France demands from Russia to protect rights of sexual minorities in Chechnya

In Paris, officials express their concern over the reports of violations of the rights of members of the LGBT community in the Chechen Republic. This was reported by Romain Nadal, the spokesman for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on April 1, the newspaper "Novaya Gazeta" reported about mass detentions in Chechnya of men suspected of unconventional sexual orientation. Later, the newspaper "Novaya Gazeta" reported with reference to gays persecuted in Chechnya that in Argun, a "secret prison" had been arranged for people with unconventional sexual orientation. According to the "Radio Liberty", another similar prison, where members of sexual minorities are beaten and humiliated, is located in the Chechen village of Tsotsi-Yurt.

The Paris authorities insist on a comprehensive investigation into all cases of alleged violation of the rights of homosexual, bisexual, transgender and intersexual persons in Chechnya. This was announced on April 12 by Romain Nadal, the spokesman for the French MFA.

"We call upon the Russian   Federation to condemn the reaction of the Chechen authorities, which encourage impunity by denying the very existence of homosexuality or assuming that the persons concerned can be killed by their own family members. It is necessary to shed light on all the circumstances of serious human rights violations guaranteed by numerous international mechanisms, under the influence of which Russia freely subscribed," emphasized Romain Nadal.

Today, the capital of France is to host a rally in support of the LGBT community in Chechnya, organized by the French branch of the "Amnesty International" (AI), the organization and movement "GayLib", the "HES" (Homosexuality and Socialism), the "Inter-LGBT", the "Russie-Libertés", and the "SOS-homophobia".

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.