FACING DEATH, GAY MEN FLEE CHECHNYA

Moscow, April 20: Ilya looks tired and drawn. After being beaten and tortured by men in military uniform in Russia’s Chechnya region, he fled to Moscow but still fears for his life — because he is gay.

“In Chechnya, I had no choice but to lie or die,” the 20-year-old says.

He is now hiding out in a small house on the edge of Moscow with five other Chechens after they escaped what they say is a brutal campaign against gay men by authorities in the Muslim region of Russia’s North Caucasus.

All declined to give their real names for fear of someone recognising them and tracking them down.

“If any of my relatives realises I’m gay, they won’t hesitate a minute before killing me,” another of the men, 28year-old Nortcho said.

“And if they don’t do it, they will get killed themselves for failing to uphold the family honour,” he said. While casual homophobia is common in Russia, the problem is particularly acute in conservative Chechnya, where homosexuality is taboo and seen in many families as a moral failing that should be punished by death.