Putin promises to “talk” with Russia’s Prosecutor General and Interior Minister about persecution of gays in Chechnya

Vladimir Putin has promised Russia’s human rights commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova that will “talk” with the country’s Prosecutor General and its Internal Affairs Minister and ask them to verify reports on the persecution of homosexuals in Chechnya.

“Of course, I will talk with the Prosecutor General [and] the Minister of Internal Affairs so that they [can offer you] support in the issue,” said Putin.

This is the first time that Putin has commented on the persecution of homosexuals in Chechnya.

On April 1, Novaya Gazeta reported that, in February and March 2017, more than 100 people were detained on suspicion of homosexuality in Chechnya. According to the publication, detainees were kept in secret prisons, tortured, and forced to denounce other homosexuals; three people were killed. Citing their own sources, Radio Liberty, Meduza, and The Guardian also reported on the persecution of gays in Chechnya. Chechen authorities accused Novaya Gazeta of libel and claimed that there are no homosexuals in the republic.

Meduza has published the monologue of a gay man who had to flee Chechnya.