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Russian foreign minister: No proof of persecution of gay men

Moscow wants to protect human rights but has no reason to believe reports about the persecution of gay men in Chechnya, Russian officials said on Monday.

 

The Novaya Gazeta newspaper earlier this month reported that police in the predominantly Muslim republic rounded up more than 100 men suspected of homosexuality and that at least three of them were killed. The journalists who broke the story in recent weeks later reported receiving death threats.

 

President Vladimir Putin last week met Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who dismissed the "provocative" reports. Russian Foreign Minister Serbey Lavrov told reporters Monday that Russian officials haven't seen any information confirming the reports but added that Moscow is concerned about "any human rights violations."

 


פרסום ראשון: 04.24.17, 16:31