Reports: several gay men and women detained in Chechnya

By The Associated Press

MOSCOW — A prominent LGBT rights activist says several people have been recently detained in Russia’s Chechnya on suspicion of being gay.

The reports come a year and a half after more than 100 gay men were arrested and subjected to torture, and some of them were killed, in the predominantly Muslim region, according to activists. Chechen authorities denied the accusations, and federal authorities conducted a probe that found nothing to back up the reports.

Igor Kochetkov told The Associated Press on Friday that gay rights activists have seen a spike in detentions of men and women suspected of being gay since late December.

The Interior Ministry in Chechnya was not immediately available for comment.

Independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta earlier Friday reported renewed persecutions of gay people in Chechnya.

The Associated Press

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