Russia: Identity of man killed and raped with beer bottles revealed
A photograph has emerged which is believed to show the 23-year-old gay man tortured and killed in a brutal attack in Russia on Friday.
A report by the International Business Times names the man as Vladislav Tornovoi.
“He was raped with beer bottles and had his skull smashed with a stone,” said Natalia Kunitskaya, a spokeswoman for the Volgograd region branch of the Investigative Committee.
She went on to admit that the attack was believed to have been a hate crime, which was noted as a rare admission from Russian law enforcement agencies on the issue of homophobia in the country.
A Saturday statement from the Moscow-based Investigative Committee confirmed that two men aged 22 and 27 had been detained in connection with the attack. One of the suspects has a criminal history, the statement said.
It went on to say that they thought the victim had been drinking with two men, apparently while celebrating Victory Day, a national holiday in Russia held on 9 May.
Regional Investigator Andrei Gapchenko, said the men started beating the victim when he told them he was gay.
Gay rights proponent Nikolai Alexeyev, a major figure in LGBT activism in Russia, said: “This monstrous incident in Volgograd demonstrates the fruits of the homophobic policy that is being conducted in this country, including the initiative to ban homosexual propaganda.
Alexeyev told the Moscow Times: “Political figures have provoked anti-gay sentiment by portraying the gay community as a bunch of freaks. They are accomplices in the killing.”
