Putin agrees to Chechnya investigation as Israelis protest Chechnya ‘systematic murder’ of gays
Amid reports of members of Chechnya’s LGBT community being kidnapped, tortured and murdered by religious zealots, a reluctant Russian President Putin agreed on Friday to form an investigation over said allegations; Earlier Friday, hundreds gathered outside Russian Embassy in TA calling on Putin to intervene.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told Russia's human rights ombudsman he will speak with law enforcement officials about the reported torture of gay men in Chechnya. The abuse was first reported in April by the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which said about 100 suspected gay men were rounded up and tortured, and at least three were killed.
Tatyana Moskalkova asked Putin on Friday to support her request to form a group in Moscow to investigate the treatment of gays in the southern Russian region.
Putin agreed to her proposal for investigating what he called "the well-known information, or rumors" about what is happening to people "with a non-traditional sexual orientation." His comments reflect how Russian officials have played down the report. Moskalkova earlier said she doubted such abuse took place.
Earlier on Friday, hundreds of people demonstrated outside the the Russian Embassy in Tel Aviv on Friday afternoon in response to reports of the systematic murder of people from Chechnya’s LGBT community.
Hayarkon Street was eventually closed to traffic as crowds of demonstrators waved signs bearing slogans such as “Never Again”, “Putin is a terrorist” and “Stop the witch hunt.”
“We call on everyone with a heart to join us, regardless of identity or how you define yourself,” said one of the protest’s organizers. Later on in the evening, the protesters plan to throw a party at the unofficial gay beach beneath the Hilton Hotel and hoist a pink triangle in solidarity with the Chechen community.
As a result of the reports of atrocities being perpetrated in Chechnya, an organization for the LGBT in Israel has begun undertaking a series of measures to help the suffering community. One of the initiatives involves coordinating a number of similar protests around the world.
During the planned demonstrations, testimony from LGBT victims in Chechnya will be read out and spokespersons from the community will also address the attending crowds. “I call for immediate intervention by Russia in what is happening in order to stop this dark action,” one protester said.
“We know that President Putin has the ability to stop what is taking place in Chechnya if he wants to. We call upon the nations of the world to absorb a few Chechen refugees who are knocking on their doors. For them, return means certain death,” one protester warned.
In recent weeks reports have surfaced that widescale and systematic killings intended to “erase” the LGBT community by the time of Ramadan have been taking place in the republic, which is ruled by President Ramzan Kadyrov.
According to the reports, hundreds of gay men and trans women have been kidnapped, slung into secret prisons described as “concentration camps,” undergone horrific torture and killed. President Kadyrov’s spokesman denied the reports, claiming that no such acts could be true since there are no homosexuals in his country.
"Nobody can detain or harass anyone who is simply not present in the republic," Alvi Karimov was quoted as telling Interfax.
In April, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said that "The authorities in the Russian Federation must urgently investigate the horrific reports of human rights violations against allegedly gay men in Chechnya, as well as identify, prosecute and punish any known perpetrators."
Reuters contributed to this article.
