US senators condemn persecution of gays in Chechnya

In its resolution, the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations has condemned the persecution of homosexuals in Chechnya. Senators have also called on the US authorities to check whether the Magnitsky Act can be applied to the persons guilty of detaining and torturing homosexuals in Chechnya.

In April, the newspaper "Novaya Gazeta" reported about mass detentions and killings of Chechen men suspected of non-traditional sexual orientation. The authorities of the Chechen Republic called the information a lie.

The resolution adopted by the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations has a declarative character and is not mandatory for execution, the TASS reports.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the information about torture of gays in Chechnya caused a wide response. Thus, on April 25, in their resolution, the PACE delegates demanded to investigate cases of torture, and on May 18, the EU Parliament called on Russia to carry out an investigation. The problem of gays in Chechnya was also raised in the course of the meeting of the Presidents of Russia and France held in Paris on May 29.

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