Rights defenders complain to German court about persecution of gays in Chechnya

The European Centre for Constitutional Rights and the Russian LGBT Network have sent a complaint to a German court against Chechen law enforcers and officials in connection with the persecution of people with non-traditional sexual orientation in Chechnya, The Guardian has reported.

The complaint accuses law enforcers and authorities of Chechnya of harassment, illegal arrests, torture, sexual violence and coercion to kill at least 150 persons because of their sexual orientation.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in March 2018, the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) refused to initiate a criminal case on the extrajudicial executions of 27 people in Chechnya, which the "Novaya Gazeta" newspaper reported in July 2017. In September 2019, relatives of the people from the "execution list" filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) claiming that Russian authorities had failed to conduct an efficient inquiry into reports about extrajudicial executions.

Let us remind you that human rights defenders had appealed to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in connection with the persecution of gays in Chechnya, but in 2016 Russia withdrew from the ICC's jurisdiction. At the same time, the German legislation allows prosecuting for crimes against humanity, regardless of where they have been committed.