Sergei Lavrov
Heads of diplomatic agencies of great Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden wrote to his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, a letter with a request to investigate reports of repression against homosexuals in Chechnya. It is reported by RFI.
“We urge the Russian government to investigate these terrible allegations and to guarantee the safety of activists and journalists who conduct investigation”, — quotes the edition of a report, dated 28 APR. The Ministers call on the government to use its influence on the Chechen authorities to ensure “that the repression must cease immediately, the victims received assistance, and the perpetrators brought to justice”.
2 may the fate of homosexual men in the Chechen Republic attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She noted that she had received “adverse reports that refer to gays, especially in Chechnya.” “I asked President Putin to use his influence to facilitate (…) the situation of gays in the country”, — said the head of the German government.
On 24 April, the press Secretary of the President Dmitry Peskov said that the Kremlin see no reason not to trust the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, who has denied media reports about the persecution of homosexuals in the country.
1 April, “Novaya Gazeta” published an article about mass arrests and killings of inhabitants of the Chechen Republic from-for suspicions in sexual orientation. 4 APR edition provided to the public anonymous testimony of detainees, who spoke about the torture in prisons. In turn, the Commissioner for human rights in Russia Tatiana Moskalkova questioned the veracity of this information.