08:40, 11 May 2017

Theresa May promises to find a way to protect gays' rights in Chechnya

Theresa May, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Photo: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Мэй,_Тереза

Theresa May, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, has announced that the London authorities are looking for opportunities to provide support to the LGBT community in Chechnya, "The Independent" reports.

On April 1, the newspaper "Novaya Gazeta" reported about mass detentions in Chechnya of men suspected of unconventional sexual orientation. Later, the newspaper "Novaya Gazeta" reported with reference to gays persecuted in Chechnya that in Argun, a "secret prison" had been arranged for people with unconventional sexual orientation. According to the "Radio Liberty", another similar prison, where members of sexual minorities are beaten and humiliated, is located in the Chechen village of Tsotsi-Yurt.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on May 3, the British Foreign Secretary and the Foreign Ministers of Sweden, the Netherlands, France, and Germany sent a joint letter to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov with a request to influence the situation with harassment of gays in Chechnya. A week earlier, Nils Muižnieks, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, spoke in favour of granting asylum to gays from Chechnya.

Theresa May has emphasized that any discrimination of people on the basis of their sexual orientation is unacceptable, the "Echo of Moscow" reports.

"Urgent measures are being taken to find a better way to provide support to members of the LGBT community in the region (Chechnya)," the "Gazeta.ru" quotes Theresa May as stating.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.