Chechnya threatens journalists for reporting mass arrests
LGBT people aren’t the only ones who are at risk of official violence in Chechnya. Chechen leaders have issued threats against journalists who reported the mass arrests and torture of men in Chechnya who were suspected of being gay.
Russia’s opposition newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, reported Thursday that Chechen religious and government leaders held a meeting on April 3 at which they threatened journalists who revealed the mass arrests of more than 100 Chechens suspected of being gay. The meeting adopted a resolution stating about the journalists that “retribution will come to them wherever they are without time limitation.”
People at the meeting, including Chechen Muslim clerics, said that the Novaya Gazeta article had insulted their faith and the dignity of Chechen men. The newspaper denied that accusation and called for a dialogue.
“We did not insult — nor had we the slightest intention to insult — the Chechen people,” wrote Novaya Gazeta’s chief editor, Dmitry Muratov.
Muratov said the newspaper would continue investigating human rights abuses in Chechnya.
The newspaper stated this week,:
“We know the names of three people who were killed, and we also know that far more people were killed. Extrajudicial retribution, so-called ‘honor killings,’ also were carried out by relatives of the victims. …
“The reaction that followed the publication on the persecution of Chechen homosexuals has caused our editorial office to have serious fears for the safety not only of specific journalists, but of all the employees of Novaya Gazeta without exception.”
On April 1, Novaya Gazeta published the first reports of the mass arrests and later reported that Chechnya had established secret prisons, described as “concentration camps” for those who were arrested. Three or more men have been reported killed after their arrest.
In a speech to the gathering, Adam Shahidov, an advisor to Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, characterized the journalists as “enemies of our faith and fatherland.”
Chechens have been linked to two murders of Novaya Gazeta reporters who investigated crimes in Chechnya — Anna Politkovskaya and Natalia Estemirova.
But much remains unclear about those contract killings, and that of Boris Nemtsov, an opposition politician who was shot dead in Moscow in 2015 and also exposed corruption and organised crime in Chechnya.
In addition to making statements that sound like threats, a resolution passed by the High Assembly at the Grozny mosque declared that the journalists’ “baseness and provocation” should be fought “in all possible (legal) ways.” It stated:
“The publication in the newspaper Novaya Gazeta is an absolute lie and slander, discrediting the honor and dignity of Muslims, residents of Chechnya, citizens of the Russian Federation.In view of the insult to the centuries-old foundations of Chechen society and the dignity of Chechen men, as well as to our faith, we promise that retribution will overtake true instigators, wherever they are, without time limitation.
Also, we, the High Assembly, urge residents of Chechnya and all decent people not to spread defamatory and provocative information. This is a terrible sin in Islam and other religions, and also brings suffering and pain to many people.
We call on every sensible person to fight the spread of such baseness and provocation in all possible (legal) ways.
We urge federal and regional media to use reliable sources and opinions of competent specialists when preparing materials.
May Allah grant peace, peace and justice to all of us! ”
The Russian LGBT Network is helping people flee from Chechnya to avoid persecution in Chechnya. It also accuses Russian officials of ignoring the ongoing human rights abuses. The network said that if no one is prosecuted for the mass arrests and the killings, it will turn for help to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Novoya Gazeta stated:
“It is obvious to us: this resolution [by the High Assembly] prompts religious fanatics to take revenge on our journalists.
For Novaya Gazeta it is completely obvious that the current wave of repressions is not a unique phenomenon for today’s Chechnya. The level of violence in the republic in the past three years has risen sharply and this is directly connected to the lack of a fully-fledged investigation into the murder of Boris Nemtsov, which, in essence, has played into the hands of those who ordered this crime. The impunity specifically for this crime has brought about their full confidence in their own invulnerability.
Silence and inaction in this situation makes all those who are capable of doing anything at all into accomplices. That is why Novaya Gazeta continues to work in Chechnya. But we understand very well what a high price we may have to pay. The unsolved murder of our colleagues, Anna Politkovskaya and Natalia Estemirova, are obvious proof.
We insist: the reaction to our journalistic work that was articulated at the meeting in the central mosque is unacceptable in a civilised society and must be assessed from the point of view of Russian law.
We urge the Russian government to do everything possible to stop any actions aimed at inciting hatred and enmity towards journalists who are doing their professional duty.”
- Chechnya anti-gay violence: Newspaper fears ‘retribution’ for reports (April 14, 2017, BBC)
- No ‘reliable information’ on Chechnya gay persecution, says Putin spokesman (April 14, 2017, The Guardian)
- Chechens tell of prison beatings and electric shocks in anti-gay purge: ‘They called us animals’ (April 13, 2017, The Guardian)
- Report: Chechnya opens concentration camps for homosexuals (April 11, 2017, 76crimes.com)
- Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov denies massacre of gay citizens saying ‘such people do not exist’ (April 10, 2017, The Independent)
- The State Department Issued A Strong Statement On LGBT Kidnappings In Russia (April 5, 2017, BuzzFeed)
- Russia leaves LGBT Chechen victims in danger (April 5, 2017, 76crimes.com)
- Report: Mass arrests of gays in Chechnya; 3 or more killed (April 3, 2017, 76crimes.com)
- Russian LGBT Network seeks to rescue imperiled gay Chechens (April 3, 2017, 76crimes.com)
- Chechen Authorities Arresting and Killing Gay Men, Russian Paper Says (April 1, 2017, The New York Times)
- Chechen police ‘have rounded up more than 100 suspected gay men’ (April 2, 2017, The Guardian)
PUTIN’S NAZI RUSSIA threatens journalists for reporting mass arrests, torture and killing of gay men in it’s state of Chechnya. HITLER’S NAZI GERMANY had journalists executed for accurately reporting on the mass arrests, torture, and killing of Jews in Germany.