQ crisis in Chechnya

France has started taking in gay refugees from the area.
France has started taking in gay refugees from the area. France has started taking in gay refugees from the area.

In April, reports came to light of Chechen men suspected of homosexuality being tortured in concentration-style camps.

Since then the matter has rarely left headlines, and has now come to particular attention after French prime minister Emmanuel Macron’s meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

What originally happened?

Protest
Protest
(Thomas Hornall/PA)

Two months ago the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported that hundreds of men, believed to be homosexual and bisexual, were being held in secret detention centres in Chechnya, which is a federal subject of Russia.

The report from the respected campaigning newspaper claimed that Chechen authorities were attempting a “complete cleansing” of homosexuals.

Since then, there have been demonstrations around the world and increasing pressure on Chechnya to confirm reports and end these alleged abuses of LGBTQ rights.

What do human rights groups say?

A new report by Human Rights Watch came out last Friday saying that high-level officials in Chechnya humiliated inmates during visits to detention facilities where gay people were allegedly held and tortured.

The Chechen men “remain at great risk of being hounded by Chechen authorities or their own relatives as long as they remain in Russia”, Human Rights Watch said.

What did Macron say to Putin?

Macron said he spoke to Putin around LGBT rights in Chechnya, vowing to be “vigilant” on such issues. Earlier this week, human rights activists protesting near the Eiffel Tower displayed a banner that said “Stop homophobia in Chechnya”.

Has anyone escaped from Chechnya?

LGBT activists have helped about 40 gay men who fled Chechnya to other Russian regions. Many are seeking asylum abroad. Lithuania’s foreign minister also said the Baltic nation had given refuge to two gay men from Chechnya.

France has reportedly just started taking in gay refugees.

LGBTQ Nation reports that Joel Deumier, the president of LGBTQ rights group SOS Homophobie, told radio station FranceInfo: “So France has started to welcome Chechen refugees. This is going to continue.”

What happens next?

Protest
Protest
(Thomas Hornall/PA)

The leader of Russia’s Chechnya has invited Macron and the German chancellor Angela Merkel to visit his region and check for themselves the reports about gay people being killed and tortured there.

Last month the Associated Press spoke to two victims of the crackdown who supported the claims of torture and murder in Chechnya. Chechen officials have denied the reports, but federal investigators have still been dispatched to conduct an investigation.

Earlier this month Putin assured the country’s human rights ombudswoman that he would speak with law enforcement officials about the reported torture of gay men.