This is shocking.
Reports are emerging today that there's been a 'purge' on gay men in the Russian region of Chechnya. The men are reportedly being brought to encampments which are being likened to the concentration camps of the Holocaust.
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The camps where gay men are allegedly being kept, Credit google maps
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According to
PinkNews.co.uk more than 100 gay men have been detained “in connection with their non-traditional sexual orientation, or suspicion of such”.
Following raids, it's suspected that some people may have lost their lives in the purge.
The Kremlin has denied any purge on gay men, and a government spokesperson said "you can’t detain and harass someone who doesn’t exist in the republic”
Repressions against gay men reportedly began last month after an application for a gay rights march in the capital of Grozny.
The
Russian LGBT Network have released a statement on the reports,
"The Russian LGBT Networks is highly disturbed and concerned about the information on the kidnapping and killing of people in Chechnya because of their sexual orientation. We are also outraged by the reaction of the officials of the Chechen Republic, who in fact justify the killings. No national and/or religious traditions and norms can justify kidnapping or killing of a human being. Any references to “traditions” to justify kidnappings and killings are amoral and criminal."
The network have today appealed to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation to investigate the information on the crimes as reported in the “
Novaya Gazeta”
