Chechnya gay torture and killings report
A gay teenager in Chechnya was been brutally killed last week by his uncle after the young man was outed to his family.
According to various news reports, the anonymous 17-year-old was forcibly shoved from a balcony on the ninth floor of a building.
The sad story of the teenager’s murder comes shortly after word got out in a Russian Magazine from a survivor about the ongoing gay purge in Chechnya. According to sources, parents of gay prisoners in Chechnya are being told to kill their children or the authorities will.
Now, people who have been tortured, beaten and persecuted are opening up about cruel and inhumane treatment of LGBT people in the country via secret interviews.
One anonymous survivor shared that while he managed to get away from the dangerous region, where hundreds of gay men have been held and killed for their sexuality. Others have not been so lucky.
Related: Sign Pink News's petition to stop Russian killing of gay people
He said: “Others were caught, killed and their bodies were thrown into the yard of their families, in some cases, the bodies just passed away, because according to Islamic laws, gay bodies are not necessary to bury.”
More: Learn about Chechen concentration camps
In an interview with Snob magazine, the survivor shared that the story of the teenager that was told to him after he came out as gay to his religious leader.
Apparently, the news was not received well at all and was to the “horror, disappointment and disgust from the “mullah” – a Muslim leader that trains people in Islamic theology and sacred law.
“As a Chechen and as a man I do not want to see you here. Neither in the mosque, nor in this district. I want you to leave now, because everything you said is the most disgusting thing you can find out.
“I hope your relatives have the dignity to wash away your shame. Go away,” the religious leader said.
The anonymous person also said that the persecution in the region had been going on since 2009, and many gay men were forced into paying the authorities up to 100,000 rubles ($1,720) to avoid being tortured.
Last week, Vladimir Putin – for the first time – agreed to investigate charges of torture and abuse in Chechnya.
