Gay Chechnyan refugee physically threatened in Toronto
Protesters outside the Russian embassy in London (JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images)
After fleeing persecution in Chechyna, a gay refugee has been physically threatened in Canada.
Several Chechynan men have been rehomed in the country under a secret initiative to rescue gay men from persecution in the Republic.
But after experiencing trauma and persecution, it has transpired that one of the men has been physically threatened, according to The Globe and The Mail.
(JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images)
According to an anonymous source who spoke to the Canadian newspaper, one of the refugees intended to meet a man to go on a date, when two men confronted him.
He was then placed in the backseat of a car and began swearing at and berating him in Chechen, saying his homosexual lifestyle had brought disgrace to Chechnya.
Approximately 22 men have been accommodated in the Russian LGBT network’s safe houses after the Chechynan government’s self-declared “gay purge”.
“We now have to focus on settlement and integration of these individuals,” said Kimahli Powell, the executive director of Rainbow Railroad, a Canadian-based charity that helps LGBT individuals escape violence and persecution.
“And it’s important that our community, who are concerned about them, know that they’re here, that they’re safe.”
According to The Independent, The Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov himself suggested deporting gay men to North America.
“If there are any, take them to Canada … Take them far from us so we don’t have them at home,” said the politician.
“To purify our blood, if there are any here, take them.”
Although the Toronto Police Service has confirmed that they are investigating the attack, no further information has been released.
Over a hundred men suspected of being gay have been abducted, tortured and some even killed in the southern Russian republic of Chechnya, according to Amnesty International.
The human rights charity’s petition to stop the homophobic abuses in the country can be signed here.
