Reuters: two gays from Chechnya report about detentions and torture

Two young people from Chechnya have reported about torture and beatings to which they were subjected in the republic because of their homosexual orientation. One of them reported that he was tortured with electric current, and the second man managed to escape from the house, where his relatives planned to kill him.

The men have already left Chechnya, but they are afraid of persecution outside the republic. They agreed to give interviews with hidden faces, the Reuters reports.

A young man, who introduced himself as Anzor, said that in February, he was detained with a group of his friends on their way to Grozny. According to him, policemen noticed that one of his friends wore bracelets and rings and thought he was a gay. The friend was severely beaten, and Anzor himself was tortured with electric current, while they forced him to attach by himself the wires to his hands and feet.

The second young man, who introduced himself as Ramzan, said that he was detained in April. Policemen demanded form him to report the information about the gay men he knew, including their names, addresses, and places of work. However, he refused and was beaten up. He escaped further torture, when he reported that his uncle was a law enforcer. The policemen gave the young man out to his relatives. According to Ramzan, at home, he was handcuffed to a battery of central heating, but his sister helped him escape.

According to Reuters, there is no confirmation of those stories from other sources, but they do not contradict other information about the persecution of gays in Chechnya.

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