Amid recent reports that the semi-autonomous Russian state of Chechnya has restarted its violent months-long campaign of kidnapping, detaining, torturing and killing gay and bi men, the Russian newspaper which first broke news of the campaign, Novaya Gazeta, has released the names of 27 men who are believed to have been killed in the campaign. The list includes three teenagers, with most of the people in the 20s, falling somewhere between ages 18 and 33.
Novaya Gazeta published the list of men after losing hope that the official Russian inquiry into the purge would result in any significant action, possibly because of obstruction by Chechen officials.
According to their sources, Novaya Gazeta concludes that all 27 of these men were detained shortly after Chechnya began its anti-gay purge in late December 2016. They think the men were then shot to death near the end of January 2017 and buried in “hastily dug graves” at various local cemeteries. Read more via Unicorn Booty