Amnesty call for Chechnya journalists to be protected

Amnesty International calls for journalists who revealed the abuse of gay men in Chechnya to be protected.

On April 1, journalists at Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported that over a hundred men suspected of being gay had been abducted, abused and some even killed because of their perceived sexuality. Chechen authorities have warned the journalists they will ‘face retaliation’.

Following the reports, anger has been steadily building towards the reporters who broke the story by those who oppose LGBT+ rights and have been emboldened by the Chechen authorities who have given them a prominent platform to warn the paper that their journalists would “face retaliation”.

Journalists for the paper have been murdered for their investigations in the past decade with 56 journalists being reportedly killed in Russia since 1992 .

Amnesty are demanding that the Russian authorities:

♦  Investigate the threats to staff from both Novaya Gazeta and Ekho Moskvy, in accordance with the Russian Criminal Code regarding ‘obstruction of lawful activities of journalists’
♦ Publicly condemn all threats and violence towards journalists, and bring those responsible to account
♦ Guarantee freedom of expression and protect journalists, in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights.

To sign the petition calling on Russian authorities to protect the journalists, and their freedom to report human rights abuses, click here: