The Chechnya government is believed to be behind the murders and disappearances of more than 100 gay men in its highly Muslim-oriented state. There had been an extensive discrimination among the LGBT community since March that drove activists to apply permits and stage rally fights.
The LGBT groups asked for a permit in Kabardino-Balkaria but were denied and led to another anti-gay rally that sparked the disappearances. The Chechen police force described this maneuver as a "preventive mopping up" of the many gay men in the republic, according to Novaya Gazeta.
Men ages 16 to 50 have been wiped out of the streets. First, two local media reporters were killed, followed by a waiter. However, the Chechnya government denies the operation, even saying that there are no gay men in Chechnya.
Buzzfeed reported Kadyrov spokesman Alvi Karimov as saying, "You cannot arrest or repress people who just don't exist in the republic." He continued, "If there were such people in Chechnya, the law-enforcement organs wouldn't need to have anything to do with them because their relatives would send them somewhere from which there is no returning."
Referring to "honor killing," gay men taken into custody were released so as to practice act to cover the shame brought to family members. The International Crisis Group of Russia were aware of the happenings around the republic but told reporters that there hadn't been any proven cases as of yet.
The Russian LGBT Networks have issued their statement on Monday that they were profoundly disturbed with the incidents at Chechnya and demanded investigative information about the happenings. They would also like to have an account of the government's statements regarding the disappearances.
At the moment, the group is exerting its efforts to contact the victims and offer emergency support. They have deployed a team to help the affected people evacuate the tension in Chechnya.
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