russia
‘Gay hunt’ SAW website taken down
Authorities finally blocked the SAW ‘gay hunt’ website Wednesday. The Russian website allowed users to upload photos and personal information of gay people. Other users could then pay US$3 to access information. However, for a fee of US$23, people could pay to have information about themselves removed. For a time, the site also offered rewards …
Elton John shoots down Putin hypocrisy
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently told The Financial Times that his country has no problem with gay people. Elton John released a letter on Facebook accusing Putin of hypocrisy. Putin’s statement ignored Russia’s anti-gay propaganda law which causes immense prejudice and harm to the country’s LGBTIQ citizens. Also his regime continues to turn a blind …
Elton John blasts ‘cruel’ Russian censorship of ‘Rocketman’
Elton John has hit out at Russia’s censorship of the new biopic Rocketman’s queer content. The “epic musical fantasy” film explores Elton John’s early years, including Elton’s relationship with first manager John Reid. But Russian journalists said the local distributor had removed around five minutes of the film. As well as scenes of drug use …
Horrific new details of detention and torture of gay men in Chechnya
Police in the Russian republic of Chechnya are carrying out more detentions and torture of suspected gay people two years after its brutal “gay purge”, Human Rights Watch has said in a new report. Four men who spoke to Human Rights Watch said they had been detained for between three and 20 days, between December …
‘Silence means more murders’: Pussy Riot wants Australia to help LGBTIQ Chechens
Russian feminist punk rock group Pussy Riot have joined a demonstration outside South Australia’s parliament to call for the protection of Chechnya’s LGBTIQ community targeted in the region’s violent “gay purge”. Pussy Riot member Masha Alyokhina told a group of about a hundred gathered at the rally on Wednesday, organised by Amnesty International Australia, that …
Reports Of Sexual Violence Against Women In Chechnya’s ‘Gay Purge’
Warning: distressing content Authorities in Chechnya are reportedly sexually assaulting women from the LGBTIQ community, according to activists who are working to evacuate those targeted to safety. The Russian LGBT Network said last week a “new wave” of arrests and violence against gay Chechens had begun in December last year, with at least two dead …
Amnesty International Demands Australian Action On Chechnya’s ‘Gay Purge’
Amnesty International Australia has called on the federal government to condemn Chechnya’s “gay purge” and demand Russia act against new reports of LGBTIQ persecution in the region. Local activists earlier this week warned of a “new wave” of arrests and violence against gay Chechens, after the country’s “gay purge” first triggered global outcry in 2017. …
Two Dead And Dozens Of Gay People Detained In Chechnya, Activists Say
LGBTIQ activists are warning of a “new wave” of arrests of gay people in the Russian region of Chechnya, 18 months after the country’s “gay purge” triggered global outcry. At least 40 gay men and women have been detained in the past month, and two have also died in detention after being tortured, the Russian …
Russia’s Ban On LGBTIQ Rallies Violates Human Rights, European Court Rules
The European Human Rights Court has ruled that Russia’s banning of LGBTIQ pride marches is a violation of the human right to free assembly. The country has long denied permits to and violently disrupted public demonstrations by LGBTIQ activists, and in 2013 signed into law its “gay propaganda” law, which prevents the “promotion” of “non-traditional …
15 Countries Demand Answers From Russia On Chechnya’s ‘Gay Purge’
Fifteen countries have come together to press Russia on what the country is doing to stop the persecution of gay men in the Russian region of Chechnya. Independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta first reported last year that men had been abducted and tortured as part of an alleged “gay purge,” which has been repeatedly denied …