LGBT activists mark anniversary of persecution of gays in Chechnya

On the anniversary of persecution of gays in Chechnya, activists have installed a memorial sign near the permanent representative office of Chechnya in Moscow.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in April 2017, the newspaper "Novaya Gazeta" reported on mass detentions and murders in Chechnya of men suspected of unconventional sexual orientation, as well as about a "secret prison" for gays in Argun. The Chechen authorities called those materials a provocation.

In Moscow, near the facade of the Chechen representative office in Astrakhan Lane, the activists installed a lilac triangle with the silhouette of the republic's map, the "Novaya Gazeta" reports on April 9.

The improvised memorable sign bears inscriptions reading: "We remember", "We grieve" and "Eternal memory", the "Echo Moskvy" reports.

It should be noted that the date chosen by the activists to install the improvised memorial sign is a conditional date. In Chechnya, the first wave of detainees suspected of homosexuality occurred in December 2016-February 2017, the second took place from March to May 2017, and the third began on the day of the Ramadan's end in June of the same year, states the report prepared by the "Russian LGBT Network" and Elena Milashina, a special correspondent of the "Novaya Gazeta".

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