A Russian website is asking users to ‘report’ and torture gay people
The Russian website encouraged users to hunt and torture gay people in a “game” based on the Saw movies.
A Russian website is publicly calling for users to support ‘Chechnya’s comeback‘ and list and ‘hunt’ gay people.
The domain, which is called ‘Saw’ and based on the horror film series in which victims are tortured and the events streamed live, launched last week.
Asking users to join in their ‘game,’ the website has set a different target of attack for each day of the month.
(JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty)
At the moment, the website says it is targeting people in the province of Ufa, in south-east Russia, reports Gay Star News.
Users can pay a sum of 200 roubles (£2.32) to find personal information, said the publication.
However, if your name is on the database and you need it to be removed, you have to pay a fee of 1500 Rubles (£7.38).
“I was in school when this first started happening,” a lesbian Russian national told PinkNews.
“It is a very popular game for straight Russian men. It has been in action in some way since 2007, 2008, but it has normally taken place in closed groups. But now, there are no protections for Russians. It can happen in broad daylight,” she added.
However, the woman, who chose not to be named, believes that this is the first website of its kind to enter the public domain.
Although the hunters used to operate on VKontakte (VK), which is Russia’s version of Facebook, this is the first time they have had a listed website.
A host of these sites live on Russia’s dark web, she explains.
“These people no longer have to hide, because they know if they beat any LGBT+ person the court will be on their side,” she added.
One of the first victims of the game is seen in hospital with a head injury, which has been posted to the website.
As Russians have not had any legal anti-discrimination protections since 2013, there is nothing enshrined in law to stop the website targeting LGBT+ people specifically.
Demonstrators outside the Russian embassy (Getty)
Although the website was recently blocked, its demands can still be seen on social media.
“This is terrifying,” Mikhail Tumasov, chairperson of the Russia LGBT Network, told Gay Star News.
“I’ve never seen anything like this. The killing and torturing of gay people, they call it a game.”
