Nine LGBT activists detained at picket near Chechen Representative Office in Moscow

Today, participants of a picket in the Russian capital have demanded to investigate murders and torture of gays in Chechnya. Nine LGBT activists were taken to a police station.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in January 2019, it became known about another wave of gay persecution in Chechnya. Since late December 2018, about 40 people were detained in the Chechen Republic for their alleged or actual sexual orientation, and two persons were killed, the NGO "Russian LGBT Network" reported on January 14.

In Moscow, near the Chechen Representative Office, ten people were detained, including participants of a picket in support of the LGBT community and people standing nearby, reported Anastasiya Rezyuk, a participant of the LGBT initiative "Action!". Later, activist Polina Simonenko was detained at the same place. Like the other detainees, she was also taken to the police station.

During the picket, three of the detained LGBT activists were in turn holding in their hands a poster with the text reading: "They are killing and torturing gays in Chechnya. Where are criminal cases?" and also distributing to passers-by brochures about International Coming Out Day, the "OVD-Info" reported.

The International Coming Out Day has been observed since October 11, 1987, when more than 500,000 protestors marched along the streets of Washington with the demand of equal rights for people with non-traditional sexual orientation.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 11, 2019 at 07:48 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.