Gay teenager kidnapped and tortured by Russian homophobes claimed to have died from injuries
The gay teenager who was kidnapped and tortured by Russian neo-Nazis has died from his injuries it has been claimed.
Spectrum Human Rights reports that the gay teenager kidnapped, tortured and forced to come out to his parents has died from his injuries caused by the attack. It quotes a doctor who is associated with the campaign against homophobia in Russia. As the victim has not been identified, PinkNews is unable to verify the claims as the individuals photographed have not been identified.
Last month an image of the victim, stripped and covered with paint and forced to hold a sex toy, covered in red paint shocked the world. PinkNews has censored the photos below.
PinkNews has seen videos of the torture of the man and other victims on a Russian social network. The videos are too shocking and indecent to be published on PinkNews. One features a victim being sprayed with urine, another (the young man believed to have died) is forced to play with a sex toy. Another is stripped and forced to put his face into a toilet and drink the water. One teenager is stripped and forced into a bathe and then made to brandish a sex toy. It is unclear how or why the videos were made and released. It remains a possibility that the videos do not reflect what actually has been claimed to have occurred.
Gay victims aged 12-16 are reportedly lured in by the group Occupy-Pedofilyay, led by Maxim Martsinkevich, known under the nickname “Cleaver”.
Videos are then circulated of the victims being made to come out as gay, with a view to parents, schools, or friends finding out about their sexuality.
A report from May notes that 19-year-old Alex Bulygin, a victim of the ‘fighters with paedophiles’ branch of the group, committed suicide after having his sexuality revealed online.
It also quotes one member as having said: “If I had my way – I would kill them, but the state does not allow that.”
The group was established with the intention of revealing the identities of paedophiles, but after turning to adult gay men, it has now begun targeting young teenagers.
The Spectrum report says that no police action has been taken against the incidents, despite numerous victims, and that over 500 similar groups have been formed across Russia using the VK social networking site.
The bills, which have since been signed by President Vladimir Putin, bans foreign same-sex couples and unmarried individuals in countries where same-sex marriage is legal from adopting Russian children.
