Pressure on Russia to probe reports of gays being tortured

VIENNA: Russia must investigate reports by human rights groups that dozens of men are being held and tortured in Chechnya because they are believed to be gay, the rights arm of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said.

The allegations that up to 100 men are being detained has prompted an online petition and there was a protest outside the Russian embassy in London.

Russian independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta has reported that at least three men have been killed in secret prisons described as “concentration camps”.

“The authorities in the Russian Federation must urgently investig ate the hor rific reports of human rights violations against allegedly gay men in Chechnya, as well as identify, prosecute and punish any known perpetrators,” the head of the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Michael Link, said.

A spokesperson for Ramzan Kadyrov, president of the southern Russian region of Chechnya and a vocal supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was quoted by Russia’s Interfax news agency as denying the alleged abuses have taken place.

Link said Moscow had to step in. “Given the reported unwillingness of local authorities to investigate and prosecute the serious violations alleged to have been committed by security services, it is incumbent upon Russian Federation authorities to intervene and protect all those remaining at risk,” he said.

The Kremlin could not immediately be reached for comment. Previously, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said he was aware of the reports about abuses against gays in Chechnya but that it was up to Russian law enforcement agencies to investigate, and therefore not an issue on the Kremlin’s agenda.

OSCE’s ability to act is constrained by the fact that it tends to reach decisions by consensus, effectively granting all participating states a veto. – Reuters