30 May 2017, 15:10
Kadyrov invites President Macron to get personally acquainted with gays' situation in Chechnya
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has invited the President of France to visit Chechnya in order to personally see the situation with the rights of minorities. A day earlier, simultaneously with the President Vladimir Putin's visit to Paris, the first gay refugee from Chechnya arrived in France, human rights defenders report.
"It is not worth blaming the Russian media for defamation, being led by the false information. French President Macron can take Angela Merkel with him and visit Chechnya in search of truth. The doors are open!" Ramzan Kadyrov wrote in his channel in Telegram.
After the meeting with Vladimir Putin held on May 29, President Macron mentioned the topic of sex minorities. "I reminded the President that it is very important for France to respect the rights of any minority. We talked about LGBT people in Chechnya and about NGOs in Russia," he said.
President Macron has also added that France will help Russia in monitoring the situation in the region, the newspaper "Novaya Gazeta" reports.
"Following the first Chechen gay refugee to France, other homosexuals subjected to persecution in Chechnya should arrive soon," reported Joel Daumier, the president of the "SOS Homophobie Association".
He has also added that he and his colleagues can no longer tolerate the denial by the Russian authorities of the persecution of sex minorities in Chechnya, the "RFI" reports.
Besides, on the day of the Vladimir Putin's visit to France, in Paris, the human rights organization "Amnesty International" (AI) held an action in support of gays persecuted in Chechnya.
Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.